The Uncanny
Country: UK/Canada
Year:1977
Director: Denis Heroux
Stars:Peter Cushing(Wilbur Gray), Susan Penhaligon (Janet), Donald Pleasance (Valentine De'ath)
The Uncanny
Peter Cushing stars in this portmanteau as an author convinced that cats are evil, supernatural beings who want to take over the world! Seriously!
It's a bit of a weird one, this film. I want to love it cos it's about cats and the marvellous Peter Cushing stars in it (does anyone else remember watching the episode of "Jim'll Fix It" where he asked Jim to fix it so he could have a rose named after his late wife [sniff!] - such a lovely chap!) but it's a bit of a shocker in places. Of course Cushing is as great as ever as paranoid author Wilbur Gray but most of the acting in the three cat-related segments leaves much to be desired! A lowlight has to be the tale of a newly orphaned girl who uses her dead mother's spell books to seek revenge on her cousin after the snotty cousin (who needs a kick!) conspires to get the girl's cat taken away from her. The acting was abysmal and I'd say it has to be seen to be believed but it's pretty much worth giving this one a fast-forward on the DVD if you happen to be watching.
The other two segments - an elderly woman's cats seeking revenge over her murder, and the ever-creepy Donald Pleasance starring as a husband whose dead wife's cat can't get over his part in her murder - are the usual Hammer fare. It's good fun but it's patchy and it's not the greatest.
Reviewer - @helen_of_horror
