Customer Reviews

The Black Cat

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Have you ever read Poe's tale of intrigue and suspense called The Black Cat? About a murderer who walls up his dead wife and the cat gets in there somehow with suspenseful results?

The Masters of Horror Showtime series had Jeffrey Combs as Edgar Allen Poe in their second season, episode 24 of their anthology series. Poe is a drunk and is suffering writer's block in his home in 1841 Pennsylvania. We see him unable to pay his bar bill, gets thrown out on his rear several times and has some interesting delusions caused by alcohol.

He has two worries: money and his wife suffering from "the consumption" where she coughs blood (quite realistic). Poe goes nuts at one point and smashes the piano they were going to sell. Suddenly the piano is fine. Alcoholic delusion?

The viewer is kept guessing throughout the hour episode as to what is delusion and what is real. When Poe crushed a half-dead bird, his goldfish disappears and when he pops out the cat Pluto's eye (ewwwwhh!!) damn that's hard! Just hard!

As I'm watching this I know that his wife died some years later from consumption (TB) and not an axe between the eyes (another sight you want to wait to see well after dinner) and so the story intrigued me and yet was fairly familiar with Poe's tale.

Was the Black Cat autobiographical, a real thing, or an alcoholic delusion?

Combs comes off of his film Re-Animator and again plays a slightly crazed yet not as eccentric part as Poe -- he even looks like the famous horror writer!

Drinking gallons of whiskey may not break your writer's block but this horror story may. Highly recommended but not for the timid or the sensitive stomach!!

As a huge "Re-Animator" fan, I really looked forward to Stuart Gordon's contribution to Showtime's "Masters of Horror" anthology series. Season One brought us "H.P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch-House"--which sadly was not one of my favorites. Season Two's offering is "The Black Cat." But while I enjoyed this episode much better, I still don't know how warmly it will be embraced by those seeking out this series. Not a conventional horror story, "The Black Cat" is a historical (but fictional) account of the life of Edgar Allen Poe. The tale documents a descent into madness and its horror is derived from this--whether or not that seems entertaining may be a matter of opinion.

The episode features Jeffrey Combs (always a delight) as Poe. Struggling and impoverished, he lives in a dark and unpleasant dwelling with his ill wife. Attempting to sell his poetry to survive, he is also sinking into desperation, alcoholism and insanity. There really isn't much more plot than that--this is a story that is reliant on mood rather than narrative. Combs does well with the various aspects of Poe's dementia and there is plenty of macabre humor interspersed. Haunted by visions of his wife and menaced by household pets, there are moments of real gruesomeness and gore to be appreciated.

I enjoyed the film's literary references and setup as a fan of Poe, but some may find the beginning a bit slow. The tale takes a while to develop--but that never bothered me. The ending does maintain a frantic pace and has some great effects, but if you're a lover of animals--you might want to steer clear. Combs is a uniquely engaging actor and this is a must-see for his fans. Otherwise, I'll issue a cautious recommendation. About 3 1/2 stars for me, and that's about my average for most episodes of "Masters of Horror." KGHarris, 05/07.