#this featurette thing gave me chills
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Frogrry in the My Policeman Featurette
#AWWW#harry styles#hs#my policeman#mp#harry gifs#hlcreators#hledits#im crying#this featurette thing gave me chills#omg#frogrry
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apocalypse: tom holland imagine
a/n | this is my second submission for @hollandsrecs 1k bingo event! truth be told i hardcore fell in love with this as i wrote it and lowkey want to dedicate more parts/lil featurettes to it... 👀
summary: a toxic storm that has wiped out most of the world’s population has you taking shelter and fighting for survival with an unexpected ally.
tom x fem reader | contains alluded family/pet death, mentions of depression, angst, language, and generally morbid themes, but also fluff, love and hope so there’s that | word count: 2.7k | enjoy!
Ever since the rain, you’d lost everything.
That dammed day the skies turned black, your family had been one of the Burned. But you’d been stuck inside with a cold instead of going out with them that morning, and you didn’t know then that you’d never see them again. You’d woken up to earth-shaking thunders and faint shrieks, opening the windows to find torrential rain that resembled pure tar pouring from the sky. The power had gone out, and without any streetlights, you couldn’t see anything in front of you past your windowpanes, even though it was only noon. Without a clock, anyone would’ve looked outside and thought it was midnight. The only thing you had was a crank-powered radio your family kept for hurricanes, and you listened and learned through static and horror that the rain falling wasn’t rain at all — it was acid. And nobody caught in the first storm had survived.
It rained black for a week straight, and you had to ration what food and water you had as you glued yourself to the radio, hoping to hear that maybe, just maybe, somebody had turned up saying they’d survived the rain, and that there were other survivors taking shelter elsewhere until they could safely come home. But the whole of England had been swallowed by the storm, and there was no hope for clear skies ahead. Yes, you were safe, but you couldn’t go outside. You couldn’t see outside. And you were completely, entirely, and wholly alone.
With each passing day you spiraled down further, darkness of the earth encroaching deeper within you, realizing that your family wasn’t coming back. Nobody was. You fell asleep in the dark listening to the thrashing of the rain that you had gotten used to, tears streaming down your face, and cursed your unsteady heartbeat for mimicking the rhythm of the weighted raindrops hitting your roof.
On what would’ve been day eight of the rain, you awoke to a dull orange light bathing your bedroom walls. You shivered under the pile of quilts you’d amassed as it was autumn in London and electricity was a luxury of the past. Confused at the image of your own hands in light, you bolted upright at the complete silence and stillness in the air. You moved your curtains aside to see the world painted in a bleak tangerine mist—and there was no black rain falling from the sky.
Your breath hitched in your throat and you clambered over your bed to reach your radio, tuning station to station, disbelief ringing in your ears.
“...it appears that the rain has ceased...”
“...the storm has lifted over London-”
“Officials have yet to deem it safe to go outside as we continue to track where the rain could have possibly gone, and if it is coming back...”
You felt unable to take your stare off the outside as your mind raced. Could you finally open your door, try to find other survivors? Was it safe? Did you even care? The stiff air in your house had you going stir crazy, depressed, out of your mind with delirium. Your heart was racing with no hope of slowing down; you had to try to go outside.
Without thinking you opened the front door, holding your breath. Your eyes still hadn’t adjusted to the light and you felt blinded, falling against the doorframe. Taking uneasy, slow steps onto the street, you shivered into your sweatshirt and peered through blinds of unmarked houses to see if anyone else had made it through, knocking on doors and waiting on silence. Cars were left with doors open, remnants of daily activities frozen in time in front of you, and just the sight sent another wave of chills through you. Was there anyone left?
Only a few houses away did you hear faint footsteps, getting louder and louder, were they...running? You whipped around in all directions but couldn’t see past a few feet in front of you due to the lingering mist in the air. The footsteps became increasingly menacing, and within half a minute you heard a voice.
“Hey, are you fucking crazy?”
Who was that?
You felt a strong pair of hands take hold of your shoulders and pull you into an empty garage, closing it behind them, shining a single beam of light in your eyes so you so all you could see of them was their orange-inspired silhouette.
“Gotta take cover...” he muttered in the chaos.
“Hey, you can’t just grab-”
“What do you think you’re doing wandering around outside?”
“You almost gave me a heart attack!”
“...I’m sorry.” his voice became a thousand times softer. “I...I haven’t seen anybody else in a week.”
Your own heart sank further in your chest than it already was.
“Neither have I.”
“You don’t have any family?”
“They were burned.”
“...right.”
“Sorry, who even are you?” you asked, shaking, the reality of the situation hitting you with a bolt of fear.
“Right, I’m Tom, Tom Holland. Sorry. I live a few streets down.” Strangely, you didn’t feel at all threatened by him.
“Why are you outside?”
“I’ve...I’ve been by myself, my dog was in the yard when the storm came. When it was quiet this morning, I thought I heard him bark...I couldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t go looking. It’s stupid, I know. He’s gone.”
“Where’s your family?” you mirrored his weary interrogation.
Tom looked down, stifling back a soft whimper. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest and quickly changed the subject, trying to regain his composure.
“Look, I don’t know who else has made it through the week, but from what I’ve gathered, there aren’t many survivors, at least not around here. And since we’re both alone and the rain is coming again, I think we should stick together-”
A pang of fear. “Wait, how do you know it’s coming again?” A pulse of trepidation. “I don’t know you and I don’t trust you.” Tom grimaced at the inevitable struggle this was going to be—he didn’t care about who you were, he just wanted to survive—and flashed the light up onto the ceiling so you could see each other better.
Synchronously you both let out a breath of relief that you were likely the same age, neither of you looking too much like a serial killer, both of you...well, beautiful, actually. But he’d never tell you that.
“Does it matter? Half the world is dead. And you found someone else who survived, accidentally, and you’re about to turn around and flee back to face whatever comes next alone?”
You pondered what he said and reluctantly realized he was right. You would be absolutely crazy to willingly go back to where you were before and keep on going alone. How long could you survive like that?
“Okay, fine. But there will need to be boundaries.” You felt a sense of relief thinking about having another body nearby if another wave of darkness ever came, but you tried to push that thought out of your head before it could manifest.
“Whatever. Can you grab some of those batteries over there? The roof of my house is starting to give, so we’ll have to go to yours after I pick up some things.”
You nodded and found a box to fill up with anything you could find that looked useful. Tom opened the garage door again, eyebrows scrunched together in worry, and looked back at you.
“Stay on my left so I know where you are if the mist gets in the way. Try not to get any water droplets on your skin. If you hear or see anything, tell me.” And with that, he was off. He seemed much more suited to the survivor lifestyle than you did.
You started walking with a huff. “And my name is y/n. Thanks for asking.”
