What happened to Edgar Allan Poe during those last days of his life? This is a question that many have pondered about over the years, speculating that he may have been a victim of suicide, murder, cholera, rabies, syphilis, influenza, and even cooping has made the rounds as to why Edgar Allan Poe died. However, The Raven is a depiction of the legend’s life in those last few days before he was found in a delirious state on a bench in Baltimore, what may have happened to cause him his life, what terrors he had been through in those last instances… The Raven is a gothic thriller that stars John Cusack (2012, Being John Malcovich) on the search for a psychotic murdered who are reproducing scenes from his macabre tales. When his girlfriend gets kidnapped though, Poe knows he is working against the clock and the psychotic murderer wants nothing more than to “inspire” events that Poe needs to write about. Will Emily survive the ordeal or is this tortured soul going to lose another person he loves?
The Raven is a mystery filled, dark and twisted film that is sure to give viewers the elements they crave from the lack of Sherlock Holmes flicks, but there is something unique to it as well, which coincidentally sets it aside from the rest. We have a historical figure, who has been plagued by bad luck throughout his life, and that darkness had seeped into his work, making him one of the horror genre’s favourite writers. Furthermore, there’s something quite poetic about the whole film too, which will give the audience something to think about as a certain “Phantom of the Opera” feeling is captured, though we aren’t graced with any musical numbers. Directed by James McTeique (V for Vendetta, The Matrix) and starring Alice Eve (Men in Black 3), Luke Evans (Clash of the Titans, Immortals), Brendan Gleeson (Gangs of New York, Troy, Braveheart) as well as John Cusack, viewers can be sure that they’ll get their money’s worth when watching this film.
For someone that is utterly obsessed with the poem “The Raven”, one cannot help but enjoy the crows that graces the screen from time to time, sure the horror and gore of the murders would thrill the horror lovers inside all of us – without going overboard with the grotesque nature of the genre – but it’s the thought of “Lenore” that would give the Poe lovers something to root for. Of course, even from the beginning we can imagine what will happen to our humble Edgar Allan Poe, but it keeps the viewer entertained nevertheless. Unfortunately, I found the use of CGI blood revolting and sadly it took away so much from the film and from the memory of this legendary author that it is almost unforgivable. Here we have a film that could very well have been one of the best gothic thrillers out there, ruined by the horrors of technology. Lucky for the makers of this film, I am a big Edgar Allan Poe fan and I enjoy John Cusak films immensely, so I could overlook the terrible use of CGI blood this one time, but for those readers who have a particular dislike in CGI blood, I doubt you’d find it particularly enjoyable in the sheer obviousness in how it’s used. Other than that though, I found no problem whatsoever.
For readers who are interested on getting their hands on The Raven, click the image to be transported to Kalahari.net. UK audiences can get their hands on it through the Lovefilm link at the top of the sidebar or the link at the bottom of the review and US readers are more than welcome to click here to be transported directly to Amazon.com. It’s not a bad film at all, I just get irked when it comes to CGI blood…
