Review of The Raven (2012) by Peter A — 15 Oct 2013

On paper, I like the concept: that Edgar Allen Poe's mysterious death is linked to his involvement in a Se7en-style serial murder investigation involving his stories. However, the execution fails to deliver much in the way of thrills, horror or detective work.

There's some gore, which is to be expected, and it was one of the film's true highlights. The plot loses itself while trying to devise ways to incorporate Poe's stories into murders. Like John Doe in Se7en, he methodically plots elaborate deaths and a kidnapping in order to draw Poe to him, but unlike Doe, the killer here has no real point or end game other than fulfilling some fanboy obsession to get Poe writing again.

That reveal, the movie's big twist, that the killer is the typesetter for the newspaper that sometimes published Poe's works, was underwhelming. There was no big shock since the killer turned out to be a background character with an unhealthy obsession, and no big surprise since there were no hidden clues or sleight of hand that might have pointed the way to him if we hadn't been distracted by the drama.

What I'm saying is, Se7en provided an original take on a macabre murder mystery, The Raven sought to re-fill those shoes without really doing anything original beyond "what if Edgar Allen Poe.

...?" It's still an okay movie to watch, especially around Halloween, but it doesn't leave much of a lasting impression.