Free The Raven
Genres: Thril
Starring: Kevin McNally, Pam Ferris, Dave Legeno, Brendan Gleeson, John Cusack, Brendan Coyle, Alice Eve
Available Quality: DivX, Hi Def, Hi Def
Director(s): James McTeigue
Country: USA, Spain, Hungary
Year: 2012
IMDB Rating: 6.9
When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by Edgar Allan Poes works, a young Baltimore detective joins forces with Poe to stop him from making his stories a reality.
 |
The Raven (Hi Def) | Resolution: 1920x800 px | Total Size: 8461 Mb |
|
|
 |
The Raven (Hi Def) | Resolution: 1280x536 px | Total Size: 4466 Mb |
|
|
 |
The Raven (DivX) | Resolution: 640x272 px | Total Size: 700 Mb |
|
Movie Photos:
We have taken some photos of "The Raven". They represent actual movie quality.
Visitors Review
Murli (12 May 2013)
Good story with enough intrigue to keep you entertained
I had been afraid that this would turn out to be like the SherlockHolmes movies, which I did not like at all, and the trailers certainlyseemed to favour that. Thankfully, the actual movie is far from theshowboating spectacle that Guy Ritchie has directed.The story follows a killer who's got something for, or against, EdgarAllen Poe, bringing to life some gruesome deaths that Poe has writtenabout in his stories. The turning point comes when Poe's girlfriend iskidnapped and becomes the bait to lure Poe deeper into the killer'smadness.The movie does a good job in hooking you from the first scene and doesnot shy away from blood and gore. One scene in particular isreminiscent of the Saw movies, so I did feel a little squeamish.Thankfully, there was more emphasis on the story than on gory effectsso it wasn't too bad. It gets more interesting as the movie draws on.Who's the killer? How does Poe fit into the puzzle? Some questions areanswered early but it does keep you guessing as to the identity of thekiller till the end, which makes it necessary not to leave your seat togo to the washroom or get another bag of popcorn! The downsides, and there are a few, are mainly in the acting area. JohnCusack is well cast physically as he is well made up to look prettymuch like Edgar Allan Poe himself. His performance though was a bit onthe hammy side, as Cusack tended to rage in a guttural tone at the topof his voice several times which tended to be rather irritating. AliceEve's performance can best be described as muted. Her voice was timid,her actions limited, her emotions checked. It was as if she wasforcibly restrained from emoting anything lively, and that was sad asshe's anything but timid and restrained...not with that smile of hers!I also felt that the unmasking of the killer and the rationalizationfor all the deaths was rather weak. It made the intrigue fade slightlyand that is a sore negative point.But Poe fans, those who know about the man, and his stories, should behappy with the story. There are lots of references to his stories andcharacters and that should keep them happily in their seats till theend. I've never read any Edgar Allan Poe stories so as an objectiveviewer I can say that I enjoyed watching The Raven and recommend thisto anyone interested in a murder mystery!
dsmeek40 (11 May 2013)
not Sherlock Holmes
It thought the movie was weak throughout. Cusack is another one ofthose actors (like Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves) who can only playhimself. He is never the character, and this doesn't help the film atall because it isn't Poe we are watching; it is Cusack. He's notengaging like RDJ's Sherlock or even fun like Depp's Ichabod Crane(Sleepy Hollow). His character is hollow, and I didn't feel for himonce, even at the end. That said, the actress that played his love wasmuch more engaging, even though she was only half the love equation,the other half, of course, missing from an emotionally bland Poe.The settings were great and the action and suspense (and there is somegore) is pretty good, but because Cusack is so lame, one never gets thesense of urgency and despair about his love being kidnapped and perhapsdying. You don't get it from him; from her, you get a lot.Perhaps the best actor in the entire performance, is the villain, andthis is the real tragedy because you don't get to meet him until thevery end, and then it's over. He has his moment, and he is terrific,more engaging than even Moriarty opposite Sherlock. I think if we'dgotten more of this man throughout the film, it would have been muchbetter, or if we had had a better actor than Cusack, one who could sellthe part of a tortured soul, the movie would have been worthy of itsnamesake.
