Once upon a midnight dreary there came a new suspenseful, thriller movie: The Raven. Only this, and nothing more.
The movie takes place in the 1800s and follows the mystery of a series of kills. The serial killer is basing his murders on Edgar Allen Poe’s stories.
“I’m really excited for the movie because I love Edgar Allen Poe, and [the movie is] putting a twist on all of his stories together,” Kat Murray, junior, said.
Like Poe’s stories, the movie will include gruesome scenes, deep internal conflicts, and lots of action.
“The suspense and mystery make the movie look interesting. [John Cusack] is a really good, experienced actor, and he’ll be able to take his character into whatever it needs to be,” Murray said.
Cusack’s on screen debut was in 1983 in Class. Since then, he has been nominated for awards such as the American Comedy Award, the Golden Globe (for best actor), and the Independent Spirit award.
The director, James McTeigue, is most popularly known for his directing in V for Vendetta, and he has also been an assistant director for Matrix and Star Wars Episode II.
“[The killer] does [murders] like The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Pit and Pendulum and works through Poe’s stories in an increasingly gruesome way. We have real elements from Poe’s life, in and out of the story. He was a troubled figure and that’s alluded to in the film. Ultimately he becomes one of the characters in his own story,” said McTeigue in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
The irony of the situation only adds more drama to the already dramatic movie.
“I think [Poe’s] life would make a great movie. The fact and fiction put together should work well. He’s a really interesting guy, and I think he’d appreciate this movie,” Ian Silverman, English teacher, said.
In the movie, Poe works with a young detective to try to find the killer. Because Poe wrote the stories, the police believe it would be easier for Poe to decipher where the killer will strike next.
“I’m really interested to see if The Tell-Tale Heart will be in the movie; it’s a difficult murder. I hope they are able to capture the psycho aspect of it well,” Hailey Kuehl, junior, said.
Although the preview does not show every murder, it does show Poe’s love interest getting kidnapped, thus making Poe want to capture the killer even more.
“[The commercial] captured my attention well, the way they did it. A lot of people know Edgar Allen Poe, so I guess it’s more or less what I expected it to be about his life, but with murders based on his books, which is cool,” Kuehl said.
With all the gruesome and action scenes, it could be easy to make the movie over the top.
“[The filmmakers need to make sure] that they don’t go overboard with the psychodrama. It’s really easy to do that,” Silverman said.
The movie will fly into theaters April 27, and is not yet rated. To find out more about The Raven, visit http://theravenmovie.com.