The Raven (2012)
Certified: 16
Duration: 111 minutes
Directed by: James McTeigue
Starring: John Cusack, Alice Eve, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Luke Evans, Brendan Gleeson, Kevin McNally, Sam Hazeldine, Pam Ferris, Sergej Trifunović, Ian Virgo, Brendan Coyle, M. Emmet Walsh
KRS release
James McTeigue, who had been responsible for the direction of V for Vendetta, returns with another picture that is very intriguing for genre fans.
This film mixes historical truth with fiction and fantasy. This kind of treatment of historical figures seems to be evolving into quite a trend, with an upcoming film depicting Abraham Lincoln as a vampire hunter.
The Raven centres around Edgar Allan Poe, the writer whose influence is felt on the horror genre to this very day while countless films have been produced from his books.
At its core The Raven is a classical whodunit in the traditional sense.
John Cusack is Edgar Allan Poe, the writer/poet who had also written the work titled The Raven.
The film delivers his run-ins with a serial killer (the tag serial killer had yet to be invented in this age) who has been carrying out a series of grisly murders influenced by Poe’s works.
When one of the murders befalls a writer in competition with Poe, suspicions fall on the writer. But it when it becomes evident that he is not the culprit, Poe is enlisted as detective to help catch the murderer. The plot thickens when Emily (Alice Eve), Poe’s secret fiancée, is kidnapped.
John Cusack fits well into his role; Brendan Gleeson is over the top in his role as Emily’s father while Luke Evans is surprisingly good as a detective. Alice Eve is once again very photogenic.
The film is very atmospheric with location shooting in Serbia and Hungary bringing out the right dark touch. It is delivered in the camp 1970s style of the Hammer productions, however, it is updated to the modern age and it is immediately evident that the film strives for entertainment.
The film has a sense of the theatrical, with everything looking grandiose and and majestic and it excels, visually.
It also gives CSI fans a chance to experience how their beloved series would look if it were set in foggy, mist-covered streets of the 18th century.
The difference is that all the events are occurring in a gas-lit scenario making this Baltimore a very creepy place.
The Raven pokes fun at mixing truths, inventing mysteries and building up an aura and atmosphere which is all very fitting when one considers Poe’s own knack for conjuring such scenarios.