Ali Fraz Hassan Malik (08 May 2013)
The movie will mostly hook the literature lovers,
The Raven is a 2012 movie directed by James McTeigue (known for V forVendetta) and written by Ben Livingston & Hannah Shakespeare. The filmfeatures John Cusack and Alice Eve as the lead.The movie is based onthe works of Edgar Allan Poe.Poe is famous for his writings on Mystery and Macabre. He is also saidto be founding contributor for detective and science fiction genres. Heis also known for his works on Gothic and dark romanticism. The title"The Raven" is based on his poem of the same name which was publishedin 1845 to a great success. Poe's last days are still a mystery. OnOctober 3, 1849 Edgar Allan Poe was found wandering in the streets ofBaltimore, delirious, calling out the name Reynolds. This movie isanother attempt to explain the mystery of his last days.And so, this movie represents another theory as to what might havehappened to Poe in his last days. If you don't like theory based moviesfar from the truth, don't watch it. If you think this is some horrormovie that will scare you, you are wrong. Indeed this movie has horrorbut because it is gore. It isn't at all scary. The story is detectivefiction which ironically was founded by Poe. John Cusack as Edgar AllanPoe was okay. To be frank, I am not much judge of a acting or directionunless they are extremely low standard. And, I, didn't find them lowstandard. The story will mostly hook the literature lovers, someone whois fan of Poe or had read his work. The plot was based on his actualstories which made it all the more interesting. To the persons withinterests in myths surrounding the artists of Renaissance era, like me,this movie was reasonably engaging. True! It wasn't some masterpiecebut engaging surely and depending on your tastes, totally worth themoney spend.
Louie Monteagudo (07 May 2013)
Wonderful Job of Synthesizing Fact and Fiction
This movie brought together the depressing and interesting life ofEdgar Allan Poe with the thrill of his literature. The exquisit specialeffects and cinematography made the gruesome murders in the film feelthat more tangible. Although there were the occasionally plot holesevident in every movie, the story's quick-pace plot ran smoothly andkept the viewer engrossed in the characters' conflict. The end of themovie was brilliant in the way it detailed a theory about the tragicend to Poe's life. This movie will leave you yearning to discover moreabout the estranged life of Edgar Allan Poe, and will compel you toread his profound yet thrilling stories.
mamakey51 (06 May 2013)
Very Fun to watch movie
Reading some of the reviews for this movie, I hesitated on going to seeit, BUT knowing that I know I have seen worse, off I went. I was verypleasantly surprised at how much fun this movie was to watch (there area few gory scenes). Knowing going in, that it is a work of fiction, Ijust decided to have a good time. And a good time I had! The acting wasjust fine. The plot was easy to follow. Character development was good.I usually can pick out the murderer in movies, but this one got awayfrom me. I was so busy getting involved with the plot/characters that Ijust did not think about who the murderer might be. I LOVED the endingof the movie. All in all, I would even go see this again!
