Horror 2026 Countdown: Kitten with a Whip (1964)

Kitten with a Whip (1964), dir. Dougles Heyes, Universal Pictures 

Now this is an odd one. Honestly, I expected something like this from American International or one of the lower tier grindhouse companies, but Universal?

Jody (Ann-Margret) is a gal on the run. Judging from the state of her nightshirt, she evidently left her previous abode in some haste. Finding herself in an upscale neighborhood, she quickly spots the perfect place to lay low.

It's a nice house but the lawn is clearly unkempt and going from the pile of newspapers sitting out front no one has been home in a while. Sneaking in with some skill, Jody quickly makes herself at home. Pity she failed to notice one thing-the house isn't empty. 

David Stratton (John Forsythe) is the owner and he's very much home alone. He's been so busy focusing on his upcoming foray into politics that he's been neglecting his home and to a lesster exent his family, who opted to take a trip without him.

David's not totally dim and it doesn't take him long to find Jody. The girl puts on a sob story about an abusive father. David buys the story and gets her some clothes, a bus ticket, and even some walking around money. The first snag is his busybody neighbor, who loudly remarks that all the clothes he's buying can't be for his wife as they're all the wrong size. 

Mortified, David manages to get home and hustle Jody out and drops her off at the local bus depot. Meeting his best pal Grant (Richard Anderson) for lunch, David almost chokes on his lunch when he spokes Jody's face on the TV playing at the diner. That story about her old man? Yeah, it was just that. Jody, it seems, is not only a jailbird but judging from the state of the matron's face, a particularly mean one at that. 

But she's gone, right?

David finds out otherwise when he returns home and finds Jody. She just couldn't leave without thanking David properly. When he says no, she scratches his face and makes it clear if he tries to call for help, she'll just scream louder than him. Even if no one believes her, the scandal alone would sink any hopes for his political career. 

That's not even considering what happens when Jody's equally dangerous friends drop in and decide to drag David into their own brand of fun...

Better than you think, although it is a toss up if David is just overly stiff or stoic. Ann-Margret is in a class all her own, going from stained angel to vicious sociopath often in the blink of an eye. The version with Mike and the bots is just as good though.