Reviews
Ghost Cat (2004)
Cats have been part of the paranormal stories, at least in the entertainment world, for at least a century, but probably forever. The Canadian TV movie Ghost Cat from 2004 is one of the many stories that feature a haunted house with a cat in it. In this one, the cat actually is the one that haunts the house.
Written by Larry Ketron and Heather Conkie and directed by Don McBrearty, Ghost Cat follows the adventurous experience of teenage girl Natalie (Elliot Page) who arrives in a small town along with her widower father (Michael Ontkean) to see the place where her mother once lived. Soon Natalie realizes that the house is haunted with the ghost of Margaret, the owner’s cat, who is trying to alert the girl about important things related to the place.
Screenshot @ YouTube
Sane, positive, and inspiring characters are the primary strength of this movie. In addition to Natalie and her dad, the animal rescuer Brenda (Lori Hallier), her young volunteer helpers Kurt and Pearson (Shawn Roberts and Mark Rendall respectively), and Mrs. Ashboro (Shirley Knight) all come as role models of good citizens with care and compassion as their principles for life. The story teaches the value of animals in human life and Margaret isn’t the sole pawed character in the movie.
Despite being tagged as a mystery on IMDb, this movie has no mysteries in it. Everything in this story is evident and known to the audience with no room for guesswork. The story arc is very simple, familiar, and traditional – and all in a good way. The movie is also rated PG for “mild thematic elements and some peril.” This most likely owes to one scene where animals at the rescue shelter are shown screaming in fear during a fire and is a fair assessment of the content.
Ghost Cat is a movie to watch with family and pets, especially if one has feline companions (visible or invisible) in the house.
