Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
After years of separation, Irena Gallier and her minister brother, Paul, reunite in New Orleans. When zoologists capture a wild panther, Irena is drawn to the cat – and zoo curator Oliver to her. Soon, Paul will have to reveal the family secret: that when sexually aroused, they revert into predatory jungle cats.
Paul Schrader's remake is visually sumptuous — Giorgio Moroder's synth score pairs with John Bailey's lush, dreamlike cinematography to create a genuinely distinctive erotic-horror atmosphere that elevates the material well above its pulpy premise. The acting is uneven: Nastassja Kinski brings an otherworldly fragility that works, but Malcolm McDowell's incestuous brother tips toward camp and supporting players are thin. The plot is where the film stumbles most — the mythology is underdeveloped and the pacing drags badly in the middle act, never fully committing to either horror or psychological depth. The incest-as-curse premise had novelty potential but Schrader doesn't push it far enough to feel truly transgressive or original beyond its surface eroticism. The ending, while attempting a poetic resolution with the cage/transformation finale, feels rushed and emotionally hollow rather than haunting — a missed opportunity for the transcendence the film clearly aimed for.