Cat Sick Blues (2015)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Blistering performances.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Ted (Matthew C. Vaughan) puts on a cat costume and appears to be randomly killing people, for reasons that are revealed later, or sooner if you read Amazon's description. Claire (Shian Denovan) is raped and her Internet sensation cat is killed by her rapist. She needs support for the lost of her cat. Here is where she meets Ted.The film is strangely different. The sound track is off-beat and at times is annoying as in during the dorm killings. Perhaps the theme of the film is that the lost of a pet is a reason for not having one. This film is not for everyone and is on the "concept" side of filming, but not really an art film, just bizarre. Winner of 2015 Best Australian feature, director and actress at A Night of Horror International Film Festival. The film had a few good scenes, some that didn't work, and others that were downright bizarre like the dorm killings and that whole long sequence near the end.Guide: F-word, sex, rape,, nudity (Danae Swinburne, Shian Denovan)

I liked much of Cat Sick Blues because it's twisted and different. Its opening is very strong (killer music, man) and parts of it are enjoyably visceral, like the scene where Ted remembers his cat exploding. Other parts of Cat Sick Blues are unpleasant, and bad unpleasant, even for horror. Case in point: the rape scenes. The argument against pornography is that it objectifies women: it turns them into sexual objects. Very obviously, that goes for rape and murder, and women seem to exist only in this movie to become brutalized. Additionally, the barbed, phallic prosthetic that Ted wears is nothing short of disgusting. These major shortcomings aside, much of Cat Sick Blue can be enjoyed: its tone, editing, colour, and sound are all well done. There are some great images, like Ted running down the canal, scaring away the seagulls, as well as the opening credits. I especially like the music and the screwed up mood Cat Sick Blues shoots for. Additionally, our leads, played by Shian Denovan and Matthew C. Vaughan, both bring a lot to the film. Shian especially, a beautiful and talented young actress. (Go Scotland!)...But I can't condone the rape scenes. I know horror is meant to appeal to the senses, but those scenes are gratuitous. And the less said about Ted's prosthetic the better.

Thanks to social media, I've probably seen almost as many comical cat videos as I have horror films. With Cat Sick Blues, director Dave Jackson merges the funny feline phenomenon with the extreme horror genre to deliver a very gory and uniquely disturbing experience to surprise, disgust and delight fans of truly twisted cinema.Jackson opens his film with two girls passing time getting high while watching performing pussycat Imelda, the star of their favourite online video channel. Their fun is interrupted, however, by a psycho killer in a rubber cat mask, who decapitates his victims and collects their blood in jars.The action then moves to the apartment of Claire (Shian Denovan), owner of internet sensation Imelda, who answers her door to a fan; this proves to be a big mistake when the visitor accidentally kills Claire's kitty and then proceeds to rape the distraught woman.Unable to get over the incident, Claire visits a group for grieving pet owners (as opposed to a rape crisis centre), where she befriends Ted (Matthew C. Vaughan), unaware that he is the cat-mask wearing killer (now with taloned gloves and a foot long prosthetic cat penis as part of his ensemble) who has been hacking off the heads of local women in the belief that their blood will somehow revive the corpse of his beloved moggie Patrick.With a totally unique killer (in addition to his creepy cat costume, Ted also mewls like a cat to add to the unsettling effect), lots of gore (severed heads, a smashed face and slashed throats that spurt gallons of blood), some sly commentary about all that is wrong with social media, and a general sense of the macabre, Cat Sick Blues is one of those films that has to be seen to be believed and which is hard to forget.

I was one of 142 backers on Kickstarter that helped Dave Jackson and Andrew Gallagher raise $14,500 to make their debut feature film Cat Sick Blues. Every cent of that money is visible on screen.It's a confident first film. It is well shot and sometimes very creative, experimenting with black-and-white, slow motion, reversed footage, etc. The acting is better than any other low-budget horror film that I have seen in a long time – Matthew Vaughn is very creepy as the 'Catman', and Shian Denovan is solid as the other lead. It should also be mentioned that the music is diverse and incredibly effective. Really, there's was a lot to love about this film.Admittedly, some of the dialogue felt a little clumsy, and it jumped around a lot tonally. These were just minor quibbles though.The special effects were really impressive. It's a pretty violent, gory film – lots of severed heads and big barbed cat dildos. This lead to a lot of memorable images – A black-and-white scene featuring a trunk and bizarre catman will stay with me for a while, as well as the excellent hostel massacre.I also wanted to mention the ending. The plot takes an unnecessary detour in the last 15 minutes, stumbling after a strong run. The idea itself is sound and could have been effective if shortened, but is too overlong to feel worthwhile. Despite this, in its final minutes the film is able to recover and ends on a sad, satisfying note.I really hope they are able to find a distribution deal for this little gem. If you are able to see it at some point in the future at a festival or after its eventual release, I highly recommend that you do so. You won't regret it. Hell, even if you do regret it, I'm sure you'd agree that Jackson and Gallagher are filmmakers that will be worth keeping an eye on.