FELIDAE (1994)

“Oh no, stranger. The dead come to me,” whispers Jesaja, the cat Guardian of the Dead in the skeleton-filled catacombs and labyrinths of director Michael Schaack’s brilliant and surprisingly graphic animated feature about a grisly serious of unsolved murders among a group of domestic cats. (“Felidae” is the scientific name for cats.) A combination feline detective story, Gothic mystery and occult horror, FELIDAE follows green-eyed protagonist Francis (voiced by Ulrich Tukur) and his grizzled, one-eyed companion Blaubart (voiced by Mario Adorf) as they unravel a series of killings stretching back decades, involving death cults, genetic experimentation and a mysterious martyr religion. One of the most sought-after titles among world animation fans and never before officially released in the U.S., FELIDAE marries the dark, adult themes and nightmarish imagery of PLAGUE DOGS and WATERSHIP DOWN with the family friendly animation style of Don Bluth circa THE SECRET OF NIMH. Be forewarned, though: this is not a kids’ animated movie – FELIDAE features R-rated language and cat-themed slang (humans are merely “can openers”), bloody dissections and even simulated cat sex.