Original Title: Der Name der Rose

Directed by: Jean-Jacques Annaud

This review contains a Kitty Carnage Warning for Scruffing!

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: Father William von Baskerville (Sean Connery) is a Franciscan monk who investigates a series of mysterious deaths in a secluded abbey, aided by his young assistant Adso von Melk (Christian Slater).

Kitty Cameo: One monk named Salvatore (Ron Perlman) meets with a local girl (Valentina Vargas) and brings a chicken and a black cat in a cage to perform some kind of ritual.

Kitty Carnage Warning for Scruffing! Salvatore gets excited by the girl and starts to lick her legs. She kicks him away, causing him to knock over a candle and start a fire in the stables where they are hiding. This alerts the monks who come running. Among them is Bernardo Gui (F. Murray Abraham) who has been brought in to uncover any evil demons at the abbey. He is quick to leap upon Salvatore and the girl as devil worshippers, holding up the black rooster and black cat as evidence. The poor black cat is held tightly by the scruff.

As the scene continues, Bernardo continues to hold the cat by the scruff, then brings Baskerville into the conversation by recounting, “William of Baskerville must surely recall the trial he presided over in which a woman confessed to having intercourse with a demon in the form of a black cat.”

Baskerville points out that Bernardo need not draw on Baskerville’s past experiences to form his own opinions. Bernardo agrees, emphasizing his conclusive evidence.

Final Mewsings: Black cats draw the line at having intercourse with women, witches or not.

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