Movie Review: The Raven
Starring: John Cusack
Dir: James McTeigue
* 1/2 (Out of Five)

In one of the final moments of The Raven, a perplexed character says to another ‘I am sorry sir, that doesn’t make any sense’. That is precisely what you would shout at the end of the film while massaging the throbbing temples of your head.

Now there is nothing inherently wrong with mixing facts, fiction and stylized gore in pursuit of one’s own squandered thirst for the ludicrous or for the preteen demographic, but there is a problem in presenting such a film in a hall full of people above 12. The Raven is a twisted psychological horror thriller that combines the aesthetic focus of Se7en and the abhorrent mustiness of From Hell. But its only merit is that it is not quite as morally schizophrenic as the latter.

The plot is as cheesy as it can get – and presents itself right in the opening scene in big yellow text. Back in 1849 Edgar Allen Poe was found dead on a park bench, and the reason for his demise has not yet been uncovered. The Raven attempts to crack this mystery by fictionally following the last days of Poe (here played by John Cusack) as he attempts to track down a serial killer on the loose and save his love interest (Alice Eve). The killer seems to be a nineteenth century version of Kevin Spacey from Se7en, as he indulges in gruesome killings and leaves a clue with each corpse. The killer plays around with Poe, by asking him to publish stories of his glorious murders and Poe’s failures in a newspaper – some of which are unintentionally hilarious enough to make the real Poe turn in his grave.