Recently I saw an image of Keanu Reeves holding a dark gray cat with unnaturally long canine teeth. I went looking for the photograph online and found a video of the cat scene from the movie Constantine. Having collected Keanu movies in the past, I was intrigued.

The movie starts with three dramatic, seemingly unrelated, events. A man in Mexico finds an powerful spear (knife) that gave him supernatural powers. He walks in front of a speeding car and the car is destroyed and he walks away. John Constantine, Reeves’ character, arrives when a demon-possessed woman has flied up to the ceiling of the room. Constantine knows what to do and gets the demon dispatched with an intense performance. Finally, a woman in a hospital walks to the edge of the building and jumps, falling through a glass roof into a large swimming pool. All three events launch the movie with anxious urgency. That woman and her twin sister are played by Rachel Weisz.

The movie has a lot of demonology cliches like holy water burning demons and protective amulets. The people who are allies of the demons are half-breeds that are daunting antagonists and are able to survive extreme violence. Massed insects and a cross-shaped gold gun also show up. Although there is a divine rule that the demons and angels can’t enter this world directly, that rule is fraying and is at risk of annulment, hence the need for John Constantine intervention.

The visuals of Hell are striking. The demons in Hell have strange heads. One feature of Hell is the blistering hot wind and apocalyptic remnants of cars and buildings. The opening credits show the Hell environment as its wind erodes the production studios’ logos. Constantine travels to Hell with the aid of that cat and a pan of water.

The knife seems important since it is mentioned in the opening titles and the knife bearer is followed on his trip to LA. The purpose of trip is to construct a deadline for the urgent activities of Constantine. Once he brings the MacGuffin to its destination, he is unneeded and vanishes.

As a horror film, it was ok. Constantine was so confident in his abilities that I had little doubt of his success. Despite fighting terminal lung cancer, cigarettes come with him everywhere. His addiction is revealed when he sets one aside at the first exorcism and picks it up once he is done with his duties there. His cancer and impending death is the cause for Constantine’s desperate search for redemption.

It isn’t a great movie. Perhaps if I was more versed in the horror genre, I would appreciate it more. I looked at The Numbers and the movie was financially successful, with a worldwide box office of $221 million on a budget of $75 million. I think I’m committed now to watching more horror movies to find the ones with the best cats.