Watch The Raven Movie Free Online
he macabre and lurid tales of Edgar Allan Poe are vividly brought to life - and death in this stylish, gothic thriller starring John Cusack as the infamous author. When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by Poe's darkest works, a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans) joins forces with Poe in a quest to get inside the killer's mind in order to stop him from making every one of Poe's brutal stories a blood chilling reality. A deadly game of cat and mouse ensues, which escalates when Poe's love (Alice Eve, "She's Out of My League") becomes the next target. Intrepid Pictures' "The Raven" also stars Brendan Gleeson ("In Bruges") and Oliver Jackson-Cohen ("Faster").An acerbic sense of humour and a gleefully grisly production style make this gothic thriller good fun to watch. It may be rather preposterous, but it's also a grippingly complex mystery populated by some terrific actors.
In the weeks before his inexplicable death in 1849, author Edgar Allan Poe (Cusack) finds himself at the centre of a series of murders in which a killer is recreating his stories in grotesque scenarios around Baltimore. Detective Fields (Evans) asks Edgar to help with the case, but he's distracted by his girlfriend Emily (Eve), whose harsh father (Gleeson) refuses to allow the couple to marry. As the murders get increasingly personal for Edgar, he realises that his own fate is entwined with the fiendishly clever killer, whoever he may be.The film opens with a note about how Poe's final days are shrouded in mystery, then proceeds to tell a story that's about as public as it can be, as the events play out in Baltimore's newspapers and among the city's chattering classes. In other words, everything's so fictionalised that the fact that the central character is Poe is almost irrelevant. Not that this really matters, when the filmmakers work so diligently to gleefully gross us out.
Each murderous scenario is more grisly than the last, and Cusack is terrific as a guy horrified that his own imagination is being used in such a ghastly way.
But the filmmakers are having so much fun with the energetic action that they never bother to explore the intriguing issue of a horror writer's creative process. Instead, the film's a series of set pieces involving confusing attacks and chases souped up with period detail.Thankfully, the actors have plenty of space to add sardonic wit, creating tension between them that makes the film more entertaining than it has a right to be. The mystery resolves in a way that isn't hugely satisfying, but the lively tone never lets up, even as things become increasingly grim. We know that it will end with Poe's death (the story is told as an extended flashback), and while the whodunit isn't hugely convincing as an explanation for real-world events, it's a thoroughly entertaining movie plot.
But there will be no gentle rapping from this corner of the curious photoplay, "The Raven," which Universal, with amazing effrontery, describes as having been inspired by two Edgar Allan Poe classics, "The Raven" and "The Pit and the Pendulum."A hybrid harder to describe than Boris Karloff's newest make-up, the Roxy's current tenant should have no difficulty in gaining the distinction of being the season's worst horror film. Not even the presence of the screen's Number One and Two Bogymen, Mr. Karloff and Bela (Dracula) Lugosi, can make the picture anything but a fatal mistake from beginning to end.If you are as curious as we were to see how the movie makers would combine "The Raven" and "Pit and Pendulum"using Karloff and Lugosi in the processyou may be interested to learn that what Poe suggested to the script boys was a story about a mad surgeon. The chapMr. Lugosihad read Poe so thoroughly that he had gone whacky, kept a stuffed raven (no, Mr. Karloff does not play the raven) on his desk for luck and built a torture room in his cellar.
When the father of the young woman he would espouse refuses to give his blessing, the surgeon invites all the principals to a house party and then, cackling ghoulishly the while, tries out his torture machines. If it had not been for Mr. Karloffthis time with a dead eye, a slack mouth and few other cute touchesthe death rate would have been terrific.Of course, it must be said that Lugosi and Karloff try hard, even though, both being cultured men, they must have suffered at the indignity being visited upon the helpless Edgar Allan. But if "The Raven" is the best that Universal can do with one of the greatest horror story writers of all time, then it had better toss away the other two books in its library and stick to the pulpies for plot material.The stage show presents Herman Timberg, Tip, Tap and Toe, a dancing trio; the Digatanos, the Gae Foster girls and Freddie Mack's orchestra.
