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[Anatomy of a Trope] The Cats are Calling from Inside the Cabinet

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We’ve all seen them time and time again, displayed in some of the worst (and even some of the best) horror films: the cliche and the ropiest of tropes. A female victim, Suzy, is lost in the woods. She hears a rustling in the darkness around her. “Who’s there? Bobby, is that you?” We know it isn’t Bobby. She should know it isn’t Bobby, but she presses on, “You guys, this isn’t funny!” Naturally, by the time she realizes this is, in fact, not a game – it’s too late. Despite the incessant usage of this well-trod scenario, writers continue to return to the well of psycho-killer mistaken as prankster friend. Why? Is it merely lazy filmmaking, or does it somehow go much deeper than that? With “Anatomy of a Trope” we intend to find out. Today’s cliche?

The Cat in the Cabinet

Whether you’re following a strange noise in the darkness of a secluded cabin or sneaking into the kitchen for a late night snack, if you happen to exist within a horror film, you’re potential prey for a four-legged freak-out. For beyond any cabinet, closet, window, or shadowy corner lies a kitty (preferably black) just waiting to let loose a tormented screech while launching an all-out attack on your delicate puss. Roger Ebert, in his book “The Bigger Little Book of Hollywood Cliches,” pointed out the overuse of the cat scare and coined the term “Spring Loaded Cat,” because often these hissing felines seem to be unnaturally thrown on screen by some unseen crew member.

Personally, my first experience with petrifying pussies came at a fairly young age (Get your mind outta the gutter. Sheesh!). I chose the “Spring Loaded Cat” to lead “Anatomy of a Trope,” because it happens to be closely linked with my love for horror in general. I was staying up late one night to watch Friday the 13th with my brother. I was terrified, but he helped me through it by pointing out the “fake” effects work (which looked pretty legit to me) and the predictability of the plot. Of course, this being my first foray into adult horror, none of it struck me as run-of-the-mill. Nonetheless, I made it through the viewing unscathed. Friday the 12th Part 2 aired right after. I was ready for it!

Our surviving heroine, Alice, is home alone. A strange noise draws her to investigate. Cautiously, she enters her kitchen to find the window is wide open. Alice draws closer towards the billowing curtains and then WHAM! A cat is hurled (cause it certainly didn’t jump by itself) through her window and lands on the kitchen floor, only to hop up onto her dining table. I jumped just as high as the cat, out of my seat. I probably yelped a little bit, too. However, this fake scare served to release the tension director Steve Miner expertly built up to in that moment. For a few more brief seconds, I relaxed. “It was just a cat.” Nothing to worry about here. Moving on. Then it happened. Moments later, Alice gets an icepick to the head. I was not having it. I screamed and refused to watch the rest of the movie.

Friday the 13th 2 Cat Scare

Sure, the idea of our final girl from the previous film biting the dust in the first five minutes was startling. And, not to knock Sean S. Cunningham’s directorial efforts from the first film, but Miner knows his way around setting up a scare. I probably would have been mortified whether the “Spring Loaded Cat” was there or not, but it was that relief from the winding tension brought on by the calm after the little tabby’s cameo that made Alice’s death scene all the more frightening for eight-year-old me. But, what is it about cats?

I mean, my ex was a cat person, and from the years of us living together and his multitude of feline friends – one never randomly hid in wait to jump out at me. Now that I’ve said that, though there was the time Klaus got trapped in the cabinets under the sink, but he just sort of tapped on the door with his paw until we rescued him. The cat scare just isn’t a thing that seems to happen in real life. Why, then, are they the go-to for jump scares in genre film?

Jump scares are often built around a sharp, sudden movement and a loud noise. Cats do fit the bill given those parameters. They can move with a fierce quickness once they’re ready to pounce and are capable of pulling out some of the most ungodly, guttural noises from deep inside their tiny bodies. But are cats inherently scary in and of themselves? Some would say so. Historically, black cats have been deeply rooted in superstition. Despite being worshiped in the times of Ancient Egypt, leave it to the Puritans to twist that into something wicked. Black cats were thought to be shapeshifters and familiars to witches and Satanists.

From there the stigma attached to the shadowy felines morphed them into harbingers of bad luck if one were to cross your path. Naturally, such superstitions are also closely tied to the most “bad luck” day on the calendar, Friday the 13th. Perhaps this explains why the cat scare is utilized in so many of the Friday sequels? That, or, you know, they’re the epitome of by-the-numbers slasher fare. The popularity of cats in horror films really originated with the Val Lewton classic Cat People. While there are no actual “cat people” in the film, its suggestive terrors relied heavily upon the built-in fears audiences already associated with the animals.

Since Cat People, genre films have been littered with titles focused on the killer critters. From numerous incarnations of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat, the hilarious Uninvitedand the iconic mirror eyed kitty in Pet Sematary, that old world stigma has lingered to this day. Filmmakers know this and know that when they need a pinch hitter to set up the big fright, they can always trust on ol’ reliable Garfield to ease the audience’s mind just long enough to catch them by surprise. That’s when the real terror begins.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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