FOXSYLVANIA

I recently revisited the 1992 movie of Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers, and found it worthy of a second look even if the film is now over thirty years old. Cats often figure in King’s works, including Cat’s Eye and Pet Sematary, and they are quite prominent in Sleepwalkers as defenders against supernatural and demonic creatures, a role to which they are often assigned in other cultures.

Now special effects have improved considerably in the past several decades, but the somewhat dated images of the Sleepwalkers almost helps blur the line between horror and dark comedy, adding to the picture rather than detracting from it. It seems that Sleepwalkers are ancient, nomadic shapeshifters and energy vampires who can turn into human-sized werecats, and need to feed on the life force of young female virgins to survive…

Powers of the Sleepwalkers include a level of telekinesis, the ability to cast illusions, and make themselves or things become invisible through a power that they appropriately call “dimming.” Domestic cats are their only and ultimate enemy who can discern them readily, see through their human disguises, and inflict deadly wounds that burn the vampiric felines like acid, causing them ultimately to combust when sufficient damage has been inflicted…

When mother Mary and son Charles Brady come to town in search of anonymity and fresh meat, their house is stalked by a large number of domestic cats who see them for what the couple really is, and really can’t stand them at all. BTW, these shapeshifters are incestuous, and may be the last of their kind. The teenage-appearing son soon targets a likely virginal victim, but winds up tangling with and killing a deputy sheriff Andy, who travels with his cat Clovis in his squad car. The deputy doesn’t survive his encounter with the feline shapeshifter, but his cat does…and is severely ticked off at the loss of his master, hovering by his body in a heartbreaking scene. It then becomes woe to the wicked time…

Mortally wounded by his intended victim and Clovis, the teenage-appearing shape-shifter makes it home where his infuriated mother takes out numerous cops before being assaulted by a virtual cat army organized by Clovis. Although some cats bravely fall in battle, they ultimately watch her body burn with an unflinching intensity that only cats can muster. Stephen King himself has a cameo as (what else?) a cemetery caretaker…and 126 real cats as well as fake mechanical and puppet cats were used in the picture…

The intended victim of the shape-shifters goes on to adopt Clovis, who proves that domestic housecats are not to be underestimated! Sleepwalkers may be seen on Netflix until the end of the month…

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