Film

The Most Horrifying Scene In ‘Cats’ Has Become A Massive New Meme

Ever wanted to see Rebel Wilson eat a cockroach with a human face? Then you're in luck!

by Joseph Earp  27 December 2019
Rebel Wilson -- cockroaches and cats

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Cats, the new cinematic musical directed by Tom Hooper, is a singularly baffling experience.

Of course, the musical on which it is based is pretty fucked-up too, an adaptation of the poetry of T.S. Eliot set to increasingly raucous and horny music.

But thanks to ‘digital fur technology’ and Hooper’s weirdest tendencies, the film version of the musical is a special category of fucked-up. It’s just so sexual, so demented; two long hours worth of wobbling CGI faces and weirdly shaped cat nipples and absolutely no plot or tension to speak of.

The whole thing’s a nightmare, but there’s one scene that has emerged from the rest of the pack as the true dark heart of Cats — the most Freudian, upsetting sequence ever dropped outside of a horror movie.

It all comes during the film’s midpoint, when our lead cat — played by newcomer Francesca Hayward — meets Rebel Wilson, who launches into a complicated song and dance routine in lieu of, y’know, actually having a conversation. So far, so Cats.

But then Wilson’s back-up dancers appear; a small army of cockroaches with human faces.

Oh, and then Wilson eats one.

Oh, and then, halfway through her song and dance number, she unzips her own skin to reveal more skin, exactly the same, underneath.

So, uh yeah. Hard to know what to say, really. Best to just uh, watch it.

Anyway, needless to say, the internet has reacted to the scene with a mix of fascination and pure, unbridled horror.

Will all of this viral marketing help Cats out at the box office? Probably not — it’s hard to imagine how many people are rushing out to see a film based on images of cockroach-human hybrids doing a Busby Berkley number.

But goodness gracious, does Cats need a boost like that or what; the film is looking to lose an estimated $90 million at the box office.

Yowch.