Written and directed by its star, Nicholas Tana, campy indie Hell’s Kitty is a bit of a love letter to people with cunty kitties and an appreciation for “pussy” humor. More importantly, it is loaded with meta goodies for die-hard horror lovers.
It was definitely the intro music that got me going right away—a take on satanic choral music…with the chorus actually chant-singing “meow”. Pawesome.
The premise is about this single guy who lives in an apartment with his bitchy cat, which attacks every woman he brings home, leaving them a bloody mess. His best buddy from downstairs convinces him the cat is possessed and needs to be exorcised.
The goofy humor is cute, funny, and crass at first, but somewhere around the 35-minute mark it starts to fall flat, which was my cue to say, “This movie should have been edited by about 20 minutes.” I think in large part that’s due to the fact that this was originally a Webseries. It actually feels like little vignettes linked together at times, rather than a single, flowing narrative, with nothing significant happening to move the plot forward beyond a cycle of talking and horror dream sequences. The dream sequences are usually filled with throwbacks to older horror films, which is fun enough for sure, but it starts to feel like a novelty that keeps the film from ever getting to the point.
Even so, every well-versed horror nut should stick with it, because Tana drowns us in non-dream 80s horror references as he calls in a revolving door of psychics, mediums, and men of the cloth played by horror and pop culture icons old and new to try to rid his pussy of its evil.
But who will purge the demon in a swirl of cheesy 80s-style special effects…and who will become Purina Fancy Feast?Will it be:
–Lee Meriwether
–horror kings Bill Oberst, Jr. And Doug Jones
–porn queen Nina Hartley, who doesn’t age
–80s horror queens Adrienne Barbeau, Lynn Lowry, or Kelli Maroney
–contemporary scream queens Elissa Dowling or Victoria De Mare
–Creep Creepersin as a Killer Klown from Outer Space
–the ORIGINAL Isaac and Malachai from Children of the Corn
–or Michael Berryman…
Adding to the fun, things take a gay turn when the film suddenly turns black and white (it’s gay and horror related).
Plus, hot Pet Sematary daddy Dale Midkiff even makes an appearance, doing a Rocky Horror drag number…
I actually put off seeing this, but now it is a MUST!!!