‘The Uncanny’: Cats Plot to Take Over the World In This Horror Gem

Cats are secretly planning to take over the world, according to a long-running joke. These autonomous and mysterious animals appear to have their own goals, in contrast to dogs. Domestication has proven to be a highly effective evolutionary strategy for cats, enabling them to live independently while assimilating into human society, as The Atlantic reported in 2017. This concept is explored in Denis Héroux’s anthology horror film ‘The Uncanny’, which stars Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence and features four terrifying stories that examine whether cats are really headed toward global dominance.

The film’s conclusion centres on Wilbur Gray (Cushing), an author who is trying to persuade his publisher, Frank Richards (Ray Milland), that cats are evil creatures. Although others are sceptical of Gray’s paranoia, the unsettling stories he tells imply otherwise. An elderly woman who alters her will to give everything to her cherished cats is the subject of the first episode, which is set in London in 1912. The cat’s exact brutal retribution as her avaricious nephew attempts to change her last desires.

Image Courtesy: IMDb

The second story, which takes place in Quebec in 1975, is about Lucy, a teenage orphan whose love for her cat causes paranormal activity. In the third part, which is set in Hollywood in 1936, a movie star uses a rigged pendulum to kill his wife, only to have her furious pet retaliate. Each tale emphasizes cats’ steadfast devotion and sly intelligence, raising the possibility that they are far more strong than we realize.

 ‘The Uncanny’ makes a strong case—through spooky storytelling and dark humour—that cats are gradually and deliberately gaining power over people. These animals might already be planning their conquest, one deliberate move at a time, whether it is by defending their own or punishing the evil.

–Farheen Ali