by Mark Murton
Original Title: Dead Kids
Directed by: Michael Laughlin
Synopsis: Enjoyably oddball antipodean horror, blending slasher tropes with mad scientist machinations as the police chief (Michael Murphy) of a small Midwestern town investigates the gory killings of several local teens at the same time as the local university is engaging in covert mind control experiments on some of the students.
Kitty Cameo: Intent on attending a party at a nearby house, 13-year-old Lucy Brown (Elizabeth Cheshire) climbs out of her bedroom window to avoid detection by her parents. She steps across to the tree conveniently just outside where she encounters a cat (presumably the family pet) clinging unsteadily to one of the branches (the poor cat has clearly just been placed there and equally clearly would rather it hadn’t been).
She speaks to the cat which lets out a cry of distress (probably genuine) as it backs gingerly down the branch before dropping to the ground.
Once back on terra firma the cat understandably makes a hasty exit from the scene and the film.
Final Mewsings: Sticking a cat in a tree against their will definitely qualifies as strange behavior.
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