Director: James McTeigue
Year: 2012
Stars: John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve
I wanted to see this when it was released, the subject matter (Edgar Allan Poe - even if this was clearly going to be fictitious) and genre (thriller/ horror) both appealing to me. It didn't get great reviews, but having seen clips of the movie this didn't really put me off. Unfortunately I never got the chance to see it at the cinema, so when it was shown on TV I was fairly determined not to miss it.
Raven is all about a copy-cat murderer who uses Allan Poe's stories to inspire him. It becomes, to some extent, Poe's (Cusack) responsibility to find the killer, as he knows the subject matter of his stories best.
In my opinion, Cusack does a fantastic job of playing Poe, and is a joy to watch. I've always enjoyed him as an actor, but he really does a great job in this role. The film is pretty gory, and initially I wasn't sure if I was watching a gory horror film or a drama about a writer. This improved though, and by the end of the movie I was really enjoying the story. The film has a fair bit to say about whether or not fiction can lead to real-life horror, but also manages to tell a decent story. I'm not entirely sure why this movie got such negative reviews, but I'm glad I chose to ignore them and watch it anyway.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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