~
You made it back to your house a long time later, and you were exhausted, feeling as though your lungs had been filled with toxic fumes from being in the mist.
Tom set his things down and walked around your house, weaving in and out of rooms like he was on a mission.
“What are you doing?” You stared at him puzzled as he stood on the couch and moved his hands in weird patterns along the ceiling.
“Trying to see if there are any cracks that water could get through,” he said, deep in concentration.
“Can you get off the couch?”
“Sorry.” he coughed.
You spent the next two days mending any loose boards or fixtures in your house, running into a lot of awkward conversation and sleeping at opposite ends of the house at night. The headspace you were both in was a hard one to shake, but you couldn’t deny that having someone else to navigate this new meager existence with helped tremendously. And you could tell Tom had a soft side that would show itself the more that you both sat on the couch together, wrapped in your own blankets, listening to the radio static for the hourly news updates on the storm tracking. In those moments, you would look at each other when you heard the voices come on, a glint of hope passing between your eyes, growing closer in the cold, pale air of your living room.
One night, the broadcaster put on a song in between updates, letting Nocturne No. 2 by Chopin flow through the speakers, and you and Tom danced to the simple melody together, just content to feel that warm feeling of a smile again. The change of pace was more than welcome, and you held each other close and spun around the living room as if it were a regular evening in a regular life; as if you hadn’t collided running from the apocalypse.
“You never told me you could dance,” you smiled at Tom.
“You never asked.”
On the fifth morning that Tom woke up in the guest room across your house, you were the first thing he thought of as his eyes fluttered open. Being in your presence had been his only refuge since the rain had come, and he had been on the brink of mental collapse before he ran into you wandering the streets that day. In a way, you had saved him from himself, and he still barely knew you outside of a few soft moments you’d shared.
He noticed you were still in your room with the door shut instead of out on the couch, listening for news and reading like you usually were, and went to knock on your door when he heard muffled cries from behind it.
“y/n, are you okay?”
You sniffled and hurriedly wiped away the streamlines of tears that had streaked down your cheeks.
“Yeah, fine. Sorry.”
“Can I come in?” He opened the door without waiting for a reply. You were sitting against your bed on the floor, with a photo album spread open on your lap, looking at pictures of your family. You looked up at Tom through blurry eyes. “I miss them.”
His whole expression softened and he came to sit on the floor next to you, moving closer than he’d ever been to you. You took a leap and leaned into his chest, and he put an arm around you, pulling you in closer. You let out another silent cry, and he lightly rubbed your arm up and down with his hand.
“I know.”
You reveled in his embrace and warmth, and tried to close the album, but he held it open.
“Tell me about them.”
“You don’t want to hear about that,” you sniffled.
“Yes, I do.”
He took a blanket off of your bed and wrapped you both up in it, sheltering you from the cold in the air, and you pointed at each picture and gave him an anecdote about every one that was taken, already feeling like they were stories of a past life. You smiled and laughed and even cried together, sitting for hours exchanging stories about your childhoods that weren’t really all that different. Before you knew it, it grew dark.
The house felt more sultry then, with the lantern you used at night burning its oil and the connection between you growing more palpable with every passing second. But you were both shortly jolted out of your trance by a loud alarm screeching out from the radio. It was choppy and hard to decipher.
“...there appears to be activity-”
“Reports are flooding in-”
“Red alert; we repeat, red ale-”
You and Tom stared at each other shell shocked for a moment before he hurried over to the windows.
“It’s dark, y/n.”
“It’s nighttime,” you tried to reason.
“Look at the clock for me,” his voice was shaky.
You felt your blood run cold as you did.
“It’s...3:30 in the afternoon.”
You both thought it was nighttime, but it’s only because the sky had turned black.
“Tom...”
The radio tuned on again.
“If anyone is out there listening...it appears....that the rain has returned. We do not know how long this second wave will last, or when we will be able to broadcast again. We urge you all to stay sheltered and not to go outside. May god be wi-”
Another loud beep, and the signal had disappeared.
You let out a panicked whimper and Tom ran to and hugged you like he would lose you if you didn’t.
You heard a clash of thunder, and your windows shook. Then, the unmistakeable, dreadful sound of a torrential, violent rain. A tornado siren tolled in the distance, filling the watery noise with an abysmal blare. You could see nothing but the lantern in front of you; your body going into shock as your outside was warmed by Tom’s embrace but chilled to the core with fear.
"We need to go take cover,” Tom said quietly, lacing his fingers with yours. The storage room attached to the garage was the only one without windows, and you had set it up days ago with blankets, pillows, candles and food just in case you needed it, all while praying you wouldn’t.
Your legs barely carried you to the small room and Tom helped you to settle down on the mattress inside. He went to sit on the floor next to you, but you refused to let go of his hand.
“Tom...stay with me. Please.”
He silently obliged and laid down next to you, covering himself with the same blankets, pulling you close into him and wrapping his arms around your body, and he smelled like home. You closed your eyes and tried to take in every molecule of him, felt your whole chest sink down, the pressure that filled your head dissipating. Wrapped here in his arms, you could’ve almost forgotten that, on the other side of this wall, the world was ending all over again.
He breathed you in all the same, thanking anything that was left that he had you to cling to.
"We’ll be safe here,” he almost whispered.
“I’m scared, Tom.”
“I know.”
You took a breath to speak, and he pulled his head back just enough so that he could look into your eyes. They searched yours frantically, like he was just seeing you for the first time, only by the light of the lantern.
“But I’m a little less scared with you.”
He let out a slow sigh, attempting to steady his pulse, and rested his forehead against yours, bringing a hand up to idle in the crook of your neck. You didn’t know it, but he needed you as much as you did him in that moment.
“We’re in this together, y/n. You and me.”
A window shattered somewhere outside, followed by what sounded like a loud, shrill scream. You looked away in horror.
“Hey, hey. Look at me. Focus on me.” he spoke softly and turned your chin back with his thumb, rubbing your cheek in slow, calming circles. “We’re gonna survive this.”
“H-how do you know?”
“Because I’ll be damned if I was only given a week to know you.”
“Tom...”
There was another vicious rumble of thunder, and your body shook involuntarily. It sounded like the heavens themselves were opening up onto your ceiling. Tom squeezed you tighter and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead.