Dharmendra Singh (05 May 2013)
Ravenous
The great American literary critic and master of the macabre, EdgarAllan Poe, was scarily familiar with the dark topics he wrote about.Arthur Conan Doyle suggested that Poe was single-handedly responsiblefor inventing detective fiction, and Jules Verne regarded him as a keyinfluence. Poe's life story could itself inspire a film. His father abandoned himwhen he was young and his mother died shortly after, leaving him in thecare of the Allan family, of Virginia. He eked out a living purely bywriting  uncommon for his time. He could be elegant, but he was adrunk, sarcastic and didn't suffer fools. He married his thirteen-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm, who died of tuberculosis at agetwenty-four, causing him to sink into a deep depression. His own death at forty  remains a mystery to this day. 'The Raven' takes place in the Baltimore of the 1840s, where people arebeing murdered in meticulous and macabre ways. The investigatingdetective, Emmett Fields (Luke Evans), recognises the killings fromPoe' stories. Fields persuades Poe to help him catch the killer; Poehas no choice when his wife Emily (Alice Eve) is the next target. Sowhat we have is a game of wits, in a film full of twits. As Poe, John Cusack is, at best, passable. No doubt his interpretationwas carefully researched to include Poe's various characteristics, buthe dwells on just two: testiness and oddness. Think of him in 'HighFidelity', but using Old English and you'll not be far off. Othercharacters  Poe's wife, his father-in-law (Brendan Gleeson) and thedetective  are under-used for good reason: they have little to do. You'll be reminded of such titles as 'From Hell' and 'Sweeney Todd',only because this film has no higher ambition other than to blend in.It's Gothic without horror, a whodunit without suspense, a period filmwithout elegance. I'm still trying to work out which is more absurd: Poe arguing with hiseditor about his material while his wife lies somewhere in a coffin, orwhy indeed he continues to write stories long after the killer stopsmurdering according to them. Also, the raven motif is shamelesslyoverused, even though the film doesn't have a modicum of relevance tothe poem of the same name.I wasn't more impressed by James McTeigue's ('V for Vendetta') thirdfeature because of its seen-it-all-before quality, and also because Iguessed who the killer was way before I should have. Never a good omen,really. moseleyb13.com
theycallmemrglass (03 May 2013)
Suitably entertaining 19th century serial killer flick.
I quite enjoyed this. Storywise, its a bit like Seven set in 19thcentury London, that is, a serial killer detective mystery but here,the killer is forcing a storyline pattern fusing Edgar Allen Poe'sstories to life by imitating the murders from several of his storiescreating a new one that involves Edgar Allen Poe himself. Cusack was engaging as the drunken author/poet riding on financialhardship suddenly finding himself helping a detective to catch thekiller. At first Poe is quite unlikeable but I then warmed to hisidiosyncrasies and determination to find his loved one, whom the serialkiller has kidnapped.There's a couple of really graphic and inventive murders suitablyqualified for a SAW or Final Destination movie. There is not enough ofthem to satisfy the horror enthusiast, though. It might have been agood opportunity to make this a fun horror movie to boot given thatthere are several murders in the film but we are not shown the rest ofthem.The dialogue alternates between flat and humorous with some fun (butadmittedly way over my head) wordplay with Poe's character. Poeenthusiasts might enjoy connecting the references of the murders to thevarious stories that he has written. I haven't read any of his storiesso I cant make any connections. I do know the overall story/poem of theRaven though and I can say with some confidence, this film isn't thatstory. Its got ravens in it but I'm not sure that justifies the title,if it does then we might as well call every John Woo film, The WhiteDove.I did look forward to seeing this film, as I love V for Vendetta, JamesMctiegue first directorial feature. This, his 3rd, is not as good or asclever but it has the same visceral directorial flair and vibe to itwhich I enjoyed. The script is full of plot holes though and I wasannoyed with some scenes that blatantly cheated for the sake ofnarrative progression. There isn't anything original here but its competent enoughentertainment for a decent Friday night out at the cinema.
UnknownRealmsDotNet (03 May 2013)
Edgar Allen Poe -- Super Sleuth!
Edgar Allen Poe -- Super Sleuth! Sounds a little funny doesn't it?Well, that's exactly what The Raven is. It's too bad, because at it'sheart, there is a fun concept here and a good mystery. The story nevergets dull, the mystery unravels at a good pace, and there are plenty oftwists and turns. But it's Poe himself that is the weakest part of thestory. He starts off as whinny and annoying, and then somehow becomesan adventuring flatfoot -- it's all a little hard to swallow. I'vealways had hangups against turning real people into fictitiouscharacters, but it becomes clear at the end why they decided to dothis. And it's kind of a nifty idea. Then again, this story wouldn'thave changed, and probably would have been more believable if Poewasn't the one in the title role, and this took place in another timewith another protagonist. But it is what it is. And it is a fun, pulpymystery.
