Director Lewis Teague brought us the classic Alligator (and the not so classic Cujo), and the screenplayfor Cat's Eye was written by Stephen King himself so it looked pretty good for this anthology movie. However there is a fundamental flaw with the film. There's three stories and one of them sucks big time.

These are the three stories:

- James Woods stars in Quitters Inc. which was a King short story about the dangers of smoking.

- The Ledge. Another adapted short story which (in asimilar vein to one of the classic Creepshow vignettes) deals with an act of revenge by a rich and cruel husband.

- E.T. phase Drew Barrymore stars in an exclusively penned King story about a little girl, a protective cat and the little troll that lives in her bedroom.

Guess which one sucks? Lol, you should know already! What a shame. The first two stories are great and the last one is awful. Ghoulies, Critters, Troll, these type of films are always horrible things. Gremlins being the only exception to the rule that I can recall.

Quitters Inc. Now this was already one of my fave King stories. Add James Woods as the star and Lewis Teague as the director and I'm a happy man. I'm also happy to report that the cat wasn't really electrocuted here. Or at least, so the commentary tells us. James Woods contacts a "firm" who specialise in helping their clients to stop smoking for good. Using any means necessary! Keep an eye for the very enjoyable cigarette nightmare suffered by Woods set to The Police's Every Breath You Take single.

The Ledge. Another classic short story. A rich criminal husband in Las Vegas has his revenge on the former tennis pro who wants to leave with his wife, forcing the poor guy to navigate the 5 inch ledge all the way around the outside of his apartment building. Unfortunetly whereas the original story worked so well because it was fascinating to read the thoughts of a man struggling to survive, here, we can only watch the physical activity itself. It's still enjoyable though and the effects used look pretty good.

The General. Oh dear. All these stories are linked by a cat who's well travelled to say the least. Eventually he's taken in by Drew Barrymore's family. The little girl calls him "General" and the cat saves her from a little troll that appears at night in an attempt to steal her breath. Just how much mouthwash had King drunk when he came up with this one?!

I recall King saying that he would come up with ideas and write them on to the back of paper napkins or anything else available at the time. This idea should have been flushed down the toilet 'cause it's pretty nauseating and it comes as a real disappointment after the pleasing first two thirds of the picture. Frustratingly, it must have been very difficult for Teague and his crew to make happen as well since the actual creature effects are very impressive, and it
also must have been extremely difficult to get the cat to behave as it does. But this "original" part from King doesn't come across at all well. It's a shame that another classic short story couldn't have be
en adapted instead.

The bottom line. An hour long decent King adaption which is enjoyable bar all the cat wandering parts. Then...well, the troll effects are good even if that story itself isn't.

This region 2 disc offers an anamorphic print with excellent picture quality and it's certainly improved the film to see it in it's original 2,35:1 ratio. And we do get a commentary track by Teague which whilst informative, quite often falls frustratingly silent. There's 2.0 sound only but the print quality helps me to forgive that shortcoming.