Hello Frankenstein

The short film that answers the age old question:
"What if cats made the movie Frankenstein?"

Little Green Dog (ironic, isn't it?) put together this dreadfully cute short film based on Mary Shelley's classic tale of the tragic consequences which arose from a scientists aspiration to blur the lines between life and death.

D.R. Greenlaw and Alisa Loren Klein have lent their artistic abilities to the following projects you may have heard of (if you haven't, you might as well just shoot yourself in the face right now, for you are beyond help): Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, X-Men, and Pan's Labyrinth.

Neil Gaiman's Coraline

As is often the case, the book was far superior to the movie. While brilliantly animated (and presented in 3-D), Director Henry Selick's 2009 release of Coraline failed to capture the essence of the masterfully-crafted story by Neil Gaiman. In spite of the valiant efforts of powerkid Dakota Fanning, and the "Desperate" Teri Hatcher, the film fell flat for me, even before I had something to compare it to.


While Selick's screenplay left me feeling as though adults had toiled feverishly in order to appeal to a child-like perspective, Gaiman's original work effortlessly transported me to a sacred place of wonder and amazement, often only inhabited by the very young and imaginative. In my humble opinion, there is almost nothing worse than grown-ups who bend over backward in order to appear "cool" to the younger generation. Either you're cool or you aren't -- and if you aren't, no amount of research on playground lingo can help you. Fortunately for all the readers out there, young and not-so-young, Neil Gaiman is incredibly cool.



Neil Gaiman is also incredibly English. Although he now lives in the United States, much of his work is full of delicious British colloquialisms, and overall, bears a decidedly English flavour. When I read his work, I imagine everyone speaking like Oliver Twist, even before I've been instructed by the author to do so. Unfortunately, none of this flavour comes through in the motion picture, as the production was highly Americanized in order to appeal to wallets of the west. Teri Hatcher couldn't have produced a believable British accent if her parents were Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher!



Interspersed throughout the book's 162 pages is a collection of illustrations by Dave McKean. The drawings are not what one would normally expect to find within a children's book, which is much of what makes them so incredible. Rendered in a ragged, sketchy style, many of the images are downright frightening -- perfect accompaniments to Gaiman's enchanting tale of secret doors, lost children, and a fearsomely-wicked woman. One thousand heartfelt thank-you's to Karswell for gifting me with this delightfully-quirky book!

"We are small but we are many
We are many we are small
We were here before you rose
We will be here when you fall..."

Tapestry (タペストリー)

I sincerely hope you didn't eat too much Meow Mix for breakfast this morning, as I have a special, Friday treat! After spending the last eight minutes and fifty-three seconds in dumbfounded awe of this beautifully visceral piece of YouTube meat, I found myself overwhelmed by the compulsion to share it with cat fanciers here at Killer Kittens From Beyond The Grave.

Tapestry (タペストリー) is an animated horror short, brilliantly crafted by illustrator/animator Kenny Wynne, dealing with: "the issues of war, peace and the effects they have on one person's mind." Admittedly, it was the collection of sinister pussycats which completely sold me on this stunning example of video art.

Watch as your future is torn to shreds!

The Cat With Hands (2001)

Last night, as I slumbered, I had a strange dream

One that seemed to bring distant friends near
I dreamt of the faces of people I loved
And I awoke with an 'eart full of cheer

Recently, my paws came upon* the spine-tingling short, THE CAT WITH HANDS, and the brilliantly-realized nightmare world created therein continues to haunt my unguarded moments. Part live-action exchange between a rot-mouthed old man and his young assistant on the dreary, English countryside, and part sumptuous, animated feast of imagined terror, the film lends a macabre, new meaning to the old adage about cats and tongues. You know the one...




This time, you can not count on me to give it all away, other than to say that this film is a real dark chocolate treat for the senses, although super-short at just over 3 minutes long. Creator Robert Morgan apparently snatched the idea from a recurring dream that plagued his sister: "a cat with human hands chased her and some friends around a graveyard. When it touched them, with those hands, the girls turned into spastics."**

Make sure the window is cracked enough to admit the scent of burning leaves, grab your favourite afghan from the closet, and enjoy this visually stunning, Poe-flavoured morsel!

THE CAT WITH HANDS on Kitty's Flickr

5/5 Kitty Skulls ... Pick of the litter!


* Thanks, Karswell
* Source: No fat clips!!!