L'Ombre du mal

I wanted to watch The Raven mainly because of the actor, who has been keeping on surprising me lately. Luke Evans was able to put on a show in this movie, too, and he definitely won me over because of it. If I should compare the movie itself to something, it would probably be Anonymous. Because The Raven is a sort of pseudo-historical Edgar Allan Poe’s biopic. But it doesn’t tell his own story, it connects the stories of his individual tales. One murder = one tale. But as a whole, it gives away Edgar, his personality, his opinions and convictions that managed to seep into his tales. And I must say that I loved the idea. The atmosphere of old Baltimore was dark enough and at the same time, I didn’t mind that the entire movie was filmed in Europe, quite the opposite. The only problem with this movie that I minded a lot was the ending. Considering how well the story was developing, the ending has cut it in quite a hard-lined manner. I just wish that a story like this could get a downright epic ending. In the end, I got a rather intimate death acceptance. But that’s probably how it was supposed to be… (01/04/2014)

A fairly ordinary thriller, spiced up with Poe. Nether Cusak’s nor Luke Evans’ acting is bad, and the design works well (it has that new, Holmes type shine), although McTeigue didn’t manage to conjure up much of an atmosphere. (13/05/2012)

It's not completely bad and quite entertaining because it's short, lively, and musically properly dramatic. While the killer can be guessed after a few minutes and everything is basically predictable from beginning to end, it can be managed once thanks to those few camera tricks and fantastic sound and sound effects. There is a certain directorial inexperience and immaturity visible, but The Silence of the Lambs won't be repeated just like that. (07/12/2012)

I really lacked suspense. Otherwise, more or less everything was right in The Raven. The great quirky John Cusack, good period atmosphere lightened by humor in the right places, impressive murder scenes (entering a locked room, maybe the pendulum was a little too bloody). The story was less uneven than I expected, but as I already said - there was no suspense, which is unforgivable in a film that pays tribute to a pioneer of this genre. Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (the first one) wins in this respect. However, compared to the recent garbage Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The Raven is still an above average spectacle. Three and a half. (02/12/2012)

The overacting Cusack, the post-production winds with utter social consciousness through a ridiculously dark Burton-esque Baltimore among half-dimensional characters, tediously rendered murders, and the twists and turns of a totally moronic script that gives the impression that every page was written by a different person with no knowledge of the rest of the story. Which is to say that every now and then, when you give the film some grace, an atmospherically pleasant scene materializes, only to get suddenly fucked up by some horrible 3D effect. Plus, the main protagonist somehow always gives the impression that Nicolas Cage wasn’t available (which sounds hard to believe, of course), and in general the more I write about this movie, the more it pisses me off. (02/10/2012)

An excellently filmed dark thriller, inspired by the life and work of my favorite author. What more could I ask for? The film has a perfectly grim atmosphere from start to finish. I must also praise the cast, except for the main character, as Luke Evans easily beats John Cusack. Alice Eve was an excellent choice, as I was genuinely afraid for her safety until the end. There are actresses who would make me root for a psychopathic killer. I enjoyed this film and I wasn't bored for a second. It came close to getting five stars from me. (18/12/2016)