The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
The Black Cat
Comedy · Horror · Mystery · 1941
Greedy heirs wait in a mansion for a rich cat lover to die, only to learn her cats come first.
Movie details
The Black Cat
“Even Ladd is scared!”
1941 Comedy · Horror · Mystery 1h 10m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.4 / 10
Community rating
Greedy heirs wait in a mansion for a rich cat lover to die, only to learn her cats come first.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Black Cat?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
The Frighteners
Horror · 1996
Once an architect, Frank Bannister now passes himself off as an exorcist of evil spirits. To bolster his facade, he claims his "special" gift is the result of a car accident that killed his wife. But what he does not count on is more people dying in the small town where he lives. As he tries to piece together the supernatural mystery of these killings, he falls in love with the wife of one of the victims and deals with a crazy FBI agent.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Comedy · 2022
In an isolated family mansion, a group of rich 20-somethings decides to play Bodies Bodies Bodies, a game where one of them is secretly a "killer" while the rest tries to "escape". Things take a turn for the worse when real bodies start turning up, setting off a paranoid and dangerous chain of events.
The Voices
Comedy · 2014
A mentally unhinged factory worker must decide whether to listen to his talking cat and become a killer, or follow his dog's advice to keep striving for normalcy.
Hell House LLC
Horror · 2015
Five years after an unexplained malfunction causes the death of 15 tour-goers and staff on the opening night of a Halloween haunted house tour, a documentary crew travels back to the scene of the tragedy to find out what really happened.
The People Under the Stairs
Horror · 1991
Trapped inside a fortified home owned by a mysterious couple, a young boy quickly learns the true nature of the homicidal inhabitants, and secret creatures hidden deep within the walls.
Ready or Not
Horror · 2019
A young bride's wedding night turns into her worst nightmare when her ridiculously rich in-laws force her to play a gruesome game of hide-and-seek.
Oddity
Horror · 2024
After the brutal murder of her twin sister, Darcy goes after those responsible by using haunted items as her tools for revenge.
Bubba Ho-tep
Comedy · 2002
The "true" story of what really became of Elvis Presley. We find Elvis as an elderly resident in an East Texas rest home, who switched identities with an Elvis impersonator years before his "death," then missed his chance to switch back. He must team up with JFK and fight an ancient Egyptian mummy for the souls of their fellow residents.
Bad
Horror · 1977
Hazel runs a beauty salon out of her house, but makes extra money by providing ruthless women the oppurtunity to perform hit jobs. L.T. is a parasite, and contacts Hazel looking for work after he runs out of money. She is reluctant to use him for a hit, since she prefers using women, but decides to try him on a trial basis. Meanwhile, the cop she pays off wants an arrest to make it look like he's doing his job, but Hazel doesn't want to sacrifice any of her "associates". The sleazy side of life is explored in this delightfully dark and deadpan film.
The Comedy of Terrors
Comedy · 1964
An undertaker who hasn't had any 'customers' in a long time is forced to pay one year's back-rent. To get money he starts to kill people, which brings absurd results.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Albert S. Rogell
Written by
Robert Lees · Robert Neville · Eric Taylor · Frederic I. Rinaldo
Basil Rathbone
Montague Hartley
Hugh Herbert
Mr. Penny
Broderick Crawford
Hubert A. Gilmore 'Gil' Smith
Bela Lugosi
Eduardo Vidos
Anne Gwynne
Elaine Winslow
Gladys Cooper
Myrna Hartley
Gale Sondergaard
Abigail Doone
Court is in session
Put The Black Cat on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.