MistyNoble1987 (30 April 2013)
Love you, Cusak, but I'll sit your next Poe installment out.
Let me start be expressing how much I love John Cusak. I have loved himever since I first saw him in Identity. So, needless to say, I was kindof biased going into this film. Perhaps if I knew more about the poeticicon Edgar Allan Poe I would appreciate this film much more then I did.However I knew nothing about him except that his work was dark.Compared to other Cusak movies I have seen, this was less thenthrilling. Cusak's acting was great, as always, however I found myselfdosing off during this less then exhilarating movie. If you're a Poefan and followed his career, then you'll appreciate the way thateverything Poe writes is played out in real life. If you're a Cusak fanand are looking for an exciting adventure packed movie, then keep onlooking Perhaps pick up Identity.
Saad Khan (29 April 2013)
Almost Dreadful...
The Raven  TRASH IT (C-) I don't know why I decided to watch johnCusack movie" The Raven" as far as I remember I never liked a JohnCusack movie in my life unless if he was in some 90s movie I don'tremember at this time. The Raven tried to capture the imagination ofTim Burton's Classic Sleepy Hallow and failed miserably. You may haveslightly created the same atmosphere but The Raven was too loud, toocrud and too much filled with obnoxiousness of John Cusack's character.The best part has to be the ending he  ., wow I was so happy. JohnCusack is terrible from beginning to end. Alice Eve tried her best tobring some humanity to the movie as a girl buried in the cascade. LukeEvens is always wasted in supporting roles, I think it's about time togive him a lead role to see what he can bring to the table. On thewhole, it's terrible though at times time pass but way to loud to beenjoyable.
Treyroo (27 April 2013)
Poe on Patrol
There are many who seek to entertain by illustrating the darkerelements of human existence. Murder, intrigue, the macabre. One of thegreatest, perhaps the greatest, author to do so was Edgar Allen Poe.Most have been lucky enough to have never experienced the horror theyput on the page brought to life. In this latest John Cusack film, Poeis not so lucky.We first see Poe (played by Cusack) in the last days of his life. Theevent depicted has been the subject of debate among historians but, fordramatic purposes, it's accepted as fact and I take no issue with that.Days earlier, a woman and child are found and have been murdered in agrisly manner. The murderer managed to flee the scene despite the doorsbeing locked when the police arrived and windows that appeared to benailed shut. An investigator, Detective Emmett Fields (played by LukeEvans) discovers how the killer concealed his escape and recognizesthat the inspiration for the trickery was a work of fiction produced byPoe. He is the prime suspect until another murder is committed while heis being questioned. It appears to be inspired by yet another work ofPoe's and so Fields (Evans) hopes that involving the man who used to behis prime suspect might allow him to gain some advantage over themurderer who's now claimed the lives of three innocent people. All thewhile Poe is madly in love with the daughter of a respected militaryofficer who cannot stand him. But when Emily (Poe's love interest,played by Alice Eve) is in jeopardy, the Captain (Emily's father,played by Brendan Gleeson) and Poe put their differences aside and worktogether to save the one person they both love more than anything.Now, I believed this was Cusack's first film since 2009's 2012. Infact, I'd forgotten about Hot Tub Time Machine which followed that asdid two other films I never even knew about. Also noteworthy is thefact that, of numerous works based on or otherwise connected to Poe andhis publications, this is the third to be given the title The Raven.But even with all that against it, this film is entertaining. No memberof the cast should hold their breath waiting for an Oscar nomination.Neither should anyone who was involved behind the scenes, but it's aninvolving tale in an interesting setting with a well-acted cast and Iliked it.
Schuriken (27 April 2013)
Edgar Kinda Boring....
