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Editorial Reviews
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That's Edgar Allan Poe himself, staggering around a tavern and challenging patrons to finish a simple line of doggerel they really ought to recognize: "'Quoth the Raven…' Anyone?" The only person croaking out a "Nevermore" is a Frenchman, wouldn't you know it. Such are the humiliations for poor Poe (played by John Cusack) in The Raven, an attempt to recast the tortured author as an investigator in a fiendish series of murders drawn from his own writings. He's enlisted by a Baltimore detective (Luke Evans, Immortals) to assist in the sleuthing, even though Poe would rather be drinking or wooing a fair maiden (Alice Eve), or probably both. (He doesn't seem to have a lot of time for writing.) This Sherlock Holmes-ian concoction might have worked if director James McTeigue had found a way to maintain interest in the actual storyline, but the movie's weirdly dull--even with a damsel in distress for the second half of the action, the characters are colorless and the direction mechanical. Cusack gives it his all, wrapping a sneer around a handful of one-liners that George Sanders might've enjoyed, but the gore and the quips sit uneasily together, in a desperate hunt for a proper tone. And while this kind of vehicle isn't expected to provide documentary reality, it must be said that the movie never convinces us this person is remotely close to the actual writer called Edgar A. Poe. The Raven couldn't handle that level of perversity. --Robert Horton
Product Description
John Cusack and Luke Evans star in this blood-curdling tale of terror that's as dark and haunting as the legendary master of the macabre who inspired it - Edgar Allan Poe. Baltimore, 1849. While investigating a horrific double murder, police detective Emmett Fields (Evans) makes a startling discovery: the killer's methods mirror the twisted writings of Edgar Allan Poe (Cusack). Suspecting Poe at first, Fields ultimately enlists his help to stop future attacks. But in this deadly game of cat and mouse, the stakes are raised with each gruesome slaying as the pair races to catch a madman before he brings every one of Poe's shocking stories to chilling life...and death.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
75 of 86 people found the following review helpful
By Jym Cherry
Format:DVD
On October 3, 1849 Edgar Allan Poe was found wandering the streets of Baltimore, delirious, calling out the name Reynolds. There have been lots of theories as to what Poe died of, from tuberculosis, rabies or to a drunken bender. "The Raven" puts forth a more romantic theory and a detective story for the man who invented the modern detective novel.
"The Raven" as a movie demonstrates that you can make a movie that bridges the biographical facts of Poe's life and its own artistic vision and still make an interesting movie. The movie is driven by the premise, a serial killer starts a series of killings in Baltimore that emulate some of the more gruesome murders in Poe's stories. When the first murder is done inside a locked room, police detective Fields (Luke Evans) recognizes it as the setting of an Edgar Allan Poe story. Fields brings in Poe (John Cusack) at first as suspect, but when another murder occurs Poe quickly becomes the first criminal profiler and consultant. Poe helps Fields both in what kind of mind the killer may have and of course in the details from his stories. The killer kidnaps Poe's girlfriend Emily (Alice Eve) with the killer promising clues as to Emily's whereabouts with each new murder he commits.
The filmmakers, director James McTeigue and writers Ben Livingstone and Hannah Shakespeare don't try to recast Poe's character as a superhero or give the movie Poe attributes that the real Poe didn't or couldn't possess. As mentioned before, the filmmakers stick fairly accurately to the known elements of Poe's last few days, although there are some artistic liberties taken, and they still present an entertaining movie with a few twists and turns as to who the murderer is.... Read more ›
"The Raven" as a movie demonstrates that you can make a movie that bridges the biographical facts of Poe's life and its own artistic vision and still make an interesting movie. The movie is driven by the premise, a serial killer starts a series of killings in Baltimore that emulate some of the more gruesome murders in Poe's stories. When the first murder is done inside a locked room, police detective Fields (Luke Evans) recognizes it as the setting of an Edgar Allan Poe story. Fields brings in Poe (John Cusack) at first as suspect, but when another murder occurs Poe quickly becomes the first criminal profiler and consultant. Poe helps Fields both in what kind of mind the killer may have and of course in the details from his stories. The killer kidnaps Poe's girlfriend Emily (Alice Eve) with the killer promising clues as to Emily's whereabouts with each new murder he commits.
