Horror omnibus films were more often the output of Amicus studios, but some other production companies produced them as well; and this Canadian/English production is not one of the best of them. Not that it's a particularly bad example, but none of the stories are particularly great. The wraparound story concerns a paranoid writer, played by the great Peter Cushing, who has come to believe that cats are the devil in disguise and secretly rule over humans. This idea actually isn't bad, and the film succeeds at making cats seem eerie and evil! The writer then begins telling his stories, the first of which concerns an old woman who decides to leave her fortune to her many cats; much to the dismay of her money-grabbing nephew and his girlfriend, her maid. This story is the most violent of the three and also features the most cats. It's not a bad story, but it's very simple - so much so in fact that the thirty minutes dedicated to it actually feels too long!
We then move on and the second story is the worst of the bunch and actually feels more like a children's fairytale story rather than something out of a horror film. One could also say that it's not actually about cats at all - there's a cat featured but it's really only a co-star. The tale concerns black magic and the daughter of a witch who goes to live with a foster family after the death of her parents. The best thing about this story is the two child actresses, who deliver good performances. The third and final tale is the best of the bunch and sees the film take on a comic style. This tale is lead by Donald Pleasance, who is great as usual, and Samantha Eggar; who completely steals the show with her role as a screechy wannabe actress. Despite the fact that this story features drowning kittens; it's very funny and mostly unexpected and I'd say this story just about saves the film. All in all, The Uncanny is just about worth a look; it's certainly not the worst anthology ever made, and the cast list is fairly impressive at least.
We then move on and the second story is the worst of the bunch and actually feels more like a children's fairytale story rather than something out of a horror film. One could also say that it's not actually about cats at all - there's a cat featured but it's really only a co-star. The tale concerns black magic and the daughter of a witch who goes to live with a foster family after the death of her parents. The best thing about this story is the two child actresses, who deliver good performances. The third and final tale is the best of the bunch and sees the film take on a comic style. This tale is lead by Donald Pleasance, who is great as usual, and Samantha Eggar; who completely steals the show with her role as a screechy wannabe actress. Despite the fact that this story features drowning kittens; it's very funny and mostly unexpected and I'd say this story just about saves the film. All in all, The Uncanny is just about worth a look; it's certainly not the worst anthology ever made, and the cast list is fairly impressive at least.