‘But I’m only a critic!’’ exclaims a victim who’s about to be sliced up by a pendulum operated ax in “The Raven,’’ a thriller that posits—more entertainingly than convincingly — that Edgar Allan Poe spent the last five days of his life tracking down a serial killer inspired by his tales of terror.
The death of said critic (John Warnaby)—who was engaged in a literary feud with our hero— briefly casts suspicion on the drunken, mildly disheveled Poe, splendidly impersonated here by John Cusack (who, if nothing else, knows how to rock a cape).
Assured by Poe’s boss that “the only thing he’s ever killed was a pint of gin,’’ the detective (Luke Evans) assigned to the case in 1849 Baltimore enlists the assistance of the drunken author.
Poe is appalled that the fiend has already styled a pair of killings on “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,’’ and has left a note at the scene of the latest crime promising a real life update on “The Masque of the Red Death.’’
Despite the best efforts of the Baltimore police force, the anonymous fiend abducts Poe’s fiancée (Alice Eve) from a masked ball given by her muttonchopped father (the gleefully hamming Brendan Gleeson).
The villain treats the fiancée to a premature burial in a coffin—as she hopefully awaits rescue by Poe.
Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare’s script borders on the silly, and there’s more than a bit of anachronistic dialogue (the term “serial killer” wasn’t used until over a century later). And it’s a bit disappointing that the ultimately unmasked culprit turns out to basically be a 19th century fanboy trying to coax one more story from Poe’s hand.
But in the skilled hands of Cusack—who recites quite a bit of Poe’s poetry — and director John McTeigue (“V for Vendetta’’), it’s good pulpy fun, with eye catching period trimmings, and Hungarian locations standing in ably for 19th century Maryland.
I must confess I’m confused about exactly why “The Raven’’ ends with hardrocking “Se7en’’style credits. But then, what do I know? I’m only a critic.