Paul Schrader; the director of American Gigolo; brought a similar kind of sexual chic to this explicit horror movie. A remake of the beautiful; haunting 1942 Cat People; this version takes off from the same idea: that a woman (Nastassja Kinski); a member of a race of feline humans; will revert to her animalistic self when she has sex. Arriving to meet her brother (Malcolm McDowell) in New Orleans; she finds herself disturbed by his sexual presence. A zoo curator (John Heard) becomes fascinated by her; but he will discover that her kittenish ways are just the tip of the claw. Schrader dresses the story up in a stylish; glossy production; keyed on Kinski's green-eyed; thick-lipped beauty; it's hard to think of another actress in 1982 who could so immediately suggest a cat walking on two legs. Luckily Kinski had a European attitude toward her body; because this film has plenty of poster-art nudity. There's also lots of gore and some wacky flashbacks to the ancient tribe of cat people; who hold rituals in an orange desert while Giorgio Moroder's music plays. Cat People doesn't really make all this come together; but it's always interesting to look at; and the dreadful mood lingers. --Robert Horton