CAT CAM Needs A Lot More Nug

CAT CAM (Blu-ray)

2026 / 96 min

X4 Pictures

Available at MovieZyng.com

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

Considering the name and staff of our website, we had keen interest in Cat Cam. Whereas the recent horror film, Good Boy, was presented from the unique perspective of the family dog (pretty effectively, I might add), this one initially appeared to be cut from similar cloth, only done as found footage from a feline perspective. 

It’s found footage, all right, but hardly the fun, furry flick we were hoping for. Instead, Cat Cam is a dreary Paranormal Activity knock-off with a fraction of the atmosphere…and a fraction of the actual cat we’re led to believe is going to be the main character. 

Nug is the pampered pet of Sammy and Riley (Bry Gallagher & Jiavanni), the latter being particularly obsessive over her. Before heading off for a vacation in Paris, Riley installs cameras all over the house so they can periodically check-in on Nug while they’re gone. Additionally, Sammy’s well-meaning but irresponsible brother, Jay (Cronin Cullin), is hired to pop in each day and see to Nug’s needs, which doesn’t sit too well with Riley, who neither likes nor trusts him.

Nug steals another scene by being Nug.

After the girls have gone, Jay and (maybe?) Nug experience strange occurrences throughout the house, mostly depicted as ominous noises, flickering lights and/or the occasional object inexplicably moving. Almost immediately, Jay suspects ghosts, which alarms Riley and pisses off Sammy when he calls them. The entire movie is presented through the house cameras, and for a majority of the running time, there’s a whole lot of nothing going on.

Initially, Nug is fun to watch, though she doesn’t really engage in any activity other than being a cat. But it isn’t long before she disappears from the movie altogether, leaving Jay as the main protagonist, and most of the actual story exposition is told through him. In between are interminable shots of various rooms where only sound effects and an in-camera message, ‘person detected,’ suggest any kind of supernatural presence. Elsewhere, the performances are serviceable, but the characters - aside from Nug - are largely uninteresting (though Jiavanni’s unhealthy relationship with her cat might be relatable to some viewers).

Cat Cam ends up being a repetitive, predictable and humorless bore. Not enough Nug, not enough ghosts and way too much Jay. The film is devoid of scares or atmosphere, coasting on the novelty of its premise without actually delivering on it. Cat fanciers would have a better time rigging up their own house to see what kitty’s up to when they’re away. For us, this one was a real letdown.

HOKUM is Not Hokum

HOKUM (4K + Blu-ray)

2026 / 107 min

NEON

Review by Mr. Bonnie and Princess Pepper (transcribed by D.M. Anderson)🙀

After a dinner of Fancy Feast and a quick trip to the litter box, Princess Pepper and Mr. Bonnie take their usual spots on the sofa to review the new 4K/Blu-ray release of the horror hit, Hokum. 

PRINCESS PEPPER (rolls eyes): Oh…joy. Yet another haunted house movie. 

MR. BONNIE (reading the synopsis): Actually, it’s a haunted hotel this time.

PRINCESS PEPPER: You mean like The Shining, 1408 and God knows how many others? Didn’t these things stop being scary a long time ago?

MR. BONNIE: It depends on who's behind the camera, doesn’t it? This one is written and directed by Damian McCarthy, who did Oddity. That one was pretty good.

PRINCESS PEPPER (shrugs): It was okay…nothing to meow home about. Okay, let’s fire it up. Here’s hoping Hokum isn’t a bunch of hokum…

Mr. Bonnie hits play, The film opens with alcoholic writer Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) struggling to finish his latest novel. He also appears to be haunted by a mysterious dark figure lurking nearby. Then after spotting the urns of his parents, he decides to fly to Ireland to the rustic old inn where they had their honeymoon, planning to spread their ashes in the nearby forest.

PRINCESS PEPPER: Okay, I’ll concede I’m a bit intrigued. I like how the movie opens with a scene from the book Ohm’s trying to finish. Kinda brutal…with the book's character getting ready to kill a kid.

MR. BONNIE: Maybe…it’s not clear if that conquistador actually went through with it. 

PRINCESS PEPPER: I like ambiguity in a horror movie, rather than being spoonfed everything. Keeps things interesting. I wonder what this whole scene has to do with Ohm heading to Ireland.

