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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The Raven


I’m sure by now you’ve all heard about the Edgar Allan Poe film, The Raven. John Cusack stars in the movie, and I can’t believe I haven’t gotten out to see it yet. I have a love/loathe relationship with Poe~ the man’s writing makes my skin crawl, which I’m sure he would be delighted to hear. I appreciate the writing and I sink into the stories, but I’m SUCH a weenie when it comes to eerie/scary/murderous plots.

I still remember reading The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart, and then listening to recordings of them in class. With the lights out. Creeeeeeeepy. Not to mention his other slightly macabre works. Want to know a little more about the film?

The following bullet points are from slashfilm.com 
  •  The Raven is a fictionalized account of the final five “mysterious” days of Edgar Allan Poe’s life. Apparently the famous writer joins the hunt for a serial killer whose murders are inspired by his stories.
  • The real death of Poe was also mysterious. The writer was discovered on the streets of Baltimore in great distress and in need of “immediate assistance.” He was wearing someone else’s clothes and repeating the name “Reynolds”. He died shortly after in hospital, never able to explain what had happened.


If you’ve seen the film, did you enjoy it?

Do you have a favorite Edgar Allan Poe poem/story?

21 comments:

  1. It was Poe's The Gold Bug and The Murders in the Rue Morgue, more than his creepy stuff, that I admired the most. They were part of the reason I grew up wanting to write mysteries! :)

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    1. Really? Too cool! I'll have to check out those titles :)

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  2. I really wanted to see this film but all I heard were bad, bad things about it - the plot was too all over the place, it was too funny/was made into a parody almost instead of a drama... sigh.... Maybe I'll rent it....

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    1. Darn it! Thanks for letting me know, though. Maybe I'll wait until it gets to the library.

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  3. I want to see it...
    I'll probably have to wait for the dvd, though.

    My daughter had a sleepover last Halloween, and I told them the story "The Masque of the Red Death." It was pretty awesome, and one of the girls slept under the bed afterward. Hmm... she didn't come to my daughter's last sleepover; I wonder if it's related?

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    1. OMG!! I would have called Mommy to pick me up. Too funny :)

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  4. I LOVE Poe. Haven't seen the movie, but both the Telltale Heart and the Masque of the Red Death are my faves. Can't wait to hear what you think!

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  5. I loved studying Poe in university. You're right, he was just over-the-top creepy. The story of the last few days of his life sound really fascinating!

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  6. Now I have to watch these film as it generated these mixed reactions from comments.

    Thanks for posting about it!

    Nas

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  7. I hadn't heard of it, but I totally have a love/hate relationship with Poe too!

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  8. I haven't read any of Poe, nor have I seen this movie. But I love John Cusack!

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  9. When I was a teen we used to love to read Poe's stories during sleepovers and scare ourselves to death. And we did a dang good job doing it, too. My father must have had the patience of a saint.

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  10. I love that you used the word "weenie." =) That perfectly describes how I am about horror, too. I'd suggest we catch the film together, but I'm afraid we'd both spend most of it hiding behind our hands and never actually find out what's going on!

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  11. i'm a weenie too. no nightmare on elm street, chucky or stephen king for me. :( i am interested in seeing poe with cusak though. i didn't know that about his death, and am now totally intrigued! thanks! christy

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  12. Dude, I can't wait to see this! So many great movies this summer!! Thanks for the reminder!

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  13. I don't think I've read anything by Poe, but like you I stay away from scary stuff that either keeps me awake or gives me bad dream.

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  14. Saw it and LOVED it! Poe made me a fan in grade school. My brother and I even had a 'scary record' when we were little featuring "The Tale-Tell Heart", complete with eerie sound effects and screams. :) Maybe that's why I'm a little warped.

    The movie was great, and I think Poe would be proud of the tribute.

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