Charles Higam and Joel Greenberg, who wrote that the film now appeared "so understated that much of its intended effect is dissipated [...] [I]ts total impression is distinctly tepid". Joel E. Siegel spoke about the film in his book on Lewton, stating it was "seriously weakened by passages of lumpy, strained dialogue, uncertain performance and uneven pacing". Richard Combs of the Monthly Film Bulletin compared the film unfavorably to other Lewton productions, stating that "it is perhaps easier to prefer the more mellow, less heavily fingered fantasy of Curse of the Cat People, and even the reconciled ambitions of The Ghost Ship". In his 1995 book on Lewton, Edmund G. Bansak found that Cat People "may have lost some of its edge over the years and what remains may be a bit tarnished, but it is infinitely better than Paul Schrader's 1982 remake". Tourneur himself held varying opinions about the film, once saying that the film was "very childish but audiences in those days were more naive than they are today [...] but there are some very good things in it". On another occasion, he suggested that World War II-era audiences "all love war and love to be frightened, and in wartime people had money from plants, money to burn, and they loved that kind of film". Critic Ken Hanke remarked: "It isn't because the [Lewton films] are unsuccessful in themselves. It's simply that they threw the baby out with the bathwater by rejecting everything of the Universal product. Moreover, the films are a bit too trés snob and condescending for genre fans to feel comfortable about them". The critical reception to Simon's acting has historically been mixed. Siegel critiqued her acting, stating that her range was "too narrow for the film's more dramatic moments, a problem heightened by her difficulties with American pronunciation". Tourneur later stated that he was not happy with Simon's acting. Although "not delicately nuanced", Simon's performance, Fujiwara writes, "is effective in its mixture of narcissism and hesitant uncertainty". Newman describes Simon's performance as "remarkably affecting, strange accent and all". He adds, "there's a sense of life in her performance that makes Cat People, like most great monster movies, as much as a tragedy as a melodrama". Newman praises the film, noting that it was the first major supernatural horror film with a contemporary urban, American setting with "normal people, engaged in normal occupations" as leading