MR. BONNIE: Maybe it’s to establish that Ohm is haunted, as well. Perhaps by something from his past.

PRINCESS PEPPER: Well, it would certainly explain why he’s a surly, unlikeable douchebag, treating the innkeepers like shit. And they certainly picked the right actor. Adam Scott has always been good at playing douchebags. 

During his first night at the Bilberry Woods Hotel, Ohm hears stories from the staff, including friendly bartender Fiona (Florence Odesh), that the honeymoon suite is haunted, which is why nobody’s allowed to enter. Naturally, Ohm is skeptical.

PRINCESS PEPPER: But of course it is…and of course he is.

MR. BONNIE (hissing): Quiet, you!

That night, Ohm tries to hang himself, but is saved by Fiona. After his recovery in the hospital, he returns to the inn as it’s ready to close for the season, only to learn that Fiona has since gone missing. Everyone, including the police, suspect a homeless hermit named Jerry (David Wilmot) is behind her disappearance. Ohm becomes somewhat obsessed with finding out what happened to Fiona, going so far as to seek out Jerry, who lives in a van in the woods. Jerry suspects Fiona is still in the hotel…more specifically, the honeymoon suite. Once the hotel is empty, the two venture inside to look for her. However, Jerry is captured by Fergal the groundkeeper, who plans to haul the man to jail. Ohm is now alone in the hotel.

PRINCESS PEPPER: This is pretty interesting so far…and the hotel setting is actually kinda creepy.

MR. BONNIE: I’m even starting to like Ohm a little bit. He seems genuinely concerned about Fiona.

PRINCESS PEPPER: And lemme guess…he’s gonna go up to the honeymoon suite by himself. 

MR. BONNIE: Of course he is. Otherwise the movie would be over.

Ohm was certain he booked a bigger room.

Ohm does indeed make his way to the honeymoon suite, which has become dusty and dilapidated from years of neglect. He soon falls asleep, at which time the narrative serves up a look at Ohm’s childhood trauma through a dream sequence. Later, he’s startled by the arrival of the desk clerk, Mal (Peter Coonan). When Ohm discovers Fiona’s dead body stuffed into a dumbwaiter, Mal locks him in the room. It’s at this point that Ohm becomes increasingly terrorized by a horrifying entity established as a witch, who appears aware of Ohm’s past. This comprises the bulk of the film’s middle act.

PRINCESS PEPPER: I’m getting definite 1408 vibes here, but in a good, creepy way. 

MR. BONNIE (chuckles): Imagine if Samuel L. Jackson was in this one, too. 

PRINCESS PEPPER: And imagine him with an Irish accent…Aye be sick ‘o these mootherfookin’ ghoosts en this mootherfookin’ rewm!

MR. BONNIE: Those revelations about Ohm’s past…no wonder he’s so screwed up. As for the rabbit man on the TV…he kinda freaks me out.

PRINCESS PEPPER: I think he’s a donkey man.

MR. BONNIE: Either way, the guy is nightmare fuel.

PRINCESS PEPPER: I, for one, was surprised by Mal. What a bastard! Why the hell would he do that?

The conflict involving Ohm, Jerry (who managed to escape and return), Mal and the witch eventually culminates in a chilling, tension-filled climax. In the interest of avoiding spoilers and preserving certain plot revelations, some of Pepper and Mr. Bonnie’s comments have been redacted.

PRINCESS PEPPER: Man, I can believe Mal murdered Fiona just because she got pregnant. Still, it makes him one hell of a hateful villain. He sure got what was coming to him.

MR. BONNIE: Yeah, and Ohm’s character arc was definitely engaging. You don’t often see that in a horror movie. I also appreciate how McCarthy uses atmosphere and a deliberate pace to slowly build dread, rather than bombard you with cheap jump scares.

PRINCESS PEPPER: Now that I think about it, a lot of the narrative was kind of unpredictable, especially the part where I don’t know what to write here. Then there’s that one shocking reveal that do be go cke cjfrfc. I didn’t see that coming. And what Ohm is forced to endure, like this and that and this and that, makes the denouement especially iesonant. By the end, he’s a changed man in the djsdjdj.

MR. BONNIE: Yeah, it’s a great ending that gives the prologue context in a clever, almost poetic way, which certainly reflects the protagonists emotional growth.

