4k Movie, Streaming, Blu-Ray Disc, and Home Theater Product Reviews & News | High Def Digest
Film & TV All News Blu-Ray Reviews Release Dates News Pre-orders 4K Ultra HD Reviews Release Dates News Pre-orders Gear Reviews News Home Theater 101 Best Gear Film & TV
Ultra HD : Worth a Look
Ranking:
Release Date: May 23rd, 2022 Movie Release Year: 1985

Stephen King's Cat's Eye - 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray [UK Import]

Overview -

From director Lewis Teague, Stephen King's Cat's Eye is an oddly jovial and upbeat horror anthology in the tradition of E.C. comics mixed with a Twilight Zone and Night Gallery feel. Courtesy of StudioCanal UK, the 4K Ultra HD edition, unfortunately, arrives with a perplexing and unsatisfying Dolby Vision HDR video but thankfully, accompanied by an excellent, satisfying DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack and a decent set of supplements. Overall, the UHD package is Worth a Look at best, but ultimately, fans might consider waiting for a better version in the future. 

From the macabre imagination of Stephen King (the bestselling author of Firestarter, The Shining & Carrie) comes this newly restored trio of thrilling tales linked by a stray cat that roams from one story to the next in search of a girl he must protect.

In ‘Quitters Inc.’, a New York family man (James Woods) is encouraged to give up cigarettes with the help of a shady self-help operation, who outline a litany of increasingly severe penalties for his loved ones if he cannot resist temptation.

‘The Ledge’ features a casino owner (Kenneth McMillan) who kidnaps and forces Johnny Norris (Robert Hays) into a dangerous wager for having an affair with his wife. If he can traverse the exterior ledge of the mobster's penthouse then he can leave safely. But if Norris refuses then grave consequences await.

Finally, a young girl (Drew Barrymore) has difficulty sleeping. Though her parents suspect the new family cat of wrongdoing, the girl knows better after she sees a horrifying troll emerging from her bedroom wall… 

OVERALL:
Worth a Look
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
Region Free
Video Resolution/Codec:
HDR10
Length:
94
Aspect Ratio(s):
2.35:1
Audio Formats:
German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
Subtitles/Captions:
English SDH, French, German
Special Features:
Blu-ray Copy
Release Date:
May 23rd, 2022

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

From a script by Stephen King paying homage to the E.C. horror comics of his youth, the horror anthology Cat's Eye is crowded with snarky, delightfully demented personalities who take great pleasure in tormenting others with sneering sarcasm while forcing their intended victims into some twisted game of death. And in this small collection of terror tales — two of which were based on his short stories while the third is original to the production — also come with a few allusions to tickle the funny bones of King's most loyal fans. 

After a green-eyed tabby escapes the rabid clutches of a bedraggled St. Bernard and is nearly run over by a cherry red '58 Plymouth Fury, the first tale commences with cigarette smoker Dick Morrison (James Woods) accepting the dangerously experimental methods for quitting his addiction. On his first night without smoking, the fidgeting agitated Morrison is watching David Cronenberg's The Dead Zone and yells his disapproval at the screen, a funny sarcastic criticism since King has admitted the film's narrative is an improvement over his book.

2016 Warner Bros. Blu-ray

2022 StudioCanal 4K Ultra HD

That jovial opening sets the tone for the rest of the production — an oddly upbeat, lighthearted type of horror flick not meant to scare as much as amuse the audience with dark tales of comeuppance. Such is the case in the next segment with Robert Hays and Kenneth McMillan, the better and arguably best of the three Twilight Zone-like stories where the Tabby watches from the sidelines as McMillan's crime boss Cressner forces Hays's Johnny Norris to walk the ledge of a hotel several stories high. 

Personally, the anthology finishes on a strong yet silly high note when the cat arrives in the welcoming arms of the adorably cute and innocent Amanda (Drew Barrymore). Naming it General, the little girl's sincere belief that the cat was destined to be hers is sadly met by a grumpy sourpuss mom (Candy Clark) but a supportive, caring dad (James Naughton) who doesn't see the harm in adopting some random feral feline. Of course, we're meant to side with Amanda while hissing and booing at mom because it turns out General was fated to battle a vicious little troll living in the walls of Amanda's room, which succeeds at leaving a satisfied grin on this horror hound's face. The darkly quirky tale is a good finish to an altogether amusing flick.

2016 Warner Bros. Blu-ray

2022 StudioCanal 4K Ultra HD

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray 
In the United Kingdom, Studio Canal brings Cat's Eye to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray as a two-disc combo pack. The triple-layered UHD100 disc is on a center spindle with a Region B locked, BD50 disc sitting comfortably on the opposing panel. Both discs are housed inside a black, slightly thicker than normal keepcase with a glossy slipcover. At startup, the disc goes straight to a silent menu screen with full-motion clips and the usual options along the bottom.

Video Review

Ranking:

For comparison, here's the 2016 Warner Blu-ray in action:

And now the same scene from Studio Canal's new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray...in YellowVISION

The cult-favorite arrives on 4K Ultra HD with a strong but also deeply perplexing HEVC H.265 encode, offering a notable upgrade over its previous Blu-ray release by Warner Bros and a massive change from any home video version we've seen before. 

