Tabitha the tabby cat casts a guilty shadow over those responsible for the cruel murder of her mistress, once upon a midnight dreary. John Gilling’s deft direction coupled with DP Arthur Grant’s beautiful B&W photography with often skewed perspectives elevates this mundanity slightly above its core camp value and outright hokeyness. The characters often overact to achieve some sense of terror concerning said kitty that looks more friendlier then menacing. This probably reads better as a novella when we can “hear” the internal monologues about guilt-ridden consciences as opposed to giving them concrete value in a perfectly normal Felis Catus.
The plot is rather absurd and needs the audience to suspend disbelief in order to accept the overacting emotional impact upon the criminal's psyches. There are unintentional laugh-out-loud moments when the conspirators go crazy about the felony feline by throwing knives, screaming and having heart attacks. One of the criminals is attacked by the cat but we never see it: he just appears with obviously fake scratches (I mean, the makeup artist didn't even give a fuck about verisimilitude!) on his face and say it clawed him while he napped. But this isn’t a "who-done-it" at all: Gilling reveals the culprit’s identity immediately after the bludgeoning murder in the opening sequence. The story is about how the gang of criminals faces judgment by pussycat! Will they succeed in their evil plan to gain the inheritance by forgery or will the original Last Will & Testament be discovered? I mean, why not find the document first before killing the poor old lady? Arthur Grant uses some neat lighting effects to give the cat glowing eyes but the close-ups still make the tabby appear friendly and overfed. Mikis Theodorakis’ score seems too strident and undermines any suspense that is created by the killer kitty, sometimes at odds with the skewed visuals. It’s an interesting score but better for another film that isn’t meant to be dependent on psychological dread.
All six conspirators meet their fate at the paws of their tormentor either directly or peripherally so Justice is satisfied. The nice granddaughter, innocently portrayed by the wonderful Barbara Shelley, gets what’s coming to her once the original document is discovered: her inheritance. And the murderous pussy retains its old haunt, a good luck charm for a new family.
Final Grade: (C)
