 Dir. Adrian Tofei, Romania, 87 mins Overall, as a bleak, psychological character study I thought this was an effective effort done on a low budget, and goes for me towards the top of my list of top found footage movies. I certainly hope there are some further movies in the offing from this director. I’m always very much up for exploring new climes in horror, and I can’t think that I’ve often been quite as far east in Europe as Romania. In fact, this was a film that had appeared on my radar a number of times since its release, so when this one popped up (fully legally licenced!) on the Kings of Horror YouTube channel I pressed play pretty quickly. I knew a little of the central premise of this one, which had always interested me, so would it live up to my expectations in the end? Be My Cat is a found footage film – Romania’s first, if you take in the movie’s tagline – following director Adrian as he sets out to make a sort of ‘promo reel’ designed to make his ultimate dream come true. That dream? To have Anne Hathaway come to Romania to make a film with him, which would be called Be My Cat. Meta enough for you so far? Good, because it’s going to get more so. As a director Adrian is extremely method, and sets the three actresses he hires – all of whom believe they are acting in a real film rather than a test piece – difficult challenges before things take an even darker turn. I sort of can’t say too much more than that, so I’ll move on to some of the other points I wanted to make about the movie. First up – director Adrian Tofei takes the lead role himself in this piece, and I personally feel like he smashes it. There is some debate on his merits, if you read the reviews and comments, and you may know within ten minutes if this is for you because you’ll sense roughly how you feel about his performance. There’s also something fascinating about a director making a film in which he also acts, playing a director who is also an actor… wait a second, my head is spinning… see, I warned you it would get even more meta! The whole time he has this manic energy and enthusiasm, and can jump from seemingly innocuous and disarming to dangerous in a matter of heartbeats. I was really fascinated with the line that Adrian (the on-screen performer!) was confused about between actor and character, and blaming some of the more heinous acts in the film on being ‘in character’, so it wasn’t him per se. It’s a really interesting trip if you can get into the zone with this movie. It does remain a found footage movie, and if that is something that turns you cold this likely will too – though admittedly I’m not always dead keen, I’d argue this is one of the better examples of the subgenre. It’s hard to know exactly how to feel as the movie comes to an end, and it does prod and poke at various interesting questions en route. I’d also have to say that for the real gorehounds out there, this one is much more about suggestion than it is the real hard stuff – you’ll probably find other movies out there to better suit you. The acting is generally decent, and while some say Tofei’s performance is too jittery and unfocused, I think those are the qualities that make it – this is a man obsessed by a single goal whilst battling his inner demons to try to desperately achieve it. Overall, as a bleak, psychological character study I thought this was an effective effort done on a low budget, and goes for me towards the top of my list of top found footage movies. I certainly hope there are some further movies in the offing from this director. RATING: 8/10. This is certainly quirky, and feels really quite different to a lot of what I’ve seen. It drew to mind bits of things like Tabloid Vivant or Eat or Starry Eyes, with their dark take on the process of making film and art, but still offered a meta version I’d not encountered before. It is chilling, and grimly fascinating, but I couldn’t call it the most extreme offering of all time. I couldn’t call it entertaining precisely, but it sure held my attention rapt throughout, with plenty of uncomfortably moments, so happy to give this a very solid 8/10. Now, I wonder if Anne Hathaway has watched this one yet…?   |
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