“Talk to me, love.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
You stayed that way for countless hours, until the lantern ran out of oil, until you both were lost in dreams of days where the sun shone again. Maybe, one day you would be able to see it together.
tagging some mutual pals :)
@peterspideysstuff @living-life-underoos @chloecreatesfictions @londonspidey @parkersroses @marvelhoesworld @tomhollandsmut @sad-thinker-over @marvelousnat @bunbun9396 @thegreatestlovesofalltime @spideysquackson13 @photoshopart15 @sailingintothenight
#hrficbingo1k#tom holland#tom holland imagine#tom holland imagines#tom holland x reader#tom holland blurb#tom holland blurbs#tom holland one shot#tom holland one shots#tom holland fanfic#tom holland fanfics#tom holland fanfiction#this is my best work yet imo and i'm very very happy about it
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The Three Musketeers
@midtownsciencenerd I finished the first chapter!
@hollandstarks @cringyholland @takemespidey @harrison-osterfield-appreciation @osterfield @intheheartofpeterparker @intheheartoftomholland @gounderoos
Okay all ya’ll I finally finished this first chapter at like midnight! I was bored and sleep deprived. But I did it! If you don’t want to be tagged, let me know I will remove you. I tagged those who might like this. If you know of anyone who would like to be tagged whenever I post a new part. Let me know!
Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1: The Meeting
It was just one of those days. I mean like freaking awkward. Not surprising being me, to be honest. I had finally made my big breakthrough performance on the tv show Suits. My character was Harvey Specter’s teenage daughter, Lyncoln Specter. I had to get a full on weave of blonde hair, I looked so strange without my afro. But it was for the show and practically every essence of my life, nowadays, was for the show.
Today I was doing a photoshoot for the show, then I’d get rushed into an interview. I was wearing my blue flowered dress with light brown heels. My hair was braided up into a flower crown with some loose strands framing my face. I had a light dusting of makeup on my cheeks. I hate makeup, truth be told. My eyeshadow was silver with black eyeliner. And boy, did I feel fabulous.
“Alright, Lexi. You’re all set to go!” My makeup artist chirped.
“Thanks Damian.” I smiled. “You did AMAZING as usual.”
“That’s only because I’ve you ask a canvas.” He winked.
Damian was my favorite. He always complimented me and cheered me on from the sidelines. He was definitely battling my best friend Maddy, for the biggest fan label. I gave Damian a big thumbs-up and walked out the the studio. It wasn’t that far from my trailer. Yeah, I got a trailer, but primarily from the amount of products they used on me.
As soon as I reached the photoshoot door, I felt like screaming. I was terrified, but I lifted my head and pushed open the door.
“Hello Alexis!” A tall blond woman called, waving at me. “I’m Amber, and I’ll be your photographer today.”
“Hey Amber, it’s nice to meet you.” I grinned, smoothing down my dress. “Let’s get this show on the road!”
I began posing as she instructed. And, oh boy, did I feel like an idiot!!!!!!! I hated pictures of myself and I already knew they’d be airbrushing the living daylights out of these photos. And Amber was no fun. I was faking a smile and was on the verge of tears because I felt so stupid. You could tell Amber was having a hard time as well, but it wasn’t her face that was going to be posted all over the World Wide Web.
Suddenly the door behind Amber was thrown open. The sunlight blinded me so I couldn’t actually see. But I could hear two OBVIOUSLY british voices. But I was too busy internally screaming about my eyes to hear what they were saying.
All of the sudden an arm was draped around my shoulder.
“Hey! Mind if we jump in?” A voice asked.
“Who in the-” I stopped when I saw who it was.
TOM FREAKING HOLLAND AND HARRISON OSTERFIELD! Yeah trust me, I almost fainted.
“Uh sure…..” I shrugged trying not to fangirl to hard.
“Awesome!” Tom smiled at me.
Harrison shook his head and stood beside me as well.
“Hey, it’s okay to smile, you know.” Harrison said, poking my cheek.
I rolled my eyes. “No really? You don’t say.” I crossed my arms and stared into his blue eyes.
Harrison smirked and shrugged. I turned back to the camera and smiled.
“Just relax.” Tom whispered in my ear. “Pretend it’s just us hanging out.”
“O-okay….” I stammered, internally cursing myself for not calming down.
I look over at Tom and really noticed what he was wearing. He looked like he had walked out of a wedding ceremony. Like, boy what? He still had his arm around my shoulders and I was trying not to faint. The more I acted like this was normal, the more I started to loosen up. Soon I was laughing with the two boys like I had known them for years. Amber looked a bit confused, but continued to snap photos.
“Tom we’ve got to go to your shoot now.” Harrison said, after some time. “We should let these ladies get back to their shoot.”
“Oh alright.” Tom said frowning. “Keep smiling!”
“Thanks Tom.” I smiled back.
They walked out waving.
“Gosh darn it….. They don’t even know my name.” I internally facepalmed.
A few hours later I left my shoot and began walking towards my car. I saw Harrison opening a door and walk out. Part of me wanted to yell, “HEY!” And run over, but I was in heels and I am not athletic. So, I just awkwardly kept walking.
“Hey you!” Harrison shouted.
But I couldn’t believe he was calling to me so I didn’t turn around. I just kept walking.
“Hey you in the blue dress! Wait!” He yelled, running up to me.
“Oh hey…” I said, turning. “Didn’t know you were talking to me.”
“I didn’t catch your name.” Harrison gasped.
“Oh, um, I’m Lexi.” I replied. “I’m not that cool….”
“I’ve heard of you. You’re that new up-and-coming actress that everyone is freaking out over.” Harrison grinned. “My sister thinks you're pretty cool.”
“Oh, that - that’s cool….” I smiled back, honestly confused over where this conversation was going.
“Anyway, we, Tom and I, had a blast on your photoshoot. And you’re new to the whole celeb thing, so here are our numbers. If you ever need anything, just call, or text.” Harrison replied, handing me a small sheet of paper.
I took it, my heart practically exploding in shock. “Holy. Wow. Um, thank you so much. I didn’t expect this.”
“Don’t mention it! It’s our pleasure.” Harrison nodded casually.
“I’ll text you soon… I’ve got to go to my interview now.” I said, suddenly realizing that I still had responsibilities.
We waved goodbye and I quickly sped walked to my car. I quickly got in and apologized to my manager. We sped off to the interview, while on the drive over I entered Tom and Haz’s numbers into my phone. I wasn’t sure who to text first, so I started a group chat.
Me: “Hey Tom and Harrison. This is Lexi, the girl whose photoshoot you crashed.”
Tom: “HEY! Glad you texted!”
Haz: “Hey! You actually wrote. I got sort of worried there.”
Me: “What? Why would a girl like me reject two British guys?”
Tom: “Haha good one. I heard from Haz that you have an interview.”
Me: “Yeah… It’s not with a famous person….. It’s one of those featurette ones.”
Tom: “Still awesome! Let us know how it goes!”
Haz: “Yeah! Maybe we can hang out after!”
Me: “Awesome! Talk to you guys later!”