Far from the pleasant working relationship between Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi had a long-standing feud that kept them from working together more often. It's strange that their careers took similar paths. Lugosi, near broke and recovering from drug addiction, appeared in Ed Wood films before his death. Karloff was turned away by the very genre that made him a star and not all of his last films done in Mexico were even released.Thankfully, a few earlier films give ample opportunity to see what these two stars were like at their prime. Like many films of its type, THE RAVEN features a generic young couple, Dr. Jerry Halden (Lester Matthews) and the talented dancer, Jean Thatcher (Irene Ward). Truthfully, the only reason for the existence of characters such as this are to set up the initial story and then give the real stars something to act off of.Watch free movies online
When the couple gets into a horrible accident (a corny looking special effect), it looks as though Jean will never walk, let alone dance again. Jean's father (Samuel S. Hinds) begs Dr. Richard Vollin (Bela Lugosi) to save her.Dr. Vollin must be an unmatched surgeon because everything else about him is very off-putting. He's extremely ineffectual and eccentric. Also, he has an absolute obsession with Edgar Allen Poe. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want someone reciting "The Pit and the Pendulum" as I was going under the knife.Jean makes a full recovery and Vollin falls madly in love with her. Jean humors the doctor out of gratitude but is still interested in her stiff-necked but sane boyfriend. After Jean dances an interpretation of Poe's "The Raven," Vollin cannot be swayed. He sees Jean as his own Lenore, being swept away by a young rogue. Vollin hatches a plot to kidnap Jean and dispatch the troublesome lawyer.
The unwitting Edmond Bateman (Karloff) aids him in his quest. Bateman, a wronged fugitive, comes to Vollin to ask for plastic surgery. He needs a new face to conceal his identity. He credits many of the missteps that have befallen him to his ugly face. If the world weren't so hateful of the ugly, he may not have had to commit the crimes he did.Probably not the best thing to tell Vollin. He horribly disfigures Bateman in the operating room. When Bateman screams in agony, smashing every mirror image of himself he can find, Vollin tells him, "I can use your hate." If Bateman helps out in his plan, Vollin will fix Bateman?s face.Also helping the not-so-good doctor is his lavish estate, which should get billing right under Lugosi and Karloff. This is the classic evil lair, with secret passages, crazy electrical circuits, a descending bedroom and best of all, a torture chamber filled with instruments inspired by Poe's works. Every time a device is utilized, it gives the viewer a chuckle of delight.
In the weeks before his inexplicable death in 1849, author Edgar Allan Poe (Cusack) finds himself at the centre of a series of murders in which a killer is recreating his stories in grotesque scenarios around Baltimore. Detective Fields (Evans) asks Edgar to help with the case, but he's distracted by his girlfriend Emily (Eve), whose harsh father (Gleeson) refuses to allow the couple to marry. As the murders get increasingly personal for Edgar, he realises that his own fate is entwined with the fiendishly clever killer, whoever he may be.The film opens with a note about how Poe's final days are shrouded in mystery, then proceeds to tell a story that's about as public as it can be, as the events play out in Baltimore's newspapers and among the city's chattering classes. In other words, everything's so fictionalised that the fact that the central character is Poe is almost irrelevant. Not that this really matters, when the filmmakers work so diligently to gleefully gross us out.
Each murderous scenario is more grisly than the last, and Cusack is terrific as a guy horrified that his own imagination is being used in such a ghastly way.
But the filmmakers are having so much fun with the energetic action that they never bother to explore the intriguing issue of a horror writer's creative process. Instead, the film's a series of set pieces involving confusing attacks and chases souped up with period detail.Thankfully, the actors have plenty of space to add sardonic wit, creating tension between them that makes the film more entertaining than it has a right to be. The mystery resolves in a way that isn't hugely satisfying, but the lively tone never lets up, even as things become increasingly grim. We know that it will end with Poe's death (the story is told as an extended flashback), and while the whodunit isn't hugely convincing as an explanation for real-world events, it's a thoroughly entertaining movie plot.
