The Raven movie based on Poe

I saw this movie on Netflix some time ago. I really liked the dark atmosphere. What did you think of it? I still like The Fall of The House of Usher Vincent Price Version, this Raven wasn't bad for a more modern film.

I haven’t seen it, actually, but I am very much a fan of the old Vincent Price Poe movies… they just had this almost frenzied atmosphere to them sometimes that I found delightfully dark and twisted. The most intense example being Masque of the Red Death, especially the totally mad ending which had a “Dance of Death” thing going on! It was perfect, and I really could not imagine that movie ending any other way. The Fall of the House of Usher was brilliant too, as was The Pit and the Pendulum. They had a certain… madness… to them that went a bit beyond the original Poe stories that they were based on and in some aspects just totally did their own thing with it. But they did it well! And given the lower budget for the era in which they were made, they had to be very creative when it came to presentation, special effects, and the like. I remember that the women in those movies were always dressed very elegantly, very splendidly… the costuming was certainly something they spared no expense with back then. Vincent Price always played a great villain, especially since he had a penchant for overacting… but it worked well with those roles since such roles actually called for overacting and if anyone else had been in those parts it could have come off campy or even silly. But Price made it sinister, creepy, and even downright evil, and it is remarkable that he had such a gift for acting in those sorts of roles given that they said that in real life he wasn’t like that at all. Tomb of Ligeia was a great movie too… some very, very dark and totally twisted stuff in that, but so well acted! All the classic Vincent Price Poe movies were like, though. If I had to pick one favorite of them all, it would have to be Masque of the Red Death though, for certain.

Ever seen the remake of House on Haunted Hill with Geoffrey Rush? He channeled Vincent Price in full villain mode perfectly in that movie, which was totally what they were going for with it. He had a similar vibe in Quills too, although I think that was more due to how dark and twisted all of the characters were in that movie to begin with. Rush played a perfect Marquis de Sade in that though… charismatic (in a Hannibal Lecter kind of way), maniacal, and arguably madder than a hatter but also with this bizarre streak of dark, twisted, perhaps even sick brilliance just beneath the surface. Both of those movies had a kind of old-school classic “Vincent Price-style” to them that made them interesting. In House on Haunted Hill’s case, I can see if they had the same budget back in Vincent Price’s time they probably would have gone that route for most of his movies with more over the top gore and wild special effects. The only things that could have made Masque of the Red Death even crazier (and more awesome) than it already is. *Giggle*

Although there have been some all right Poe-style films in more modern movies… sadly, H.P. Lovecraft adaptations have faltered a bit. The best ones I’ve seen were Dagon (which was a modern adaptation of Shadow over Innsmouth), Necronomicon (which was an anthology movie depicting several Lovecraft stories, with a cool framing tale showing Lovecraft himself delving into occult matters beyond mortal comprehension), and most recently Call of Cthulhu (which was a modern-made silent film that sought to do a totally accurate take on the short story of the same name). Other than those, I thought In the Mouth of Madness was epic as far as it being an: homage rather than an adaptation goes. And that is about it when it comes to Lovecraft movies that I’d actually call good.

Poe and Lovecraft were both brilliant writers though, and influenced even authors such as Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the Barbarian. Being a fan of their writings, I do tend also to be a fan of the better movie adaptations of their works, of which the Vincent Price classics are definitely to be categorized.

This film coul.d have been way better if the people doing it took it more serious. my 2 cents

I kind of had that same feeling with various parts of the movie version of From Hell. It was a good adaptation of the graphic novel it was based on (thankfully with the most horrifically gruesome stuff not present), but sometimes there were moments when I honestly thought the actors really weren’t taking the rather dark, heavy subject matter seriously enough. Johnny Depp’s character in it, in particular I could almost see shades of his Ichabod Crane character from Sleepy Hollow in. Most especially when he was in the opium den! And that is not good when dealing with a story involving Jack the Ripper and such. Ian Holm came off a little less menacing in his villain role than he probably should have, too. After seeing him as Bilbo Baggins in Lord of the Rings, I really could not see him the same in From Hell anyway. Which is sad, since otherwise he is an excellent Shakespearean actor who has in the past played some profoundly great roles! But all it takes sometimes is that one part. *Giggle* Definitely though, if people starring in a movie don’t give it their all, it can mess things up!

I liked it for what it was and thought it creative. Not a purist piece. I'm also a fan of John Cusack.

I personally thought it tried too hard, and took far too much influence from the recent trend in "torture porn" films (Saw, human centipede etc) In fact, the scene that represents "the pit and the pendulum" was also used in one of the Saw movies (I can't remember which one). I personally found the story to be a little lackluster in its progression. I think that they could have developed the ideas and the sense of mystery a little more. It had the potential to be a great movie. I mean, it wasn't terrible or anything, it just fell short of the mark for me.

Love the Price "Poe pics".  As for Lovecraft adaptations, I thought Die Monster die wasn't too shabby (Karloff totally rocks).  Though I loved From Hell for what it was, I would've been a hard core fan if the Hughes brothers would've taken Moore's cerebral  approach to the film.  I've seen three films entitled The Raven.  All were great for the time they were made.  I like the premise of the Cusak flick.  Loved the humor and atmosphere of the  Price-karloff-Lorre film.  Really loved the eeriness of the Karloff-Lugosi classic.

As a note of recommendation to those who liked the Cusak Raven, check out:  Drunk History (Baltimore, the Poe-Griswald rivalry) and Masters of Horror: The Black Cat.  

I thought it was an interesting interpretation. Wasn't exactly what I was expecting but still enjoyed it because I'm a big Poe fan.