The Raven

Reviews from the Dark Side presents
The Raven
Released 4/27/12

In this historical thriller that some have called "Saw meets Sherlock Holmes", John Cusack is American literary icon Edgar Allan Poe who is solicited to catch a serial killer in Baltimore.  Why Poe?  The psychopath has patterned his kills after Poe's famous stories. 

When Baltimore police fail to catch a killer who has brutally murdered a mother and daughter, Inspector Fields (Luke Evans) is called to investigate.  Fields makes a disturbing discovery.  The crimes resemble fictional murders described in gory detail in the local Newspaper.  Fields figures the author (Poe) has the best insight to catch the killer.  The murders become personal for Poe when the killer kidnaps his secret, well- to- do girlfriend, Emily Hamilton (Alice Eve), in an attempt to engage his idol in a mano-a-mano battle of wits.  He also leaves cryptic clues for Poe with each of his next victims.  Each clue Poe deciphers inches him closer to finding Emily (in the movie, the inspiration for his poem, Annabel Lee). 

As a Poe fan myself, I got a kick out of naming the stories that inspired the murders as they are cleverly interwoven in the plot.  OK, I know, The Pit and the Pendulum is a "gimme" in this movie.  The murders are sufficiently chilling.  John Cusack gives a nice performance showing the author as he was in life.  Arrogant, self-loathing, and  perpetually down on his luck.   He has a sneering hatred for most of his peers and is a social pariah of the highest degree. 

Emily's terror in the hands of the killer is very real to me as she suffers through one of my greatest fears.  I found her scenes more than sufficiently cringe worthy in her "prison."

Bit of a spoiler alert here. The ending is bittersweet.  I'm not sure if this is how Poe met his end in real life given his penchant for self destruction.  The movie gives you one possibility that is likely more noble than what really happened. 

Overall, this is one of the better thrillers I've seen in a long time.  It is well worth your time if you see it.

The Dark Lord of the Sith says:

***1/4 stars

Ratings Legend
Zero *= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Good viewing. Much better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. Could possibly foot the price of a non-Matinee.
5 *= Pure eye candy. Hall of Fame material here.