Legend of the Demon Cat Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Legend of the Demon Cat Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 7, 2019

So-called “dog people” may be in major “told you so” mode with regard to Legend of the Demon Cat, since the titular feline is, by that title’s very description, not exactly a model of all things warm and fuzzy. This is another Asian fantasy effort where knowledge of some of both real life history and mythology may come in handy, but where a brisk narrative style and an often gobsmacking array of visuals may help even those without such knowledge have a largely enjoyable viewing experience. One of the more interesting elements about Legend of the Demon Cat being an "Asian" fantasy effort is that in this particular case a Chinese film actually features a Japanese protagonist. Kukai (Shota Sometani) is a Japanese monk who teams up with Bai Letian (Huang Xuan), a kind of palace guard for the Chinese Emperor, who has died while evidently possessed. Kukai and Bai become an X-Files-esque duo investigating a whole host of paranormal incidences, not the least of which seems to be a mysterious talking cat with ideas (and plans) of its own.

In doing a bit of background research in preparation for writing this review, I came across some online articles suggesting that at least parts of this story are (perhaps tenuously) tethered to real life characters and/or events, though the film is resolutely on the “mythological” or “folktale” side of things. Structurally, the film may err in waiting too long for what turns out to be an extended “Moishe the Explainer” session. While the visuals are often rather beautiful throughout the film, the main CGI feline is decidedly lackluster at times and may be more of a distraction than anything for some viewers.

Legend of the Demon Cat Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Legend of the Demon Cat is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The IMDb lists Arri Alexas as having been utilized on this shoot, with everything finished at a 2K DI. Despite some rather odd (and I'm assuming intentional) brightness boosting at times, this is often ravishing looking transfer, aside from the one notable element of the CGI cat, a feline which can often look kind of "half baked" (and/or rendered). Detail levels are quite pleasing throughout the presentation, and the finery on costumes and props is often every impressive. The palette can be just a little tamped down at times, with an emphasis on beiges and grays, though that perhaps makes the moments that do feature bright hues pop all the more by comparison.

Legend of the Demon Cat Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Legend of the Demon Cat features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (and Dolby Digital 2.0) mixes in both the original Mandarin and an English dub. The two mixes are generally equivalent, but my personal recommendation is to stick with the original language version, as I found the voicework there more fitting to the characters. The sound design here is frequently inventive, with some fun sound effects dotting the surrounds, and the cat's kind of spooky voice resonating quite effectively. Other (human) dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly on this problem free track.

Legend of the Demon Cat Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers contains:

  Trailer (Mandarin) (1080p; 2:05)

  
  

  Trailer (English) (1080p; 2:03)

As tends to be the case with Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, the disc has been authored so that the supplements follow one another automatically (so that clicking on the Mandarin language Trailer is essentially a "Play All" button. After the English language trailer for this film plays, the disc has been authored to move on automatically to trailers for other Well Go USA releases. Those trailers for other Well Go USA releases also play automatically at disc boot up.

Legend of the Demon Cat Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The partnership between Kukai and Bai makes this film inherently kind of unique and interesting, and it helps to anchor a story that does tend to wander hither and yon before finally getting to its big reveal (and/or reveals, as the case may be). The central cat is a fun character, but its CGI presentation can be kind of unintentionally funny at times. Otherwise, though, this is a distinctive and captivating fantasy film which should easily appeal to fans of this genre. Technical merits are solid, and Legend of the Demon Cat comes Recommended.