With the exception of the "not so recent" laser disc release (which is surely long out of print) viewing options have been slim in the US for fans of Lucio Fulci's infamous splatter fest Cat In The Brain (aka Nightmare Concert). In the world of Italian bloodshed Fulci has directed quite a few fan favorites including titles like From Beyond, House by the Cemetary and Zombie 2. In a bizarre twist this go round, Fulci came up with Cat In The Brain, which starred none other than himself, Lucio Fulci as Lucio Fulci! Sadly though, this was to be one of the last films he'd complete before his death a film that has never really moved beyond the realm of being a guilty pleasure.

Fulci starring in the film itself is said to have been caused by an actor who went MIA, so Fulci does indeed play himself, a film director who's on the edge of insanity (or sanity, depending on how you look at it). Lines between reality and fantasy are blurred as one never really knows if and when someone will yell, "Cut!" during scenes of grotesque carnage. Apparently "Fulci" has been experiencing violent nightmares (unable to even eat at his favorite restaurant - steak tartar anyone?), no doubt caused by his current film, which involves a guy who likes to chop up young girls and then eat them himself. Fulci decides that a visit to the psychiatrist may be best, but unfortunately turns out to be a bad decision while in his current vulnerable state. Fulci's psychiatrist uses hypnosis to "trick" Fulci into thinking that he's committing heinous crimes, when in fact the good Dr. isn't so innocent, or is he? You just don't know now do you?

If I were to sit here and tell you that A Cat In The Brain is a mish-mash of a hodge-podge it would all just be a gross understatement. True, the film is a mess, this we know. But, what you may not be aware of is just how much of an entertaining mess it actually is. The film itself is loaded with scenes of unused Fulci projects (as well as previously used Fulci projects) in addition to scenes from films that Fulci had absolutely nothing to do with (he also reuses quite a few familiar musical cues as well). It would take one hell of an Italian horror film historian to break this baby apart, so I'm not going to even try. Just know going in that scenes are mismatched, most of the film makes little to no sense and quality varies when considering the multitude of sources.

Cat In The Brain really just comes across as nothing more than an excuse for Fulci to live out his perverted schoolboy fantasies yet once again, without feeling the agony of recourse from angry righteous mobs. Fulci does get away with a host of shit in this film, making it all the more shocking that it was actually released uncut in the UK finally. The film itself is full of unapologetic graphic violence along with a lot of nudity and nastiness toward women. Women are slapped, battered and beaten only to be told that their man loves them and it's all right. But then again it's only a movie...or is it? Of course while all this is going on Fulci (playing Fulci) is crying in his beer about how all of this violence is driving him mad. Oh, and did I mention the budget version of a Gestapo-esque orgy sequence? Yeah, we got one of them in here too. Of course the quality of the effects vary, while some of them are really unconvincing; there are some great gruesome moments in there as well.

For a film that's mostly pulled from a bunch of other films and that hasn't really seen a decent light of day...ever - Cat In The Brain looks about as good as you'd expect. There is grain, film dirt, a hair here and there and some muted colors, but overall looks just fine when you take into consideration what we're actually dealing with here. Presented full frame, I can only assume that this is indeed the films original aspect ratio, I've certainly never seen it presented any other way. Audio is presented in a mono English dub, which fares quite well with really no evidence of any kind of hiss or background noise.

Extras include a fairly pathetic still gallery, a Fulci filmography, production notes and some text reviews. The only other extra (unexpected and unrelated, but cool) are a few trailers for other DVDs including I Spit On Your Grave, Demonium, Nutbag, Aenigma, The Red Monks, Reign in Darkness and Last Cannibal World.

It's as easy as this, as long as you understand what you're getting yourself into here, you should be A OK. Cat In The Brain is nothing more than a guilty pleasure to the highest degree. A guilty pleasure that I would never want to be without so I'm glad to have a half decent DVD presentation of this film to call my very own. Just think of it as one of the most depraved greatest hits collections you've ever owned, and you should be fine. Don't come crying to me after you're stuck in the shower trying to wash off the guilt (for oh so many reasons) just remember that I told you so.

This disc is Region 0 but alas is PAL so you will have to be able to play PAL discs. Also, be sure to head on over to The Monsters first choice for import DVDs, www.xploitedcinema.com.