‘Lily C.A.T.’ is a 1987 science fiction horror anime written and directed by Hisayuki Toriumi. It was released by Studio Pierrot and translated into an English dub Streamline Pictures before being acquired by Discotek Media.

Captain Mike Hamilton (Mike Reynolds), commanding officer of the Saldes, brings himself and the crew out of a twenty-year hibernation. They are set to scan a new planet for the Sincam corporation, which is seeking new resources. Japanese division member Jiro Takagi (Bob Bergen) the president’s daughter Nancy (Julie Maddalena), Aussie security officer Dick Berry (Gregory Snegoff), Farrah Van Dorothy (J.C. Henning), Morgan W. Scott (Steve Bulen), Jimmy Mengel (Michael Sorich), and Dr. Harris Mead (Clifton Wells) are the surveyors. The crew consists of Captain Hamilton, Dular (Steve Kramer), Gott Walt (Richard Cansino), Carolyn (Iona Morris), Guy Alcuin (Russel Case), and computer technician Wat Tyler (Kerrigan Mahan). Unbeknown to them, a spore infected the ship and has infected Nancy’s cat Lily, who always seems to be in two places at once. As the crew starts dying, they also discover that one of the surveyors in actually an escaped convict who forged his credentials to get on board. However, as they start to vanish one at a time, they have to put aside their mistrust as the alien spore takes over the ship.

What do you get when you put Aliens, The Thing, Pet Sematary, and anime in a blender? You get this flick. It definitely relies on several other properties for a lot of its tropes. However, despite its premise lacking originality, the movie is actually enjoyable as far as its entry into the sci-fi horror subgenre. It finds its footing through the plot and through the characters. I should note my review is based on the English dub version which did get edited before it premiered in America.

It definitely captured that sci-fi horror vibe and provides some genuinely frightening moments where they were trying to fight for survival. There was a scene where the alien absorbs a cat through a wall and I literally felt a tingle go through my spine. Now, there was this confusion around the cat. It seemed there was two of them, but that was not made clear until the end of the movie. Outside of that, It definitely had a lot of suspense.

As for the voice acting, it is not that bad. A lot of anime that came out in this era was poorly directed, but the actors seemed to genuinely be interested in their characters. Now, there were a few places where you could hear the sound clipping, but that has nothing to do with the voice actors.

Bottom line, Lily C.A.T. is a sci-fi horror anime that picks up on the genre trend of its era, but it keeps you thoroughly hooked from beginning to end.

PARENTAL CONCERNS: Violence, language

FAVORITE QUOTE: The wall… it ate the cat!

Check out this fanmade trailer below:

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