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Dec 08, 2014 By Cody Ray Shafer Web Exclusive

Murder of a Cat takes a classic noire-esque murder mystery to an absurdly banal suburban setting. Clinton (Fran Kranz, Cabin in the Woods) is a basement-dwelling unemployed man-child whose whole social circle consists of his mother (Blythe Danner) and his cat, Mouser. That is, until one day Clinton wakes up and finds Mouser in the street with an arrow in him. Clinton quickly discovers that Mouser had a second home, with an attractive hair stylist named Greta. After some initial confusion, they team up to uncover the web of mystery and conspiracies that resulted in the death of their beloved pet.

Murder of a Cat promises so much zany plot as its premise unfolds, but never delivers anything more than a dry series of events. The twists are neither predictable nor interesting, and the mismatched pairing of Clinton and Greta is unconvincing and forced. But where the film really misses its beats is in Clinton’s character development. It’s clear he’s supposed to evolve into a more confident, daring man, and he does. But the film doesn’t really explain why, or show the process through anything other than a haircut and a new suit. In the end, he’s still just badgering everyone about his cat the same way he did in the beginning, he just looks better while doing it. There aren’t enough laughs to maintain the weak plot, and it is a pity, since Murder of a Cat is really unlike anything we’ve seen before. It just doesn’t do enough to prove why we needed to see it in the first place.

www.gravitasventures.com/murder-of-a-cat

Author rating: 5.5/10