Reportedly struck from a new restoration and remaster of the original 35mm camera negative, this native 4K transfer features a new color grading performed by the folks at Hiventy Laboratory, and frankly, it looks terrible. Someone at Hiventy took it upon themselves to alter the color timing to a heavy yellowish-green hue washing over pretty much everything, severely skewing the entire color palette and making it unusually difficult to properly judge the overall quality. When looking at Warner's 2016 release, the HD video also leans a bit to the green and yellow spectrum, but it is incredibly minor, if even perceptible, and never distracts from the presentation's enjoyment whereas in StudioCanal's UHD, the change hovers over the picture like a thick overcast that turns everything into a muggy, sickly mix of mucus and bile. 

This disappointing presentation is at its worse with the green hue at its most prominent in the first segment, particularly the moment when James Woods' character walks into the lobby of Quitters, Inc. The contrast may enjoy a welcomed boost, making for a slightly brighter picture, but the overall balance feels wrong because what should be white fluorescent lights overhead are now a noticeably pear green. In fact, whites, in general, are an ugly lime shade, from the lighting reflecting off walls to the cigarette dangling off Woods' lips. This also ruins specular highlights by leaning more towards yellow while showing little improvement, meaning they don't look any tighter or more brilliant than their HD predecessor. 

2016 Warner Bros. Blu-ray

2022 StudioCanal 4K Ultra HD

For the rest of the movie, the yellowish-green hue is slightly toned down, leaning more towards the yellow but the green tones are still there throughout, most noticeably during the nighttime sequences in the third segment when inside the bedroom of Drew Barrymore's character. On the more positive side, the Dolby Vision HDR presentation displays a fuller selection of primaries, and other than the obvious green colors, reds looker deeper and more spirited. But these small improvements are just that — small, minor upgrades while blues sadly lean towards the teal and cyan gamut. Secondary hues are brighter and more animated although not by a significant margin, and they also suffer from the heavy yellow push. 

Continuing the mild positives, facial complexions are a tad more revealing with warmer peachy tones in the entire cast thanks to the new color grading, but the differences remain relatively small. Fine lines and objects also appear sharper with moderately better detailing of the items decorating the background, and we can plainly see the conveyer belt moving the cars to simulate street traffic in the second segment with Robert Hays. But once again, this 4K video is not a night and day difference from the Blu-ray although it does show a better, more refined grain structure. Likewise, black levels look a smidge richer and fuller, providing the 2.35:1 image with some appreciable depth, and shadow details are slightly improved and pretty strong throughout.

All things considered, this 4K UHD edition of the King favorite may not rank as one of the worst we've seen from the format, but it is also far from some of the best, providing little justification for upgrading from its HD SDR counterpart. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 60/100)

Audio Review

Ranking:

2016 Warner Bros. Blu-ray

2022 StudioCanal 4K Ultra HD

StudioCanal also brings the silly but fun horror anthology to UHD with an excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, but it doesn't really sound much different than its lossless stereo counterpart. Unlike the video, the front-heavy track remains true to the source with a broad and expansive soundstage while maintaining a distinct, well-prioritized dialogue reproduction from beginning to end. Off-screen activity moves between the three front channels convincingly and discretely, providing the movie with a great sense of presence and space. The mid-range is dynamic and surprisingly extensive, exhibiting fantastic clarity and detailing during the loudest sequences, and low bass delivers a palpable weight to the few bits of action and music. The lossless mix also lends itself terrifically to the receivers' Auro-3D up-mixing functionality with the music and several of those aforementioned effects effortlessly spreading into the front heights, creating an engaging and quite satisfying half-dome wall of sound. (Audio Rating: 82/100)

Special Features

Ranking:

2016 Warner Bros. Blu-ray

2022 StudioCanal 4K Ultra HD

For this UHD edition, StudioCanal provides a decent collection of bonuses for fans to enjoy.

  • NEW Lewis Teague on Cat's Eye (HD, 12 min)
  • Audio Commentary with director Lewis Teague
  • Johnny Norris on the Edge (HD, 28 min) is an interview with actor Robert Hays
  • Like Herding Cats (HD, 8 min) is an informative conversation with animal trainer Teresa Ann Miller
  • Trailer (HD)

2016 Warner Bros. Blu-ray

2022 StudioCanal 4K Ultra HD

Written by Stephen King, Cat's Eye is a horror anthology in the tradition of E.C. horror comics, similar to King's Creepshow only without the gore or much of the horror. In fact, we could say the three tales of terror are more akin to a Twilight Zone or Night Gallery collection. Either way, director Lewis Teague maintains an oddly jovial and upbeat quality to each story, making for an amusing watch. Unfortunately, the 4K Ultra HD edition from StudioCanal UK arrives with a perplexing and unsatisfying Dolby Vision HDR presentation, supplying little justification for upgrade from its 2016 Blu-ray counterpart by Warner Bros. Thankfully, the 4K video is accompanied by an excellent and quite satisfying DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack and a decent although small set of supplements. In the end, the overall UHD package is worth a look at best but ultimately, might consider waiting for a better version in the future. 

All disc reviews at High-Def Digest are completed using the best consumer HD home theater products currently on the market. More about the gear used for this review.