- Whereas many sequels, and certainly most horror movie sequels, essentially rehash the plot of the first film, Curse of the Cat People is to be commended for trying something different. Sure, the two leads are back, now as married couple Ollie (Kent Smith) and Alice (Jane Randolph) Reed, but they no longer find themselves stalked by the now-deceased "cat person" Irena (Simone Simon). Instead, Irena has started appearing to the Reeds' introverted daughter Amy (Ann Carter) as an apparition. Irena claims to be Amy's friend, but anyone who saw the first movie will wonder when she's going to transform into a black panther and terrorize the family all over again.
- At least, that's what we're meant to wonder. The film, however, has other ideas. It turns out that Irena's ghost really is trying to be a good friend to Amy, and there's not a single panther in sight. Instead, the villains of the piece are a dysfunctional family down the street consisting of a delusional old woman named Julia Farren (Julia Dean) and her strange and aloof daughter Barbara (Elizabeth Russell). Julia insists that Barbara is an imposter and that her real daughter died years ago. Then again, Julia also has a strange obsession with reading frightening tales of The Headless Horseman to Amy, so maybe she's not the most reliable source of information.
- Although Curse of the Cat People's diversion from the original is notable, it unfortunately also means that the most compelling component of Cat People, namely the scenes in which a panther hunts people, are not present here. The only scene that approaches the greatness of the original involves another example of a "Lewton bus," this time involving a jalopy cranking out the sounds of The Headless Horseman. The rest reflects a capable enough effort by Robert Wise, who gets his first directorial credit here, at salvaging a fundamentally unexciting fantasy horror film initially directed by Gunther von Fritsch. Maybe copying Cat People wouldn't have been such a bad strategy after all?
- The character of Edward was played by Sir Lancelot, known primarily as a player of calypso music.