I put my phone in my purse and got out. The interview went fairly well, just the basic questions about my character and my costars. I had a hard time focusing somewhat because of Tom and Haz. It took more time than I thought, but she was nice and funny. Soon after the interview I texted the guys about where I should meet them. I went to a hotel in the upper part of the city. And HOLY COW! This place was fancy!
I put my phone to my ear and called Tom. “Hey, I’m here. But this place is massive and -”
“Hey don’t worry about it! I’ll be down in a minute!” Tom interrupted me.
“Okay, I’m in the Lobby and everyone is staring at me.” I replied. “Please hurry.”
“I’m in the lobby now.” Tom said. “Wait, I see you. Don’t move.”
Tom hung up and I honestly didn’t see him at all. So I stood still to appease him and I waited. I felt a hand tap my shoulder and I turned around.
“Hey they didn’t kick you out!” Tom grinned.
“Luckily.” I replied smoothly. “Thanks for inviting me!”
“Yeah come on, Haz is at the restaurant waiting for us.”
“Okay.” I nodded and followed him.
Tom and I didn’t say much but it was okay. I was too busy looking at all of the architecture of the hotel lobby to pay attention to Tom. (Don’t kill me okay, I like architecture.) It didn’t take us long to get to Harrison.
“Hey! I got a table for 3.” Harrison stated, waving at Tom and me. “The hostess almost didn’t believe me.”
“Can you blame her Haz?” Tom asked. “You aren’t pretty enough for two dates.”
“Ouch.” I muttered, trying not to laugh.
“As if you could get a date, you 12 year old.” Haz sassed back.
“Okay ladies, you’re both pretty.” I interrupted
Honestly the dinner went by in a blur and we were laughing and talking like old friends. Nothing could have changed our joy. They invited me up to their massive hotel room and I decided that no harm could come of hanging out with them, since I had no plans the next day.
I had a small bag of clothes with me, since I was going to be in a hotel that night anyway. I followed them to their room.
“Alrighty… We have two beds. But I can sleep on the couch.” Harrison said as soon as we had entered the hotel room.
“Oh I can take the couch.” I said, in a soft voice. “I do that all the time.”
“No, no, no.” Tom cut me off. “We can’t let you.”
“Okay, Brit…. I can handle this.” I replied patting his shoulder. “I don’t mind, these couches look better than my bed in my room.”
“Well before we go to bed, we can just chill out if you want.” Tom suggested.
“Sure, why not!” I said, nodding in agreement. “I heard that some new interviews will be on TV tonight.”
“Cool, my bed is the biggest and I’ve got a TV in there.” Tom commented.
We walked into Tom’s room after changing out of our fancy clothes. We chilled out on his bed, flipping through the channels. None of us could agree on what to watch. We bickered and dissed each other's shows. Finally, I got tired of them bickering and smacked them both with a throw pillow.
“OW WHAT THE FUCK?!” Tom yelped, falling off the bed.
“LEXI!” Harrison shouted, pulling the pillow from my arms.
“STOP BEING SO LOUD!” I yelled back, trying to retrieve my weapon from Harrison.
“Oh no you don’t!” Tom snapped tackling me into the bed. “You are not allowed to have pillows!”
“Get off me Tom! I do what I want!” I shouted back, poking him in the chest and ribs. “I refuse to be held down! I AM FIRE! I AM DEATH!”
Harrison was trying to pull Tom off of me and laughing. “Tom! No! Release her!”
“THIS IS WAR!” Tom bellowed pushing Harrison off and attacking me with a pillow.
I screamed struggling to protect my face and get out from underneath Tom’s toned body. Harrison had fallen over laughing at Tom and me as we smacked each other with pillows. I managed to get my hands on a pillow and wrestle Tom. I was on top of him straddling his waist, my hair a mess. I was poised to do my final assault when someone knocked on the door.
“Shit.” Harrison said, lowering his phone.
“Were you videoing this?” I hissed.
“Shhhh! It might be the cops!” Tom whispered.
I snorted. “The cops of what? It’s only 10 o’clock in the evening.”
Tom sat up, causing me to fall backwards onto his lap. We all looked towards the door.
“So who wants to get that?” I asked in a low voice.
“If they knock again, we answer.” Harrison replied. “All of us.”
The knock never came.
“Well that’s weird….” I mused. “You guys didn’t get room service. So…?”
“I don’t know…. Someone could’ve
been yelling at us to be quiet.” Tom replied, pulling the pillow from my grasp.
“We are really loud.” I said sliding off of his lap and collapsing beside him.
Haz flopped down beside me and grinned. “For the record, this was all your fault.”
“Uh no it was not!” I exclaimed punching his arm. “I am innocent of all crimes!”
“Yeah keep telling yourself that….” Tom snorted, stifling a yawn.
“Don’t yawn!” Harrison hissed.
“Harrison!” I exclaimed. “It’s almost midnight.”
Harrison glanced at me and rolled his eyes. I half-smiled and rubbed my eyes. We fell into a comfortable silence. I felt as if I had known them forever. I had no idea the storm coming towards me, because of this chance meeting. I drifted off to sleep with my head on Harrison's shoulder and Tom’s legs intertwined with mine.
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Horror in Shadow: CAT PEOPLE Turns 75
New Post has been published on https://nofspodcast.com/horror-shadow-cat-people-turns-75/
Horror in Shadow: CAT PEOPLE Turns 75
When we think of classic horror — real vintage, black and white horror of the 30s and 40s, we don’t often think scary. We think of the Universal Monsters. Deservedly lauded and beloved as those films are, they aren’t particularly frightening. Universal’s horror output was revolutionary, heavy on atmosphere, brimming with brilliant themes and bold character studies. But their monsters were so in your face, the primary effect was more disturbing than chilling.
Having been raised on the Universal Monster films, I never expected a horror film from the 40’s to genuinely scare me. I love Universal Horror, and the silent horror before. I love campy 50’s horror and the technicolor dreams of Hammer Horror. But in my mind, these are all about the glorious atmosphere. As a young horror fan, I always assumed truly scary horror began in the 60’s and came to full fruition in the 70’s. All that changed when I saw Cat People (1942).
To be specific, I saw a clip of Cat People. I was a teenage film nerd, turning on TCM after school as I often did. The channel was between features, and so I tuned in smack in the middle of a featurette about sound design. They were highlighting the scene in which Alice is swimming in her apartment’s basement pool.
The clip was short, not even the entire sequence. But I was terrified. The scene thrilled me in a way I expected from modern horror, but this was a film from 1942! I had to find out more. I immediately looked into the film and became enamored with the work of horror producer Val Lewton, whose filmography under RKO in the 40’s paved the way for modern horror.
December 6th marks the 75th anniversary of Cat People’s release. This film stands as a significant moment in the history of horror, and the first film and most famous film of Lewton’s brilliant career in the genre.