I paused this film to go to the toilet, to go fix dinner, to feed mydog and update status on facebook. Every time I pressed play again themovie had the same boring aura that even the darkest scenes could notcreate some kind of a mystical or dark feeling to it.It was not a bad film but it could have given more. The ending could befollowed by the killer surviving that shot and ending up in Paris orLondon to continue his killings, most viewers would agree with me onthis.The super computer contemporary style graphics on the ending titles aretruly horrible,the guy who did those should get fired or something. Itlooks like an Iron Man 3 meets TRON movie ending or whatever, I thoughtI was watching another movie end titles....As for Cusack his role should have been more melodramatic and dark,instead we get a youngish drunk fella that everybody wants to beat upbecause of his financial debts and silly behavior. I'm not a Poe expertbut this looks like crap. Maybe there should be more scenes with Cusackdrinking his liver out and do drugs like the From Hell movie. Cusackgives the character a very light approach that should not be there atall.Also more scenes with ravens should have been added and much moreblood.Not the greatest movie I've seen but it stands out amongst the tons ofcrap produced during 2012 and 2011 and it is nice to watch this in atheater rather than your TV set.Soundtrack is almost zero, could have been much better.I give it a 4 skulls out of 10 on the Mike Enslin scale....
Boyd (23 April 2013)
Great idea . BUT . Dull and completely lacking in atmosphere
I feel sorry for the actors when I see a piece of boring drivel likethis ... The idea was there and could have made a good film but itfeels like it was written in an evening by someone they dragged in offthe street The CGI was embarrassingly bad and although the whole thingis shot adequately it has absolutely no atmosphere ... It feels like itis missing a decent score and sound design ... It is just so flat Wasthis project even finished because it feels like it wasn't ... Nowonder it didn't even make it to the cinema over here in the uk Don'twaste your time this suffers from the same Hollywood ineptitude as thehopeless John Carter
Wendy.X.S @feixiangfilms.wordpress.com (23 April 2013)
Exciting. Riveting. Without room for fault.
Highlights (Full Summary Below) Pros: Tastefully made thriller thatbeautifully encompasses the mind of, not a serial killer, but agame-master who has challenged the character Edgar Allan Poe to a gameof live chess. Each pen stroke, artistically developed creative prosethat tells a murderous tall tale, is Poe's retaliating move to thekiller's forward pressing pieces disguised as condemned victims.Exciting. Riveting. Without room for fault.Cons: For mysteries, it's best when the audience can feel like they caninteract with the film by playing the detective as well. Unfortunatelyfor "The Raven", unless you are an Edgar Allan Poe fanatic and are veryfamiliar with his work, it's hard to stay a step ahead of thecharacters or even produce a slightly reasonable answer/hypothesis foreach mystery in the film.ÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ"Nevermore", like the famous line from Edgar Allan Poe's literary workThe Raven, the single word describes the desolation, desperation,sorrow that is portrayed through this film. Bringing a light to some ofEdgar Allan Poe's life and also that time period with a cleverly weavedmystery, the 21st century audience is brought back to seemingly simplertimes where literary work and subtle prose were forms of art thatbrought society together and gave spaces to dreams."The Raven" is not a gory, torture story like "Saw" or Jack the Ripperlike some critics/review may state. The villain in "The Raven"shouldn't be compared to those serial killers (like America's very ownEd Gein  inspiration of Silence of the Lambs, Ted Bundy, or Mudgett"Dr. Holmes") who murdered for the joy of destroying their victims."The Raven" created a mastermind whose target is Poe and findsfascination in the game of challenging other intellectuals. A game ofchess. That point strongly separates this film above and away from thehorror category of mindless killing sprees and into a mystery/adventuregenre.Aside from a fascinating, interacting story development, "The Raven" isstructurally pieced together beautifully and minute with holes forcriticism. In all sense just like fashion, movies have only a selectfew plot development and story-telling techniques to use. "The Raven"is no different. E.g. starting off with a present view (or future), theaudience is then taken to revisit the events that led to that firstscene. Though not an outlandishly innovative film that creates 1st timeexperiences for the audience, "The Raven" does not reinvent the wheelbut elegantly rides on it.Put simply  in an elegant, concise manner, "The Raven" keeps its focuson the story of murders and murderers. Romance, jeers, side stories arekept at a minimal, allowing the audience not too much but just enoughto absorb in and stay continuously, deeply entrenched in the world ofEdgar Allan Poe.Honestly, this is going to be one of my favorite films (and not justbecause I like the Romantic Movement).And thus I end my review of the film with a quote: "Deep into thatdarkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, Doubting,dreaming dreams no mortal ever dreamed before.""Nevermore"Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven.
