When Hollywood dives deep into classic literature it’s opening that story for severe criticism with the occasional one leaving with high praise. Throw in a director such as James McTeigue whose recent films haven’t lit the box office with great effect the author whom many see as the godfather of Gothic literature Edgar Allen Poe we get The Raven but in the word’s of certain TNT wrestler “quote The Raven” are they match made in heaven? Before we get any further this isn’t a story direct from Poe himself but from a inspired graphic novel from Allan Moore whose last gothic book ‘From Hell’ was a bit of flop despite having a certain Mr Johnny Depp in it , so has Mc Teigue looked at From Hell to make sure The Raven doesn’t fall through the failure traps to make this an intriguing as well exciting crime thriller? Hopefully he has, it certainly an intriguing premise to take pieces of modern day place into yesteryear to create what is a steampunk-ish crime thriller.
So what about the plot then, John Cusack plays Poe who joins forces with a young Police detective (Luke Evans) to track down insane serial killer whose victims are been killed in similar fashions to the recently printed stories by Poe. The pair team up to hunt the killer using Poe’s work as a base before they know it someone close to the writer could be the killer’s next victim. Honestly when you have a film directed by a film maker who hasn’t had a good time recently your mind suddenly floats into negativity but on first impressions the trailer doesn’t look at all bad does also look inspired by Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes though not my favourite film still not a bad film to be inspired from if your looking for success.
No confirmed UK&Irish date for this film, the American Release is March 9th 2012 expect similar release time or early Summer 2012, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kevin McNally also star.
*12th October – Universal Pictures have sent us the new trailer along with the UK synopsis and confirmation that The Raven will also be released on March 9th, 2012 same day as USA*
Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack, Being John Malkovich) joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans, Immortals) to hunt down a mad serial killer who’s using Poe’s own works as the basis in a string of brutal murders. Directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta, Ninja Assassin), the film also stars Alice Eve (Sex and the City 2), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Faster).
When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered in 19th century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) makes a startling discovery: the crime resembles a fictional murder described in gory detail in the local newspaper—part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe. But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also inspired by a popular Poe story.
Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe’s writings as the backdrop for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author’s help in stopping the attacks. But when it appears someone close to Poe may become the murderer’s next victim, the stakes become even higher and the inventor of the detective story calls on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before it’s too late.
