Cat People

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Cat People

Released Dec 6, 1942

1h 13m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

72 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon), a New York City--based fashion designer who hails from Serbia, begins a romance with marine engineer Oliver Reed (Kent Smith). After the couple gets married, Oliver becomes concerned about Irena's notion that she is cursed and may transform into a large cat in the heat of passion. Confiding in his beautiful assistant, Alice Moore (Jane Randolph), about his marital issues, Oliver unwittingly triggers Irena's curse, with tragic results.

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Critics Consensus

Influential noir director Jacques Tourneau infused this sexy, moody horror film with some sly commentary about the psychology and the taboos of desire.

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Mildred Martin

Philadelphia Inquirer

A weird little chiller called Cat People... is calculated to frighten you out of your wits and make you think twice before trusting anyone who arouses a feline's instinctive dislike.

Dec 30, 2020

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Len G. Shaw

Detroit Free Press

Simone makes her way through his combination of phantasy and reality, and comes off creditably in a part that calls for emotional repression.

Dec 30, 2020

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Mae Tinee

Chicago Tribune

Photography and settings are effective, and the naturalness of the dialog issuing from such a murk of the fantastic is very impressive.

Dec 30, 2020

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Peter Bell

Vague Visages

Director Tourneur utilizes the rich imagery of the King John legend and the Cat People throughout the film.

Jun 22, 2023

Full Review

Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

It's a classic for a reason.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 6, 2022

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

A classic about male fears of female sexuality and women’s unwitting complicity in those fears.

Rated: A+

Nov 23, 2022

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Christian K

A funny setup, this woman can't have sex cause it turns her into a cat that kills people.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/08/25

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That boi C

great movie! the oliver dude pisses me off a bit i felt like he did irena pretty dirty to get with that basic bih, anyways amazing film, very melancholy, val lewton is awesome, highly recommended

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/27/25

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thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas de terror são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom, e tem uma cena específica dela pensando estar sendo perseguida e daí chega o ônibus assustando ela, essa cena está na lista das top 100 maiores cenas assustadoras do mundo, essa lista pode ver no wikipedia como (The 100 Scariest Movie Moments).

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/13/25

Full Review

Lau S

I love this horror movie! Damn great!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/29/25

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Madoka A

Fantastic. Spooky. Funny. Great product! Really good!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/23/25

Full Review

Dallas H

The Lewton Bus jump scare is the bane of my horror movie watching existence. As wisely yelled by Brick in Anchorman, "LOUD NOISES!" Beyond this irksome creation, I like the movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/20/24

Full Review

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Jacques Tourneur

Director

Simone Simon

Irena Dubrovna Reed

Kent Smith

Oliver Reed

Tom Conway

Dr. Louis Judd

Jane Randolph

Alice Moore

Jack Holt

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Synopsis

Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon), a New York City--based fashion designer who hails from Serbia, begins a romance with marine engineer Oliver Reed (Kent Smith). After the couple gets married, Oliver becomes concerned about Irena's notion that she is cursed and may transform into a large cat in the heat of passion. Confiding in his beautiful assistant, Alice Moore (Jane Randolph), about his marital issues, Oliver unwittingly triggers Irena's curse, with tragic results.

Director: Jacques Tourneur
Producer: Val Lewton
Screenwriter: DeWitt Bodeen
Production Co: RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 6, 1942, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 17, 2016
Runtime: 1h 13m

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