valrogm (21 April 2013)
A mystery/thriller that fails to deliver either suspense or tension
The movie is a mystery/thriller with some elements of horror. If you'revery squeamish, you should know that you will have to watch two verygruesome murders. In the case of remaining murders, you are just shownthe corpses, so that should be less disturbing.I liked the 18th-century setting. The visuals were very pleasing(besides the murders, of course).Having the murderer base his murders on the works of Poe to give clueswas also a nice touch. Unfortunately, the audience doesn't getinformation or the time to think about the clues - Poe immediatelyinterprets them, which deprives the audience of much suspense.The intelligent villain was very convincing till near the end, when thedirector made the lamentable decision to make him appear near-immortal.In that unfortunate scene, he waits for all the police officers to showup, then jumps down like Batman, slits a police officer's throat andruns away. And none of them are able to stop him. Which brings me tothe most lamentable decision of the director of all...They got a bimbo, Alice Eve, from 'Sex and the City', to play a seriousand important role in this movie.Alice Eve's character is _buried_alive_for_days_ by the villain and sheshows _no_emotion_! There isn't a woman alive or who has ever beenalive who wouldn't cry herself to insanity in that situation. Even mostmen would break down. And yet, she does not cry once (Is it that womenaren't allowed to cry anymore in movies, or is she just a dumb bimbo?).Instead her reaction is "Hmm this is a minor inconvenience. Let mesmash my way out of the ground, hands first, like an Undead returningto the surface".Seriously, why should the audience care about a character's fate, whenthe character doesn't seem remotely concerned herself? These lamentabledecisions resulted in an unnecessary loss of tension, empathy for thecharacters and suspense.
phd_travel (20 April 2013)
Interesting and clever
This is an intricate and fascinating if slightly anti climacticimagining of the events leading to Poe's real life mysterious death. Acopycat serial killer murders people a la Poe's stories and he isbrought in to help solve the crimes. His girlfriend gets kidnapped bythe killer.Obviously this will appeal to Poe fans. I know a few Poe's more famousstories it is quite fun to watch them appear. And it makes me want toread more of the less famous stories too.The European filming locations give 19th Century Baltimore an old worldfeel.John Cusack looks the part but he tends to resort to inaudible whispersand it ends up feeling like a weaker if less comical version ofNicholas Cage. The rest of the cast is mostly British with good enoughaccents including Luke Evans competently playing a detective on thecase and Alice Eve the romantic interest for Poe.In some ways this movie succeeds because it has a more real feel thanthe Sherlock Holmes cases and is quite tense in parts. Where it doesn'tdo well is the pace drags here and there and the ending is a logicalbut a bit anti climactic. I can see why it wasn't a huge hit but Ithink it is worth a watch.