The end credits roll…

PRINCESS PEPPER: I was skeptical at first, but Hokum is a pretty damn good horror movie, maybe even better that 1408. 

MR. BONNIE: Like I said before, in the right hands, even the hoary ol’ trapped-in-a-haunted house theme still has some life in it. 

PRINCESS PEPPER: Haunted hotel, Bonnie. Haunted hotel.

MR. BONNIE: Right. Now let’s take a look at those bonus features. I’m dying to learn more about Jack the Donkey. (see below)

PRINCESS PEPPER: You go ahead, Bonnie. I’m still trying to unsee that guy.

EXTRA KIBBLES:

4K & BLU-RAY COPIES

FEATURETTES - The Making of Hokum features cast/crew interviews and behind the scenes footage; Jack the Donkey, A Family Favorite is raw footage of the film’s freakiest character  (who caused a few sleepless nights for Princess Pepper).

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By writer-director Damian McCarthy.

TRAILERS

Watching STALKER With My Cat

STALKER (1979)

Starring Alexander Kaidanovsky, Anatoly Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko, Alisa Freindich. Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. (161 min).

Essay by D.M. Anderson💀

I currently live with two cats, Pepper and Mr. Bonnie. Notice I didn’t say I have cats, because that would imply ownership. For as long as I’ve been alive, there have always been one-or-more cats in the house, and not once did I feet like I “owned” any of them. They’re more like freeloading roommates who never pay their share of the rent…unless you count the dead things they’d sometimes bring home. 

But when Pepper and Mr. Bonnie moved in, we decided they should strictly be indoor cats (too many coyotes in the neighborhood), so they aren't afforded the same hunting opportunities as previous tenants. Still, one of them did recently manage to kill a small mouse that was also living rent-free in the house. I’m grateful, of course, but sure wish I wouldn’t have discovered their handiwork with my bare feet. Thus far, neither cat has claimed credit for the kill, but my money is on Pepper because she watches a lot more television. 

While they don’t go outside, they are aware of the outside. Both enjoy sitting in the living room window to watch the neighborhood, but it’s Pepper who gets “the chatters” wherever a bird lands in the yard, her tail whipping furiously. Additionally, she’s the first cat I’ve ever lived with who’s demonstrated an active interest in TV. Depending on what’s happening onscreen, she’ll often jump onto the TV stand and swat at whatever is moving. One of the few downsides of high definition, I guess.

Pepper’s favorites are various YouTube videos made for the sole purpose of entertaining cats. Typically, they consist of birds or squirrels lured before the camera by food piled in a wooded area. These critters scurrying in and out of frame drive Pepper nuts, and though it’s kinda funny, I try not to encourage it too much because I just know the day is coming when I discover claw marks raked across my expensive 55” HD screen. It’s even gotten so Pepper sometimes comes running into the room when she hears the YouTube app intro music, ready to hunt.

TV and movies are nothing if not educational. If Star Trek can show me how to prevent a warp core explosion, TV can sure as hell educate my cat on the wondrous wildlife in the world just begging to be disemboweled. But really, most anything featuring a lot of quick or sudden movement can hold her attention for a minute or two, such as hockey games, Looney Tunes and the occasional action movie, which is why I was initially perplexed that she appeared so keenly engaged in the movie, Stalker. 

"Sorry guys...I could've sworn it was Ladies' Night." 

Released in 1979, Stalker is a Russian science-fiction film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, widely considered one of that country’s greatest filmmakers. On my side of the pond, he’s probably most remembered for Solaris, which is often compared to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, at least regarding its pace and overall cerebralism. Tarkovsky’s movies are typically very slow, with plenty of looooong takes. Anyone who’s ever seen Solaris can concur that it makes 2001 look like it was edited with a Cuisinart.

But Solaris is a Michael Bay film compared to Stalker, which moves along at the speed of an oil painting. In fact, it often looks like an oil painting, the work of a tortured artist who starts their mornings with coffee, toast and suicidal thoughts. There are no special effects or action scenes, and nothing but some expositional dialogue to suggest it’s even science-fiction. If you were to watch it with the sound off (and sometimes you’ll feel like you already are), it’s just three stone-faced guys walking for two-and-a-half hours.

