By Melissa Antoinette Garza
More than a hundred years after the legendary Edgar Allan Poe’s death, his written word still has the ability to petrify. When you mix in the brilliance of horror icons George Romero and Dario Argento the end result is a masterpiece. Two classic Poe tales are brought to life in this better than average film.
Romero starts his contribution with “The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar.” Jessica (Adrienne Barbeau), a former flight attendant who married the very rich and very old Ernest Valdemar (Bingo O’Malley) anxiously awaits his death to collect and live the high life with her lover, Dr. Hoffman (Ramy Zada). To ensure things go as planned Hoffman hypnotizes Ernest to give all that is his to Jessica. The plan works well until Ernest, still hypnotized dies, and is trapped in limbo with others who are tormenting him and trying to get thru to the other side. In a panic, and unable to hear Ernest’s moaning any longer, Jessica takes a gun and shoots him in the head. Even this doesn’t wake him out of limbo and he begins to walk around and continue his terrorizing.
Adrienne Barbeau, most famous for “Swamp Thing,” does well as the greedy despicable wife who hasn’t an issue sleeping with Hoffman in her bed while her husband lay dying in the other room. Overall, the acting was above par, and though the dialogue was minimal, Poe’s message is made clear in other ways. The expressions of the actors compounded with the visuals more than explain the haunting tale. Best of all is the ending. It isn’t so much that it a surprising one, but that it is just, fair and still manages to frighten.
Argento’s version of “The Black Cat” concludes the film. Harvey Keitel stars as Roderick Usher, a crime shot photographer who is driven into utter madness by his girlfriend Annabel’s (Madeleine Potter) new pet. She finds the black cat outside in need of a home and Rod agrees to take it in. By the first night, he feels as though the cat is staring at him. Annabel removes the cat from the room but assures him that his worries are rooted from superstition and nothing else.
More and more it seems the cat antagonizes Rod. It hisses, moans, and makes him so insane that he ends up strangling it to death. Violent outbursts follow and soon Annabel is the target for his outrage. Then the dreams come. Strange visions depict people during the middle ages when black cats had been sacrificed because they were thought to be witches. There are cults of people dancing to fire and human sacrifices. Lastly, there is Annabel as the leader who calls Rod out as a murderer and the crowd screams orders to kill him.
The dialogue is vastly superior to the first tale and the acting just as good if not better because of Keitel’s performance. It’s darker as well, but in a different way. There are less horrifying moments but more strange and bizarre scenes. Usher’s decent into madness is humorous at times but never loses its edge. The only area of fault is that he is completely unsympathetic. We don’t know him well enough before the cat’s arrival. As obvious as the cat’s influence on his temper is made to the audience, they never know his behavior beforehand. The ending leaves a bit to be desired, only because it stops in the middle of what promises to be a great scene.
This is a definite must-see for all horror fans. Though Romero made the more compelling of the two tales, Argento’s “Black Cat” has more than a few shining moments. Both stories are interesting, well paced, and deliver Edgar Allan Poe’s masterpiece’s with the respect it rightfully deserves.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10. Proving Poe’s tales are timeless