witster18 (18 April 2013)
All 4 people in my party rated it a 7/10
VERY, VERY MILD SPOILERS.It's a good movie. "The Raven" takes a little while to get going, butthe film has some very strong characteristics and the last half isexcellent.My guess is that the majority of negative reviews will harp on thefilms slow first 35-40 minutes, or about some historical inaccuracies(Ialways hate those nitpickers on the historical accuracy of subjects ofwhich I wouldn't know what was historically accurate or not - so whocares right?) I went to see the film with my mother, step-father, andmy wife. I should note: while we only gave the film a 7/10 as a group -a huge portion of the audience actually applauded at the end of a film.You don't see that very often nowadays, so I thought it was noteworthy.There wasn't much to choose from when I looked in the paper Fridaymorning, and seeing how I'm the family movie-buff, I was entrusted tomake the final decision on the movie.Now, I wasn't dying to see this, but stacked up against options like"American Reunion", "Safe", and other "gambles in my mind"; I thoughtgoing with Cusack and the director of "V for Vendetta" was the safestbet. Had I been on my own - I would have had trouble picking between"The Raven" and "American Reunion". I like Stathom, but had heard somenegative reviews on "Safe". I also knew that I would ultimately see itas a rental."The Raven" is in the vein of "From Hell", or "Sleepy Hollow", andprobably towards the latter in terms of quality.John Cusack is FANTASTIC as Poe, a smart, witty, drunk that printsmacabre tales, but otherwise seems like a pretty nice guy. When aseries of killings turn out to be re-enactments of his previous work -he is instantly a suspect.Brendan Gleeson is good(as always) as the father of Cusack's loveinterest, Alice Eve, and another noteworthy performance comes from LukeEvans as the detective assigned to the case.The last half of the film moves at a nice pace compared to the firsthalf, and the audience is really drawn in to root for Poe's character.The style and direction is sharp, and there isn't much to criticize interms of quality here - this is/was a nice production.The few grotesque scenes are very effective. Kudo's go out to thecomputer imaging and make-up teams for making this look extremely real.I was a bit surprised to see this ranked at 6.8 - even though that'sreally close to what my group rated the film. I suspect it has probablybottomed-out here. I don't expect it to go any lower. This film shouldhover around 7.0 by the time all is said and done.Even though I haven't seen the other films at the theater - I have thefeeling this is probably one of the best options(if not the best) for atrip to the movies this weekend. It's definitely the best option forthe "adult" crowd. Nice to see an effective film that didn't need to rely on a bunch ofT&A, Mass-killings(there's only about 6 or 7 here), or over-blown CGI.I enjoyed it. It might even be worth buying and adding to thecollection down the road.73/100You'll like this if you liked:From Hell(not as good as this), SleepyHollow(about even with this, or call me crazy I might have enjoyed TheRaven a touch more!), Ninth Gate(not as good), or The Prestige(a littlebetter).Welcome back John Cusack. Perhaps his strongest performance since1990's "The Grifters", or at least 2000's "High Fidelity".Recommended!
Paul Andrews (18 April 2013)
Enjoyable enough mystery thriller.
The Raven is set in Baltimore during 1849 where short horror storynovelist & poet Edgar Allen Poe (John Cusack) is a broke alcoholic whobarely manages to survive writing reviews for the local paper. Poe isin love with Emily (Alice Eve) who is the daughter of rich & powerfulbusinessman Charles Hamilton (Brendan Gleeson) who despises Poe &threatens to shoot him if he goes near Emily again, however Emily isdeeply in love with Poe & the two are determined to be together & marryeach other. Meanwhile several gruesome & unusual killings are beinginvestigated by Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) who soon realisesthat each of the murders have been copied from one of Poe's stories,Poe is brought in as a suspect but is quickly cleared of suspicion. Poe& Emily plan to announce their marriage at her father's fancy dressball but Emily is kidnapped by the killer who continues to kill & totaunt both the police & Poe as he uses the life of Emily to make hispoint...This American, Hungarian & Spanish co-production was directed by JamesMcTeigue & is a fictional account of the final few days of the life offamed short horror story writer Edgar Allen Poe, I say fictionalbecause apart from Poe himself, a few of his stories which arename-checked & the odd minor character nothing much in The Raven couldbe described as historically accurate or anywhere near approachingfact, for instance there is no historic record of an Emily that Poeplanned to marry. The