Unexpected Beginnings
Producer and horror visionary Val Lewton.
Val Lewton was a novelist and screenwriter working in Hollywood when RKO studios picked him to head a new horror unit in 1942. RKO saw how Universal was raking it in with their horror films, and wanted to see if they could repeat that success on a shoestring budget.
Lewton was tasked with producing films under three rules; 1. Each film would cost less than $150,000, 2. Each film would run under 75 minutes, 3. Each film would be built around studio provided, focus grouped titles.
Lewton took these potentially limiting parameters and produced incredibly smart, scary, and innovative horror. Cat People had a B-Movie title and a budget of just $134,000. But it is a revolutionary piece of horror film-making with scares that still hold up to this day.
Hidden in Shadow
In fact, Cat People is a unique example of a true genre maker. The way it builds tension and delivers scares directly influenced some of the most iconic modern horror films. Cat People also created tropes still in use in the best horror today.
Lewton made Cat People with his three time collaborator, director Jaques Tourner. Tourner would go on to direct film noir, and he imbued that genre’s signature style into the horror he made with Lewton. Cat People uses shadow, darkness and light to incredible effect.
Unlike the German Expressionist influences that ruled Universal Horror, Lewton’s films never felt fantastical or dreamlike. Rather, like film noir, they remained very grounded in the real world. But it’s a real world filled with shadows and darkness. Terrifying things hide just on the edges of everyday life, unseen, but threatening to seep into our world.
This base believe-ability is essential to what makes Cat People and the other films produced by Lewton so frightening. By making his films about average people in the contemporary world (the 1940’s, at the time), Lewton gave the sense that horror could befall anyone. It’s difficult to watch Frankenstein (1931) and imagine it’s events occurring in your own life. But Lewton’s films never offer that removal. This is the first major way Cat People paved the way for modern horror.
The Curse of the Past
Cat People follows Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon), a Serbian immigrant and fashion designer living in New York. While sketching a black panther in the Central Park Zoo, she meets Oliver Reed (Kent Smith), an engineer. They begin dating, and Oliver falls hard for her. Irena has her quirks, however. She is obsessed with legends surrounding her home village in Serbia. According to the stories, the village population turned to witchcraft during the medieval period, only to be killed by King John of Serbia. But a portion of the population escaped to the mountains, and their descendants survived.
Strange events surround Irena. Oliver buys her a kitten for a present, but the previously friendly animal becomes frightened and vicious the moment it sees her. When they visit the pet shop to return the kitten, the animals all screech in terror and rage at the site of Irena.
Oliver eventually proposes to Irena. To celebrate their wedding, they dine with friends at a Serbian restaurant. Snow falls beautifully outside, and the scene is festive and cozy. But a strange woman with cat-like features keeps staring at the table. In the middle of the revelry, she approaches and calls Irena “moya sestra,” before leaving. Irena, clearly shaken, explains it is Serbian for “my sister.”
The slow burn creepiness at work in the first act of Cat People is central to the style of Lewton’s films, and a significant influence on modern horror. The horror renaissance of the 60’s and 70’s was heavily built on the same structure. A succession of small, eerie events set the scene and build tension. The tension itself serves as the primary driving force that makes the eventual horror so effective.
Buses and Basements
After their marriage, Irena refuses any physical intimacy with her husband. It soon becomes clear that she believes she bears the curse of her village. She fears that passionate feelings or love, lust or rage could transform her into a deadly cat creature.
Oliver is concerned and compels his wife to begin seeing a psychiatrist. However, Dr. Louis Judd (Tom Conway) doesn’t seem too concerned with Irena’s well being. His attitude toward her is patronizing and predatory.
Meanwhile, Oliver, frustrated with the stress of his wife’s apparent mental illness, begins to grow closer to his coworker, Alice Moore (Jane Randolph). Irena discovers her husband’s betrayal, and Alice begins to sense something not quite human is stalking her.
Alice is the center of Cat People’s two most famous, and influential, sequences. The first of which birthed a technique that’s become an iconic horror trope.
Alice is walking home alone at night through Central Park. We see Irena begin to follow her. Each woman moves in and out of shadow, the sound of Irena’s heels clicking on the pavement as she follows her rival.
Finally, Irena moves into shadow, and the sound of her shoes stops. She doesn’t emerge. Alice becomes suddenly uneasy. She glances back at the dark and empty street behind her. Frightened, she begins to run. The camera closes up on her panicked face as a soft growl begins to emerge from behind her. The growl builds to a sudden hiss — that turns out to be the breaks of a bus pulling up to the stop. Alice, and the audience, jump at the sound, only to be relieved that its source is entirely harmless. But as Alice boards the bus, she glances warily at the rustling bushes behind her.
The technique of foreboding tension building to a harmless jump scare is well known to horror fans as a “cat scare.” The name derives from the frequent culprit behind the false fright being a noisy feline. The cat version has been overused to the point of parody, but the general structure of tension moving into a harmless jump scare to relieve the tension is still widely used. It’s simply a very effective way to create fear.
But before it was known as a “cat scare,” this trope was called a “Lewton Bus.” That’s because its trailblazing, and probably first use, was during this scene in Cat People. Lewton would use similar scares throughout his horror filmography, but this very effective example is also his first.
The other most iconic and influential scene comes later in the film. Alice is taking a nighttime swim in her apartment’s basement pool. She turns off the lights and prepares to leave, when a mysterious growling sound on the stairwell frightens her. Panicked, she jumps back into the pool for safety. As she glances around her, we see nothing but the moving shadows cast by the illuminated pool in the darkened room. A foreboding growl seems to move around the pool, but Alice and the viewer cannot see the creature from which it’s coming. Some of the shadows move in ways that seem independent of the water.
The scene is drawn out, bringing the viewer to the same precipice of panic as Alice. Finally, the growl becomes a vicious snarl and Alice begins to scream for help. The camera cuts to various dark corners of the room and ceiling as we hear Alice’s screams echo — a chilling effect. Finally, a human and seemingly harmless Irena turns on the light and asks “What is the matter?” It’s one of the scariest scenes in classic horror, and we never see anything but shadow.
The Horror of the Unseen
Much of the genius of the horror in Lewton’s films originated with budget constraints. The extremely low budget of Cat People couldn’t afford the dramatic special effects and makeup that would be required to show the creature. But this limitation actually worked well with Lewton’s idea of horror.
Lewton was an early proponent of the idea that what the audience can’t see is always scarier than what they can. In this way he welcomed his budget constraints as an opportunity to create horror that he believed would be far more effective than the Universal approach. His “less is more” approach pioneered techniques that made films like Jaws and Halloween work as well as they do.
