I really did not know what to expect when I sat down tonight to watch The Raven. I have been waiting for a while to see this and I was afraid I built this up to be something that it is not. To call this a true Horror movie would not be totally wrong but it really is not. More of a suspense movie with a very dark undertone that can be considered Horror as well. Clearly one of the best performances by John Cusack that I have seen to date and that is saying something considering the movies he has been in over the years.
This depicts the last days of Edgar Allen Poe (John Cusak) in the town of Baltimore, Maryland. Poe who is a brilliant Poet and story writer has a fan that has taken his work too seriously. There are a series of murders in the fashion depicted in some of Poe's stories. While Poe is suspected at first it becomes apparent that he is not the culprit and someone is imitating the detailed killings of his stories. Poe is recruited by Detective Fields (Luke Evans) to help with the investigation because he knows the subject matter so well. Certain that this killer will show up at a Masquerade Ball being held by the Father of Poe's love interest Emily (Alice Eve). The killer does not show up in plain site but does manage to kidnap Emily from under the noses of the cops, Poe and Emily's father. It now becomes a matter of finding Emily before it's too late!
I picked up the Blu Ray version of this movie. As expected the sound quality and picture quality are right in line. The movie is very very dark. There is not much humor added in, but a story like this really did not call for it or need it. The story is actually alot more elaborate than I expected. I did not expect to be on the edge of my seat throughout more than half of the movie, but that certainly was the case. As usual John Cusak made the role his own and did a fantastic job bringing Edgar Allen Poe to life. Looking and acting just as anyone would have imagined. The thing that stuck out to me the most when I was doing research on this movie was the filming location. It is set in Baltimore Maryland and they actually filmed the whole film in Serbia.
The Raven was a very enjoyable movie from beginning to end, but I am glad I did not pay to go see it in the theaters. I go to the theaters so rarely that I save those experiences for something a little more illuminating I do highly recommend picking up a copy. The only stipulation I will put on that is buy the blu ray copy if you have a blu ray player. With all the dark and dreary colors I really don't know how good it would look on regular definition. I am so spoiled I know! You will not be disappointed. The entire cast works well together and puts on one hell of a performance. The rest of the cast aside from Cusak is not really well known, well not at least in my eyes. Maybe I just need to watch more mainstream films, but I had really not heard of any of the other actors and actresses in this film. Stay twisted everyone!
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