title The Raven has little to do with the filmapart from the odd Raven appearing on-screen every so often but is theactual name of a poem Poe wrote in 1845, The Raven is a cool titletitle but means little. As a historical account of Poe's life The Ravenoffers little, there are no insights to his inspirations, his strugglesor his life beyond he is presented as a man named Edgar Allen Poe wholived in Baltimore. As a work of dramatic fiction The Raven alsodisappoints somewhat, the big twist at the end when the kidnapper &killer is revealed is rather unsatisfying as this character we nonothing about is revealed to be the killer & quite frankly it couldhave been anyone as his motivations, his connection to Poe & the meanswith which he was able to pull off a series of such elaborate crimesremain almost a total mystery. The word flimsy springs to mind. At 110minutes long The Raven does drag a little in places & after a couple ofnice murders director McTeigue then focuses on Emily's kidnappingrather than more gory set-pieces. The film is decent enough, I liked itfor what it is but I felt it could have been a lot more, neithersatisfying those Poe fans who want an accurate portrayal of him onscreen not those merely wanting a straight ahead gory serial killermystery thriller it lies somewhere between the two. The Raven isneither terrible nor great, it's just sort of watchable & acceptablebut never rises above that.Despite Poe being best remembered as a writer of horror stories TheRaven is more of a thriller with a great deal of the time spent on thekidnapped Emily & the desperate search for her, the end when the killeris revealed & Poe confronts them feels rushed & makes littleimpression. There just aren't enough viable suspects in this whodunitmurder mystery thriller & how on Earth did the killer manage toconstruct a full swinging axe on his own? Where did they get the money?Why was no-one suspicious? Where did they find the time while alsoworking a full-time job? I just wished that Poe & the killer had moreconnecting them & that the killer had more of a twisted motive. Eventhough the film looks very nice with lots of dark cobbled streets, somedingy period settings & lavish attention to detail there's no attemptto stick to realism as the term Serial Killer wasn't even invented orused until the 1970's for instance.With a supposed budget of about $26,000,000 the film has niceproduction values for sure, this was mainly filmed in Serbia althoughset entirely in Baltimore. The acting is pretty good, Cusack is fine &the supporting cast are good too. Apparently both Ewan McGregor &Joaquin Phoenix were offered the role of Poe but turned it down.The Raven is an OK murder mystery thriller that could have been a lotbetter, the idea of placing the real life horror author Poe in asituation where he has to investigate murders based on his books isneat but the concept never quite comes together here, it lacks acertain something & has no basis in historic fact at all which mayannoy devoted Poe fans.
george.schmidt (14 April 2013)
Perish or Publish Indeed! Cusack gives blood as Poe!
THE RAVEN (2012) *** John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve, BrendanGleeson, Kevin McNally, Oliver Jackson-Cohen. Revisionist fictionalaccount in the What-IF scenario of What IF A Serial Killer WasCommitting Grisly Crimes ala Edgar Allen Poe's Works? That's prettymuch it in a nutshell with a very game Cusack (mixing bluff braggadocioego and painful poignancy) as the besotted author days prior to hismysterious death in which he is enlisted by Baltimore's Finest to helpsolve a cache of horrendous murders all bearing the earmark of hisfamous works. To add salt to the self-inflicted wounds, his beloved Eveis on the murderer's list as the tock ticks .Filmmaker James McTeiguehas staged a handsome 19th century period piece with great productiondesign and a somewhat dizzying screenplay by Ben Livingston & HannahShakespeare keep things lively to a certain extent as the knottyplottings unfurl.
VillageVoiceNY (13 April 2013)
Once Upon a Movie Dreary: The Raven is not the Poe drama you deserve
At the height of his literary fame, Edgar Allan Poe, who popularizedcryptography in his story "The Gold Bug," was so renowned as acode-breaker that his public would eagerly submit encoded messages forthe writer to cipher. The Raven, which stars John Cusack as Poe, hisgoatee the least of the film's historical liberties, imagines avariation on this reader-meet- author game of wits. In Baltimore,1849Âthe place and time of Poe's deathÂa serial killer puts out achallenge to the dissipated Poe, committing murders copycatted from hisTales, each crime scene containing a clue to string the author along tothe next fresh atrocity...Read the full review here:http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-04-25/film/the-raven-review/
Review total: 20, showing from 1 to 20