If you haven’t explored Val Lewton’s filmography, Cat People is the perfect place to start. It demonstrates Lewton’s creativity — showing the innovation he could bring out of limitations. It’s short, smart, atmospheric, and frightening. If scary is something you don’t normally expect out of vintage horror, I suggest you give Lewton’s films a try. You may find yourself surprised by how much they haunt you.
#Cat People#cat people 75#cat people 75th anniversary#classic horror#horror anniversary#iconic horror#influential horror#Simone Simon#ValLewton#vintage horror
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The Three Musketeers
@midtownsciencenerd I know you asked about this! (Which made me so happy I cried, I thought everyone had forgotten about it.) It isn’t done. But I forgot how much I had posted. So I’m just going to keep posting everything PLUS the extra I’ve written.
@hollandstarks @cringyholland @takemespidey @harrison-osterfield-appreciation @osterfield @intheheartofpeterparker @intheheartoftomholland
I tagged all ya’ll because you all like Tom and Haz.... Sorry if they come across OOC... I’m trying to keep them close to what I know and how I think they’d act in these situations.....
Please leave me feedback or ideas of adventures these guys can have. I’ve got some ideas but I’m always open to more!
Also because I just watch Moana. I’ve been listening to How Far I’ll Go and it is my new favorite song...... Sorry that was random!
ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1: The Meeting
It was just one of those days. I mean like freaking awkward. Not surprising being me, to be honest. I had finally made my big breakthrough performance on the tv show Suits. My character was Harvey Specter’s teenage daughter, Lyncoln Specter. I had to get a full on weave of blonde hair, I looked so strange without my afro. But it was for the show and practically every essence of my life, nowadays, was for the show.
Today I was doing a photoshoot for the show, then I’d get rushed into an interview. I was wearing my blue flowered dress with light brown heels. My hair was braided up into a flower crown with some loose strands framing my face. I had a light dusting of makeup on my cheeks. I hate makeup, truth be told. My eyeshadow was silver with black eyeliner. And boy, did I feel fabulous.
“Alright, Lexi. You’re all set to go!” My makeup artist chirped.
“Thanks Damian.” I smiled. “You did AMAZING as usual.”
“That’s only because I’ve you ask a canvas.” He winked.
Damian was my favorite. He always complimented me and cheered me on from the sidelines. He was definitely battling my best friend Maddy, for the biggest fan label. I gave Damian a big thumbs-up and walked out the the studio. It wasn’t that far from my trailer. Yeah, I got a trailer, but primarily from the amount of products they used on me.
As soon as I reached the photoshoot door, I felt like screaming. I was terrified, but I lifted my head and pushed open the door.
“Hello Alexis!” A tall blond woman called, waving at me. “I’m Amber, and I’ll be your photographer today.”
“Hey Amber, it’s nice to meet you.” I grinned, smoothing down my dress. “Let’s get this show on the road!”
I began posing as she instructed. And, oh boy, did I feel like an idiot!!!!!!! I hated pictures of myself and I already knew they’d be airbrushing the living daylights out of these photos. And Amber was no fun. I was faking a smile and was on the verge of tears because I felt so stupid. You could tell Amber was having a hard time as well, but it wasn’t her face that was going to be posted all over the World Wide Web.
Suddenly the door behind Amber was thrown open. The sunlight blinded me so I couldn’t actually see. But I could hear two OBVIOUSLY british voices. But I was too busy internally screaming about my eyes to hear what they were saying.
All of the sudden an arm was draped around my shoulder.
“Hey! Mind if we jump in?” A voice asked.
“Who in the-” I stopped when I saw who it was.
TOM FREAKING HOLLAND AND HARRISON OSTERFIELD! Yeah trust me, I almost fainted.
“Uh sure…..” I shrugged trying not to fangirl to hard.
“Awesome!” Tom smiled at me.
Harrison shook his head and stood beside me as well.
“Hey, it’s okay to smile, you know.” Harrison said, poking my cheek.
I rolled my eyes. “No really? You don’t say.” I crossed my arms and stared into his blue eyes.
Harrison smirked and shrugged. I turned back to the camera and smiled.
“Just relax.” Tom whispered in my ear. “Pretend it’s just us hanging out.”
“O-okay….” I stammered, internally cursing myself for not calming down.
I look over at Tom and really noticed what he was wearing. He looked like he had walked out of a wedding ceremony. Like, boy what? He still had his arm around my shoulders and I was trying not to faint. The more I acted like this was normal, the more I started to loosen up. Soon I was laughing with the two boys like I had known them for years. Amber looked a bit confused, but continued to snap photos.
“Tom we’ve got to go to your shoot now.” Harrison said, after some time. “We should let these ladies get back to their shoot.”
“Oh alright.” Tom said frowning. “Keep smiling!”
“Thanks Tom.” I smiled back.
They walked out waving.
“Gosh darn it….. They don’t even know my name.” I internally facepalmed.
A few hours later I left my shoot and began walking towards my car. I saw Harrison opening a door and walk out. Part of me wanted to yell, “HEY!” And run over, but I was in heels and I am not athletic. So, I just awkwardly kept walking.
“Hey you!” Harrison shouted.
But I couldn’t believe he was calling to me so I didn’t turn around. I just kept walking.
“Hey you in the blue dress! Wait!” He yelled, running up to me.
“Oh hey…” I said, turning. “Didn’t know you were talking to me.”
“I didn’t catch your name.” Harrison gasped.
“Oh, um, I’m Lexi.” I replied. “I’m not that cool….”
“I’ve heard of you. You’re that new up-and-coming actress that everyone is freaking out over.” Harrison grinned. “My sister thinks you're pretty cool.”
“Oh, that - that’s cool….” I smiled back, honestly confused over where this conversation was going.
“Anyway, we, Tom and I, had a blast on your photoshoot. And you’re new to the whole celeb thing, so here are our numbers. If you ever need anything, just call, or text.” Harrison replied, handing me a small sheet of paper.
I took it, my heart practically exploding in shock. “Holy. Wow. Um, thank you so much. I didn’t expect this.”
“Don’t mention it! It’s our pleasure.” Harrison nodded casually.
“I’ll text you soon… I’ve got to go to my interview now.” I said, suddenly realizing that I still had responsibilities.
We waved goodbye and I quickly sped walked to my car. I quickly got in and apologized to my manager. We sped off to the interview, while on the drive over I entered Tom and Haz’s numbers into my phone. I wasn’t sure who to text first, so I started a group chat.
Me: “Hey Tom and Harrison. This is Lexi, the girl whose photoshoot you crashed.”
Tom: “HEY! Glad you texted!”
Haz: “Hey! You actually wrote. I got sort of worried there.”
Me: “What? Why would a girl like me reject two British guys?”