The filmmakers, director James McTeigue and writers Ben Livingstone and Hannah Shakespeare don't try to recast Poe's character as a superhero or give the movie Poe attributes that the real Poe didn't or couldn't possess. As mentioned before, the filmmakers stick fairly accurately to the known elements of Poe's last few days, although there are some artistic liberties taken, and they still present an entertaining movie with a few twists and turns as to who the murderer is.... Read more ›
28 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"The Raven", a fictional horror thriller featuring the non-fictional literary figure Edgar Allan Poe, was well crafted and never less than adequately watchable, but I really expected more. While calling the film cartoony and childish would be way too critical, I thought there was a broadness and simplicity to the proceedings that made the movie veer away from some potentially very interesting waters.
I'm just thinking aloud here, but I would have loved to see a fictional Poe film set in the months prior to his death in 1849, one that made a genuine attempt at showing viewers what Poe was like, what demons bedeviled him, that sort of thing. The device of the fictional detective story involving Poe could have illuminated the non-fictional aspects of his life, aspects that contributed to his tragic, premature death.
But, no, here we get a sanitized, generally likable Poe with only the barest nods to the man's excesses, depression, and hardships. To be fair here, the film at least mentions that Poe lost his young wife to tuberculosis and that the tragedy still haunted him. But not all that much, according to this movie. There also isn't much grittiness or realism in the depiction of Baltimore in 1849, even though numerous crime scenes in bad parts of town are depicted. There was more moody darkness in the Robert Downey Jr. "Sherlock Holmes" movies.
Finally, worse than the broadness evident in the depictions of characters and locations, the movie didn't even give poor Poe the dignity of his inherent flaws when it came to his death. In other words, flattering or not, Poe's demons and weaknesses were part of who he was and why he died, and that should have been shown in the movie.... Read more ›
I'm just thinking aloud here, but I would have loved to see a fictional Poe film set in the months prior to his death in 1849, one that made a genuine attempt at showing viewers what Poe was like, what demons bedeviled him, that sort of thing. The device of the fictional detective story involving Poe could have illuminated the non-fictional aspects of his life, aspects that contributed to his tragic, premature death.
But, no, here we get a sanitized, generally likable Poe with only the barest nods to the man's excesses, depression, and hardships. To be fair here, the film at least mentions that Poe lost his young wife to tuberculosis and that the tragedy still haunted him. But not all that much, according to this movie. There also isn't much grittiness or realism in the depiction of Baltimore in 1849, even though numerous crime scenes in bad parts of town are depicted. There was more moody darkness in the Robert Downey Jr. "Sherlock Holmes" movies.
Finally, worse than the broadness evident in the depictions of characters and locations, the movie didn't even give poor Poe the dignity of his inherent flaws when it came to his death. In other words, flattering or not, Poe's demons and weaknesses were part of who he was and why he died, and that should have been shown in the movie.... Read more ›
27 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By MandyKay
Format:DVD
All of the actors in this do an excellent job!
The story was really interesting, even though I didn't know very much about Edgar Allen Poe to start with.
The movie keeps you guessing through the entire thing. Great story line with great twists and turns.
The story was really interesting, even though I didn't know very much about Edgar Allen Poe to start with.
The movie keeps you guessing through the entire thing. Great story line with great twists and turns.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Patricia
Format:Amazon Instant Video|Amazon Verified Purchase
As much as I am a fan of Cusack movies, I am an even bigger fan of all things POE, so I was really concerned about this being done without any integrity and too many liberties being taken, but that was not the case. Overall, the movie was done really well. I really enjoyed it. They didn't take any outlandish liberties with Poe or his work, so it all worked well together for this lover of Poe.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
In the year 1849, Edgar Allan Poe vanished for a week. He was later found on the streets of Baltimore, deathly ill and delirious. What happened and why he died is still a subject for debate.
So "The Raven" tries to combine that mystery with another kind -- the serial-killer type. It's not a bad concept, and they obviously crafted the death scenes and grimy, murky Baltimore setting with care. But the pacing is as heavy as a wet sandbag, and the mystery is amateurishly cobbled together.
In 19th-century Baltimore, two women are brutally murdered -- one's head is nearly severed, and the other is stuffed up a chimney. Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) recognizes the crime from "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," a story by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe himself (John Cusack) is a penniless erratic mess, but Fields calls him in to help with the investigation.
