The Val Lewton Collection: Horror Producer's Masterpieces Finally Boxed on DVD

At last the collected masterpieces of one of the greatest producers in Hollywood history has been released in a boxed set. The name Val Lewton may not mean much to you, but his legacy as the greatest producer of B-grade horror movies can be felt in every A-grade horror movie of the last thirty years.

The Val Lewton Collection includes all the great classics that made Lewton's name synonymous with eerie, atmospheric horror. Probably the most famous movie in this collection is Cat People, which is unfortunately the most famous because of the bizarre 80s remake by Paul Schrader. The remake is actually not that bad, but in comparison to the original it certainly pales.

What sets Lewton's horror films apart from most of its rivals, and almost all horror movies made today, is that his films are built upon the subtext rather than the desire to scare the poop out of you. For instance, Cat People contains many unsettling scenes, and one in particular that will make you jump in your seat, but the strength of the movie lies in its brilliant psychological examination of female jealousy.

The movie should rightly be called Cat Woman, because what this incredible film is really about underneath all the frights is the Freudian picture of the repression of female sexuality and what happens when what is repressed rises to the surface. This the story of what happens when a woman is pushed past the limit of jealousy and into psychosis. Forget Fatal Attraction, if you really want to see a masterpiece about jealousy gone mad, watch Cat People.

Oddly, the "sequel" to this film, Curse of the Cat People isn't a horror film and really isn't a sequel at all. It's a fantasy about a young girl's fantasy life, except that her fantasy life may not be a fantasy at all. The Cat Woman from the first film reappears, as does her ex-husband and his new wife, but the story is 180 degrees away from the first film. The young girl becomes friends with the Cat Woman who, and this isn't really a spoiler, supposedly died in the first film.