Tom: “Haha good one. I heard from Haz that you have an interview.”
Me: “Yeah… It’s not with a famous person….. It’s one of those featurette ones.”
Tom: “Still awesome! Let us know how it goes!”
Haz: “Yeah! Maybe we can hang out after!”
Me: “Awesome! Talk to you guys later!”
I put my phone in my purse and got out. The interview went fairly well, just the basic questions about my character and my costars. I had a hard time focusing somewhat because of Tom and Haz. It took more time than I thought, but she was nice and funny. Soon after the interview I texted the guys about where I should meet them. I went to a hotel in the upper part of the city. And HOLY COW! This place was fancy!
I put my phone to my ear and called Tom. “Hey, I’m here. But this place is massive and -”
“Hey don’t worry about it! I’ll be down in a minute!” Tom interrupted me.
“Okay, I’m in the Lobby and everyone is staring at me.” I replied. “Please hurry.”
“I’m in the lobby now.” Tom said. “Wait, I see you. Don’t move.”
Tom hung up and I honestly didn’t see him at all. So I stood still to appease him and I waited. I felt a hand tap my shoulder and I turned around.
“Hey they didn’t kick you out!” Tom grinned.
“Luckily.” I replied smoothly. “Thanks for inviting me!”
“Yeah come on, Haz is at the restaurant waiting for us.”
“Okay.” I nodded and followed him.
Tom and I didn’t say much but it was okay. I was too busy looking at all of the architecture of the hotel lobby to pay attention to Tom. (Don’t kill me okay, I like architecture.) It didn’t take us long to get to Harrison.
“Hey! I got a table for 3.” Harrison stated, waving at Tom and me. “The hostess almost didn’t believe me.”
“Can you blame her Haz?” Tom asked. “You aren’t pretty enough for two dates.”
“Ouch.” I muttered, trying not to laugh.
“As if you could get a date, you 12 year old.” Haz sassed back.
“Okay ladies, you’re both pretty.” I interrupted
Honestly the dinner went by in a blur and we were laughing and talking like old friends. Nothing could have changed our joy. They invited me up to their massive hotel room and I decided that no harm could come of hanging out with them, since I had no plans the next day.
I had a small bag of clothes with me, since I was going to be in a hotel that night anyway. I followed them to their room.
“Alrighty… We have two beds. But I can sleep on the couch.” Harrison said as soon as we had entered the hotel room.
“Oh I can take the couch.” I said, in a soft voice. “I do that all the time.”
“No, no, no.” Tom cut me off. “We can’t let you.”
“Okay, Brit…. I can handle this.” I replied patting his shoulder. “I don’t mind, these couches look better than my bed in my room.”
“Well before we go to bed, we can just chill out if you want.” Tom suggested.
“Sure, why not!” I said, nodding in agreement. “I heard that some new interviews will be on TV tonight.”
“Cool, my bed is the biggest and I’ve got a TV in there.” Tom commented.
We walked into Tom’s room after changing out of our fancy clothes. We chilled out on his bed, flipping through the channels. None of us could agree on what to watch. We bickered and dissed each other's shows. Finally, I got tired of them bickering and smacked them both with a throw pillow.
“OW WHAT THE FUCK?!” Tom yelped, falling off the bed.
“LEXI!” Harrison shouted, pulling the pillow from my arms.
“STOP BEING SO LOUD!” I yelled back, trying to retrieve my weapon from Harrison.
“Oh no you don’t!” Tom snapped tackling me into the bed. “You are not allowed to have pillows!”
“Get off me Tom! I do what I want!” I shouted back, poking him in the chest and ribs. “I refuse to be held down! I AM FIRE! I AM DEATH!”
Harrison was trying to pull Tom off of me and laughing. “Tom! No! Release her!”
“THIS IS WAR!” Tom bellowed pushing Harrison off and attacking me with a pillow.
I screamed struggling to protect my face and get out from underneath Tom’s toned body. Harrison had fallen over laughing at Tom and me as we smacked each other with pillows. I managed to get my hands on a pillow and wrestle Tom. I was on top of him straddling his waist, my hair a mess. I was poised to do my final assault when someone knocked on the door.
“Shit.” Harrison said, lowering his phone.
“Were you videoing this?” I hissed.
“Shhhh! It might be the cops!” Tom whispered.
I snorted. “The cops of what? It’s only 10 o’clock in the evening.”
Tom sat up, causing me to fall backwards onto his lap. We all looked towards the door.
“So who wants to get that?” I asked in a low voice.
“If they knock again, we answer.” Harrison replied. “All of us.”
The knock never came.
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Horror in Shadow: CAT PEOPLE Turns 75
New Post has been published on https://nofspodcast.com/horror-shadow-cat-people-turns-75/
Horror in Shadow: CAT PEOPLE Turns 75
When we think of classic horror — real vintage, black and white horror of the 30s and 40s, we don’t often think scary. We think of the Universal Monsters. Deservedly lauded and beloved as those films are, they aren’t particularly frightening. Universal’s horror output was revolutionary, heavy on atmosphere, brimming with brilliant themes and bold character studies. But their monsters were so in your face, the primary effect was more disturbing than chilling.
Having been raised on the Universal Monster films, I never expected a horror film from the 40’s to genuinely scare me. I love Universal Horror, and the silent horror before. I love campy 50’s horror and the technicolor dreams of Hammer Horror. But in my mind, these are all about the glorious atmosphere. As a young horror fan, I always assumed truly scary horror began in the 60’s and came to full fruition in the 70’s. All that changed when I saw Cat People (1942).
To be specific, I saw a clip of Cat People. I was a teenage film nerd, turning on TCM after school as I often did. The channel was between features, and so I tuned in smack in the middle of a featurette about sound design. They were highlighting the scene in which Alice is swimming in her apartment’s basement pool.
The clip was short, not even the entire sequence. But I was terrified. The scene thrilled me in a way I expected from modern horror, but this was a film from 1942! I had to find out more. I immediately looked into the film and became enamored with the work of horror producer Val Lewton, whose filmography under RKO in the 40’s paved the way for modern horror.
December 6th marks the 75th anniversary of Cat People’s release. This film stands as a significant moment in the history of horror, and the first film and most famous film of Lewton’s brilliant career in the genre.
Unexpected Beginnings
Producer and horror visionary Val Lewton.
Val Lewton was a novelist and screenwriter working in Hollywood when RKO studios picked him to head a new horror unit in 1942. RKO saw how Universal was raking it in with their horror films, and wanted to see if they could repeat that success on a shoestring budget.
Lewton was tasked with producing films under three rules; 1. Each film would cost less than $150,000, 2. Each film would run under 75 minutes, 3. Each film would be built around studio provided, focus grouped titles.