Those three stone-faced guys are the “Stalker” (Alexander Kaidanovsky), the “Writer” (Anatoly Solonitsyn) and the “Professor” (Nikolai Grinko). Stalkers hire themselves out to illegally escort people into a quarantined, fenced-off area known as “The Zone,” which has been rendered off-limits after an unexplained phenomenon occurred there 20 years earlier. Whether it was a meteor or something sentient (it's never made explicit), the area is now an unpopulated wilderness of forests, fields and ruins. Also within The Zone is a room where, upon entering, your innermost desires come true (for better or worse). 

Though he just recently got out of prison for previously entering The Zone, the Stalker agrees to take the Writer and the Professor there and guide them to the room, much to the chagrin of his wife, once-again left alone to look after their daughter. However, they really need the money. 

The Stalker informs his new clients that The Zone is a dangerous place, and potentially fatal if they don’t follow his explicit instructions during the journey. As he gravely warns, “The Zone is a very complicated system of traps, and they're all deadly. I don't know what's going on here in the absence of people, but the moment someone shows up, everything comes into motion. Old traps disappear and new ones emerge. Safe spots become impassable. Now your path is easy, now it's hopelessly involved. That's the Zone. It may even seem capricious. But it is what we've made it with our condition. It happened that people had to stop halfway and go back. Some of them even died on the very threshold of the room.”

"I can't escape the feeling we're being watched."

But this ain’t a Saw movie. The entire middle act consists of their journey, through fields, swamps and dilapidated buildings, then through a series of dark tunnels and drab rooms. The Stalker must be a helluva guide, because the walk is largely uneventful (aside from the Writer and Professor occasionally antagonizing each other). We hear a lot of poetry along the way, too, but there’s nary a trap to be seen…no physical ones, anyway. We also learn more about these characters and their motivations, which aren’t quite what we’re initially led to believe. That's right, kids...Stalker is one of those metaphysical journeys.

Sure, Rod Serling probably could’ve told the same basic story in about a half-hour, but despite its epic length and glacial pace, Stalker is an immersive film that kind-of sucks you in with its beautifully bleak aesthetic, extended takes, nearly-imperceptible camera movement and the quiet desperation exhibited by these men. And as it turns out, there’s actually a hell of a lot at stake during the climax, as well as a WTF denouement that makes you wonder what the hell you just watched…if you can even get that far…

…which I barely managed when I first watched it. Stalker was recommended to me by a guy I sometimes do podcasts with, whose tastes are somewhat eclectic. When the end credits finally rolled, my initial thought was that it was marginally more interesting than watching an old TV test pattern for the same amount of time. But damn, if I didn’t think about the movie a lot afterwards…the imagery, the movement, the underlying themes and (especially) the resolution. So I bought a physical copy and have since watched it a handful of times, finding it very rewarding. Sure, I sometimes nod-off, but that’s another one of the cool things about the film. Even if one doesn’t necessarily care about the story or characters, it’s an agreeable movie just for the overall vibe.

Recently revisiting the film, I was about an hour into it when I noticed Pepper watching, too. She was sitting on the floor, about three feet from the TV, tale twitching during a scene where the three main characters are making their way through a field. Shot from a distance, they appeared very small among the grass, but their movement had Pepper’s complete attention. In fact, she jumped onto the TV stand and swatted at them. Perhaps she thought it was a bug on the screen (she likes those, too).

However, after that particular scene ended, Pepper returned to her spot on the floor and continued watching…for nearly 20 minutes (which is about 15 minutes longer than some of you might commit to the movie). What was it about Stalker that was keeping her attention? Since she never liked subtitles, it couldn’t have been the plot, and it wasn’t like the screen was teeming with birds or squirrels. 

Then it occurred to me…visually, much of Stalker actually resembles a lot of the YouTube videos that rile her up...minus the animals. Even the film’s ambient sound design is similar on occasion…wind, trickling water, footsteps crunching the ground, etc. Maybe she was waiting for some critters to scurry into frame, just like they do in those videos, which would be her reward for patiently enduring three bald guys contemplating their lives. 

Eventually though, she finally had enough, her attention suddenly diverted by Mr. Bonnie, who sauntered into the room and tackled her. Then the battle was on, the two rolling around on the floor for a few seconds, hind legs furiously kicking at each other, before bolting upstairs to zoom around the living room. Stalker may be one of those rare films that manages to be both a masterpiece and a sleep aid, but it can’t beat the frisky fun of scrapping with your bro.