And in the next few days, more bodies stack up -- each one killed in a way reminiscent of a Poe story or poem. Even worse, Poe's girlfriend Emily (Alice Eve) is kidnapped during a masquerade ball, and the killer sends them taunting clues about where she is being held. Now Poe must race against time -- and even risk his own life -- to save her. Blech.
I wanted to like "The Raven." I really, really did. And at first, it seems like a promising movie: Luke Evans is wonderfully intense, and 19th-century Baltimore is beautifully bleak, murky and foggy. And the opening scene is beautifully surreal, with Poe collapsed on a park bench as a raven spirals into the cloudy sky.
Unfortunately, the plot itself is a mess. For one thing, the pacing is completely leaden. It just sort of lurches from one gory murder to the next, not really building any suspense.... Read more ›
So "The Raven" tries to combine that mystery with another kind -- the serial-killer type. It's not a bad concept, and they obviously crafted the death scenes and grimy, murky Baltimore setting with care. But the pacing is as heavy as a wet sandbag, and the mystery is amateurishly cobbled together.
In 19th-century Baltimore, two women are brutally murdered -- one's head is nearly severed, and the other is stuffed up a chimney. Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) recognizes the crime from "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," a story by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe himself (John Cusack) is a penniless erratic mess, but Fields calls him in to help with the investigation.
And in the next few days, more bodies stack up -- each one killed in a way reminiscent of a Poe story or poem. Even worse, Poe's girlfriend Emily (Alice Eve) is kidnapped during a masquerade ball, and the killer sends them taunting clues about where she is being held. Now Poe must race against time -- and even risk his own life -- to save her. Blech.
I wanted to like "The Raven." I really, really did. And at first, it seems like a promising movie: Luke Evans is wonderfully intense, and 19th-century Baltimore is beautifully bleak, murky and foggy. And the opening scene is beautifully surreal, with Poe collapsed on a park bench as a raven spirals into the cloudy sky.
Unfortunately, the plot itself is a mess. For one thing, the pacing is completely leaden. It just sort of lurches from one gory murder to the next, not really building any suspense.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterful Portrayal of Edgar Allen Poe's Last Days
Edgar Allen Poe died of a mysterious illness while sitting on a park bench. In story telling resembling the master himself, The Raven weaves an intriguing tale of what happened to... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Joseph Davis
3.0 out of 5 stars
John Cusack was great.
I guess this movies was OK. The story was good John Cusack was great. The only I did not like was the ending. But then again not many Poe stories had a happy ending...
Published 8 days ago by Matthew Finch
3.0 out of 5 stars
2 1/2 stars for a modest psycho-killer diversion
I grew up reading many sci-fi, supernatural, and horror stories and Edgar Allan Poe was one of my favorite writers. His stories were short, colorful and gave me nightmares. Read more
Published 10 days ago by M. Oleson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fine Suspense
Since I have forgotten any biographical details I may have known about Poe, I had no trouble identifying the character John Cusak played so well as the writer. Read more
Published 17 days ago by drkhimxz
4.0 out of 5 stars
Much better than expected
John Cusack has made some movies that were ok but not great. I didn't think he would do a good job with this but he surprised me. He was a great Poe. Read more
Published 23 days ago by Miranda Thomason
2.0 out of 5 stars
Yawn...
Kinda slow, not that much of a thriller. Made great background noise. Don't watch during the day time or at least have all your blinds closed.
Published 24 days ago by Stephen Mueller
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not As Fun As It Should Be
THE RAVEN, a horror/thriller film from director James McTeigue (of V FOR VENDETTA fame) stars John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe. Read more
Published 26 days ago by R. Cross
4.0 out of 5 stars
Poor, poor Poe, well done though.
I liked this movie, a factious tale about a real guy played by a great actor that is about 10x better looking than the real guy. Read more
Published 27 days ago by Christopher
3.0 out of 5 stars
Bad Ending
The concept was not well executed. Ok until the end which ruined two hours of my life that I can't get back.
Published 27 days ago by frank pfaff
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Story
This movie shows a side of Poe that many people probably didn't really know about. Very interesting movie. I would recommend it to family and friends.
Published 29 days ago by duchess704