Lewton took these potentially limiting parameters and produced incredibly smart, scary, and innovative horror. Cat People had a B-Movie title and a budget of just $134,000. But it is a revolutionary piece of horror film-making with scares that still hold up to this day.
Hidden in Shadow
In fact, Cat People is a unique example of a true genre maker. The way it builds tension and delivers scares directly influenced some of the most iconic modern horror films. Cat People also created tropes still in use in the best horror today.
Lewton made Cat People with his three time collaborator, director Jaques Tourner. Tourner would go on to direct film noir, and he imbued that genre’s signature style into the horror he made with Lewton. Cat People uses shadow, darkness and light to incredible effect.
Unlike the German Expressionist influences that ruled Universal Horror, Lewton’s films never felt fantastical or dreamlike. Rather, like film noir, they remained very grounded in the real world. But it’s a real world filled with shadows and darkness. Terrifying things hide just on the edges of everyday life, unseen, but threatening to seep into our world.
This base believe-ability is essential to what makes Cat People and the other films produced by Lewton so frightening. By making his films about average people in the contemporary world (the 1940’s, at the time), Lewton gave the sense that horror could befall anyone. It’s difficult to watch Frankenstein (1931) and imagine it’s events occurring in your own life. But Lewton’s films never offer that removal. This is the first major way Cat People paved the way for modern horror.
The Curse of the Past
Cat People follows Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon), a Serbian immigrant and fashion designer living in New York. While sketching a black panther in the Central Park Zoo, she meets Oliver Reed (Kent Smith), an engineer. They begin dating, and Oliver falls hard for her. Irena has her quirks, however. She is obsessed with legends surrounding her home village in Serbia. According to the stories, the village population turned to witchcraft during the medieval period, only to be killed by King John of Serbia. But a portion of the population escaped to the mountains, and their descendants survived.
Strange events surround Irena. Oliver buys her a kitten for a present, but the previously friendly animal becomes frightened and vicious the moment it sees her. When they visit the pet shop to return the kitten, the animals all screech in terror and rage at the site of Irena.
Oliver eventually proposes to Irena. To celebrate their wedding, they dine with friends at a Serbian restaurant. Snow falls beautifully outside, and the scene is festive and cozy. But a strange woman with cat-like features keeps staring at the table. In the middle of the revelry, she approaches and calls Irena “moya sestra,” before leaving. Irena, clearly shaken, explains it is Serbian for “my sister.”
The slow burn creepiness at work in the first act of Cat People is central to the style of Lewton’s films, and a significant influence on modern horror. The horror renaissance of the 60’s and 70’s was heavily built on the same structure. A succession of small, eerie events set the scene and build tension. The tension itself serves as the primary driving force that makes the eventual horror so effective.
Buses and Basements
After their marriage, Irena refuses any physical intimacy with her husband. It soon becomes clear that she believes she bears the curse of her village. She fears that passionate feelings or love, lust or rage could transform her into a deadly cat creature.
Oliver is concerned and compels his wife to begin seeing a psychiatrist. However, Dr. Louis Judd (Tom Conway) doesn’t seem too concerned with Irena’s well being. His attitude toward her is patronizing and predatory.
Meanwhile, Oliver, frustrated with the stress of his wife’s apparent mental illness, begins to grow closer to his coworker, Alice Moore (Jane Randolph). Irena discovers her husband’s betrayal, and Alice begins to sense something not quite human is stalking her.
Alice is the center of Cat People’s two most famous, and influential, sequences. The first of which birthed a technique that’s become an iconic horror trope.
Alice is walking home alone at night through Central Park. We see Irena begin to follow her. Each woman moves in and out of shadow, the sound of Irena’s heels clicking on the pavement as she follows her rival.
Finally, Irena moves into shadow, and the sound of her shoes stops. She doesn’t emerge. Alice becomes suddenly uneasy. She glances back at the dark and empty street behind her. Frightened, she begins to run. The camera closes up on her panicked face as a soft growl begins to emerge from behind her. The growl builds to a sudden hiss — that turns out to be the breaks of a bus pulling up to the stop. Alice, and the audience, jump at the sound, only to be relieved that its source is entirely harmless. But as Alice boards the bus, she glances warily at the rustling bushes behind her.
The technique of foreboding tension building to a harmless jump scare is well known to horror fans as a “cat scare.” The name derives from the frequent culprit behind the false fright being a noisy feline. The cat version has been overused to the point of parody, but the general structure of tension moving into a harmless jump scare to relieve the tension is still widely used. It’s simply a very effective way to create fear.
But before it was known as a “cat scare,” this trope was called a “Lewton Bus.” That’s because its trailblazing, and probably first use, was during this scene in Cat People. Lewton would use similar scares throughout his horror filmography, but this very effective example is also his first.
The other most iconic and influential scene comes later in the film. Alice is taking a nighttime swim in her apartment’s basement pool. She turns off the lights and prepares to leave, when a mysterious growling sound on the stairwell frightens her. Panicked, she jumps back into the pool for safety. As she glances around her, we see nothing but the moving shadows cast by the illuminated pool in the darkened room. A foreboding growl seems to move around the pool, but Alice and the viewer cannot see the creature from which it’s coming. Some of the shadows move in ways that seem independent of the water.
The scene is drawn out, bringing the viewer to the same precipice of panic as Alice. Finally, the growl becomes a vicious snarl and Alice begins to scream for help. The camera cuts to various dark corners of the room and ceiling as we hear Alice’s screams echo — a chilling effect. Finally, a human and seemingly harmless Irena turns on the light and asks “What is the matter?” It’s one of the scariest scenes in classic horror, and we never see anything but shadow.
The Horror of the Unseen
Much of the genius of the horror in Lewton’s films originated with budget constraints. The extremely low budget of Cat People couldn’t afford the dramatic special effects and makeup that would be required to show the creature. But this limitation actually worked well with Lewton’s idea of horror.
Lewton was an early proponent of the idea that what the audience can’t see is always scarier than what they can. In this way he welcomed his budget constraints as an opportunity to create horror that he believed would be far more effective than the Universal approach. His “less is more” approach pioneered techniques that made films like Jaws and Halloween work as well as they do.
If you haven’t explored Val Lewton’s filmography, Cat People is the perfect place to start. It demonstrates Lewton’s creativity — showing the innovation he could bring out of limitations. It’s short, smart, atmospheric, and frightening. If scary is something you don’t normally expect out of vintage horror, I suggest you give Lewton’s films a try. You may find yourself surprised by how much they haunt you.
#Cat People#cat people 75#cat people 75th anniversary#classic horror#horror anniversary#iconic horror#influential horror#Simone Simon#ValLewton#vintage horror
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