JP Nunez
I love animals. If I go to someone’s house and they have a pet I can play with, I’ll probably spend more time with the animal than the person I’m there to see. And if it’s a cat, you can change that “probably” to an “almost definitely.” I love all kinds of animals, but cats are my favorite. There’s just something about them that fascinates me, so naturally, I simply had to review Mad Cats. Not only did it sound like a really cool action/comedy/fantasy flick, but as the title suggests, it’s about cats (well, sort of…but we’ll get to that), so I figured it would be right up my alley. I couldn’t wait to check this movie out, and after finally getting the chance to press play on my screener, I’m happy to report that it totally delivers on its bizarre feline premise.
Mad Cats was directed by Reiki Tsuno, and it stars Sho Mineo, Yuya Matsuura, Ayane, and So Yamanaka. It’s about a deadbeat named Taka who seems to spend most of his time avoiding his rent payments, and one day, he receives a mysterious cassette tape telling him where he can find his missing brother Mune. Mune is being held captive by a group of fierce female warriors with strange cat-like tendencies, and the place where these women are holding him also houses a wooden box that Taka has to steal.
Once Taka learns where his brother is, he tries his best to find Mune and steal the box, but he’s only partially successful. He manages to pilfer the box, and he does find Mune, but he’s forced to flee before he can rescue his brother. After that close shave with death, Taka meets a homeless man named Takezo and a mysterious woman named Ayane, and the three of them team up to rescue Mune and defend the box from the cat women who are determined to win it back.
From that brief plot synopsis, you might be wondering what business a website called Horror Obsessive has reviewing Mad Cats. Like I said before, it’s an action/comedy/fantasy movie, not a horror film, so why are we covering it? Well, even though it’s not straight-up horror, it still has a few genre elements, and I think fans are going to enjoy them quite a bit.
For starters, the cat women who relentlessly pursue Taka and his friends give the movie a slight horror vibe. When one of them fails, another one takes her place pretty soon afterward, so the protagonists are almost constantly fighting for their lives against these deadly assassins.
What’s more, the mythology behind these strange warriors is also somewhat horror-centric. They look human but act like cats, so they’re not exactly your typical action villains. Instead, they have a bit of a monstrous feel to them, and at one point in Mad Cats, Ayane even calls them “cat monsters.” So yes, these are legit horror characters, and I’d even go so far as to say that this is a borderline werecat movie.
Now that we got that issue out of the way, let’s move on to the more pressing question: Is Mad Cats good? Thankfully, the answer is a resounding yes. First and foremost, the three main characters in this film are super likable. They’re admittedly all a bit one-note, but the performances and the writing are so good I simply didn’t care. Taka and Takezo provide some great comic relief, and Ayane is amazing as the badass action hero who lets her fists do most of the talking.
And speaking of fists, the action in Mad Cats is pretty great as well. The fight choreography is excellent, and the actors who play Ayane and the cat women she goes toe to toe with are all awesome martial artists. Seeing them go back and forth is a thing of violent beauty, so if you’re a fan of action movies, I think you’re really going to enjoy this one.
That being said, I do have one tiny critique of the action in this film–I thought the fights had a few too many cuts in them. Granted, they’re by no means bad, but I much prefer a smoother, more John Wick-esque style of action cinematography that allows us to see the fights unfold almost as if we were there watching them live.
Last but not least, let’s talk a bit about the comedy in Mad Cats. As I said, Taka and Takezo are the comic relief, and they’re pretty hilarious. They bring different styles of humor to the movie, but they’re equally effective. For example, Taka doesn’t usually try to be funny, but the film gets a lot of laughs from his cowardice and his pathetic attempts at being an action hero. In contrast, Takezo is a bit of a sarcastic jerk, so he’ll get you more with his dialogue.
On the negative side, I have to be honest, there isn’t much to dislike about this movie. Sure, there are a bunch of things I could nitpick, and I had that one minor issue with the action, but on the whole, I don’t have any big problems with the film. It’s a great watch all around, so if you get the chance, I highly recommend that you check out Mad Cats when you can. It has great characters, excellent action, and hilarious comedy, so I think you’re really going to enjoy this movie.
Mad Cats will play at the Fantasia International Film Festival on August 4.
