The Creeper, Cat People-Lite

World War 2 had just ended. President Truman dropped two atomic bombs on Japan and Germany's Third Reich was shredded by ally forces. All was good again...or was it? Celebrations in every major city displayed a temporary exuberance. With victory also came fear. Was the Third Reich really gone? Would there be more nuclear wars in the near future? Post-war fear enveloped America as the greatest generation may have won the war to end all wars, but the ominous fear of cats and Chinese restaurants would haunt this country for decades to come. Hence 1948's "The Creeper."

The very pretty Nora (Janis Wilson) catches a fever in the West Indies. In delirium and hallucinating for months she is beset by nightmares of cats. Coincidentally, the West Indians believe the dead return to us as felines. She is in the West Indies with her dad, Dr. Cavigny (Ralph Morgan) and his sultry assistant Gwen (June Vincent). The trio return home to work on a mysterious serum with Dr. Bordon (Onslow Stevens). Nora and her dad are horrified at what this serum will do and try to destroy all notes of the experiments. Gwen and Bordon feel the opposite. Uh oh...Nora starts behaving strangely and going into trances. The trances usually find her doing something that would suggest she is homicidal.

Dr. Reade (John Baragrey) arrives. He used to love Gwen, but now he loves Nora. This doesn't make the sultry Gwen very happy. The murders begin. Nora's dad is shredded to death in his study and a lab aide is also shredded. Both murders coincide with Nora being in a trance. Dr. Reade courts Nora and brings her to the same Chinese restaurant he used to bring Gwen to. This won't end well as Nora sees a cat and runs out screaming. Gwen will confront Nora and call her a paranoid-schizophrenic. Nora will ignore her. As the police focus on Nora, our pretty damsel comes up with a few theories herself and seeks to...well...you'll see.

Is Nora really the psycho killer, perhaps under the spell of a cat demon? Will Gwen and Nora engage in a...well...a cat-fight over Dr. Reade? If Nora is the killer, will the sultry Gwen have a prayer in the aforementioned cat-fight? Spooky and mysterious, "The Creeper" has some chills that were not in the budget of the original "Cat People." For some great horror from the 1940s, see "The Creeper," directed by Jean Yarbrough.