Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

The Black Cat Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 30, 2019

Note: This film is available as part of The Hemisphere Box of Horrors.

For certain lovers of cult cinema, the name Hemisphere Pictures will most likely forever be linked to The Blood Island Collection, and perhaps more generally to Philippine shot outings in general, but as the movies collected in Hemishpere Box of Horrors make clear, this relatively small scale independent “studio” (if it could even be called that) at least attempted to try a few (marginally?) different things through the years. The five films assembled for this set document an approach that might be thought of as part Hammer, part Roger Corman (especially his Poe adaptations), but with a very peculiar, and some may reasonably feel distinctive, air. Part of that is due to the features shot in the Philippines, but there’s a weirdly exotic feel to even the stateside shot, admittedly low budget and often generally lo-fi offerings. One of the fun supplements on some of the Blood Island Collection discs were the reminiscences of Hemisphere marketing guru Samuel S. Sherman, and Sherman is back with more background information here, helping to explain how Hemisphere was seeking some kind of identity on the grindhouse and/or drive-in circuit(s), finding some unexpected success along the way. There's little doubt that any, and indeed probably all, of these films fits rather snugly into the confines of "cult cinema", but even devoted acolytes of this particular cult may need to temper expectations based on the source elements Severin was able to procure.

The Black Cat is in some ways the most unusual film in this set, one which eschews any of the (faux or otherwise) exoticism of many other Hemisphere outings, and instead tries to ply a more “traditional” approach in adapting Edgar Allan Poe. The film “modernizes” the Poe source, offering a troubled guy named Lou (Robert Frost, and, no, not that one) whose wife Diana (Robyn Baker) gives her husband the titular animal, which soon leads to all sorts of mayhem and subterfuge. This is actually a rather interesting treatment of its source, one that does indulge in a couple of “shock” visuals while trafficking more consistently in a rather frayed psychological ambience, something that fits in with Poe’s sensibility pretty perfectly.

The Black Cat Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Black Cat is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The film comes with this text card prelude:

The following presentation of The Black Cat is taken from a scan of one of the only surviving 35mm theatrical prints known to exist.

The print was missing a few shots (including the pre-title poem) which have been inserted from an inferior source in order to present the most complete version of the film here.

The difference in quality between the inserts and the bulk of the presentation can be seen by contrasting screenshot 9 with the other screenshots. The inserts have an "SWV" bug in the lower right hand corner, and also have the look of upscaled video along with pretty rampant damage. The bulk of this presentation actually looks rather good, all things considering, if you can get past some nonstop scratches and other damage which are pretty prevalent and long lasting throughout. There is some minor flicker noticeable, along with density fluctuations, but on the whole contrast is good and detail levels surprisingly high. Grain resolves naturally without any compression issues. While I'm scoring this at 3.0 to help temper expectations, those who can more easily ignore the ravages of age related wear and tear might be willing to grant this a 3.5. My score is 3.25.

The Black Cat Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Unlike the three "main" features, all of which had DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono mixes, both of the "bonus" films in this set have LPCM 2.0 mono tracks. The inserts sourced from the inferior video element also have substandard audio, with lots of pops and cracks and minor distortion, but things improve, at least marginally, for the bulk of this presentation. There's still a somewhat muffled sound throughout, something that perhaps robs a bit of energy from some of the musical elements, but dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly enough.

The Black Cat Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Black Cat and The Torture Chamber of Doctor Sadism share a disc (and are available only as part of the box set, while the other films have standalone releases), so I'm including the disc's extras here:

• The Black Cat Trailer (1080p; 1:29)


• Blood Demon Trailer (1080p; 1:44)

The Black Cat Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Black Cat is hampered by some "not ready for prime time" performances, but it's a rather interesting Poe adaptation if accepted on its own lo-fi merits. This black and white feature looks reasonably good here, if one can get past some pretty ubiquitous damage to the source element.