But there will be no gentle rapping from this corner of the curious photoplay, "The Raven," which Universal, with amazing effrontery, describes as having been inspired by two Edgar Allan Poe classics, "The Raven" and "The Pit and the Pendulum."A hybrid harder to describe than Boris Karloff's newest make-up, the Roxy's current tenant should have no difficulty in gaining the distinction of being the season's worst horror film. Not even the presence of the screen's Number One and Two Bogymen, Mr. Karloff and Bela (Dracula) Lugosi, can make the picture anything but a fatal mistake from beginning to end.If you are as curious as we were to see how the movie makers would combine "The Raven" and "Pit and Pendulum"using Karloff and Lugosi in the processyou may be interested to learn that what Poe suggested to the script boys was a story about a mad surgeon. The chapMr. Lugosihad read Poe so thoroughly that he had gone whacky, kept a stuffed raven (no, Mr. Karloff does not play the raven) on his desk for luck and built a torture room in his cellar.
When the father of the young woman he would espouse refuses to give his blessing, the surgeon invites all the principals to a house party and then, cackling ghoulishly the while, tries out his torture machines. If it had not been for Mr. Karloffthis time with a dead eye, a slack mouth and few other cute touchesthe death rate would have been terrific.Of course, it must be said that Lugosi and Karloff try hard, even though, both being cultured men, they must have suffered at the indignity being visited upon the helpless Edgar Allan. But if "The Raven" is the best that Universal can do with one of the greatest horror story writers of all time, then it had better toss away the other two books in its library and stick to the pulpies for plot material.The stage show presents Herman Timberg, Tip, Tap and Toe, a dancing trio; the Digatanos, the Gae Foster girls and Freddie Mack's orchestra.
Far from the pleasant working relationship between Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi had a long-standing feud that kept them from working together more often. It's strange that their careers took similar paths. Lugosi, near broke and recovering from drug addiction, appeared in Ed Wood films before his death. Karloff was turned away by the very genre that made him a star and not all of his last films done in Mexico were even released.Thankfully, a few earlier films give ample opportunity to see what these two stars were like at their prime. Like many films of its type, THE RAVEN features a generic young couple, Dr. Jerry Halden (Lester Matthews) and the talented dancer, Jean Thatcher (Irene Ward). Truthfully, the only reason for the existence of characters such as this are to set up the initial story and then give the real stars something to act off of.Watch free movies online
When the couple gets into a horrible accident (a corny looking special effect), it looks as though Jean will never walk, let alone dance again. Jean's father (Samuel S. Hinds) begs Dr. Richard Vollin (Bela Lugosi) to save her.Dr. Vollin must be an unmatched surgeon because everything else about him is very off-putting. He's extremely ineffectual and eccentric. Also, he has an absolute obsession with Edgar Allen Poe. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want someone reciting "The Pit and the Pendulum" as I was going under the knife.Jean makes a full recovery and Vollin falls madly in love with her. Jean humors the doctor out of gratitude but is still interested in her stiff-necked but sane boyfriend. After Jean dances an interpretation of Poe's "The Raven," Vollin cannot be swayed. He sees Jean as his own Lenore, being swept away by a young rogue. Vollin hatches a plot to kidnap Jean and dispatch the troublesome lawyer.
The unwitting Edmond Bateman (Karloff) aids him in his quest. Bateman, a wronged fugitive, comes to Vollin to ask for plastic surgery. He needs a new face to conceal his identity. He credits many of the missteps that have befallen him to his ugly face. If the world weren't so hateful of the ugly, he may not have had to commit the crimes he did.Probably not the best thing to tell Vollin. He horribly disfigures Bateman in the operating room. When Bateman screams in agony, smashing every mirror image of himself he can find, Vollin tells him, "I can use your hate." If Bateman helps out in his plan, Vollin will fix Bateman?s face.Also helping the not-so-good doctor is his lavish estate, which should get billing right under Lugosi and Karloff. This is the classic evil lair, with secret passages, crazy electrical circuits, a descending bedroom and best of all, a torture chamber filled with instruments inspired by Poe's works. Every time a device is utilized, it gives the viewer a chuckle of delight.
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