By ALEX ZANE and GRANT ROLLINGS
JOHN Cusack takes on the role of author Edgar Allan Poe in this period detective story that uses the real-life mystery surrounding his death as its jumping-off point. Set in 19th Century Baltimore, the film begins with Poe's last moments before telling a fictional account of the last few days of his life. We see him team up with a young detective (Luke Evans) in an attempt to solve a series of murders that are mirroring his macabre stories
While it initially appears to be heading down the route of an enjoyably grim period-piece – especially during a delightfully gruesome death scene using Poe's The Pit And The Pendulum apparatus (a giant swinging axe with a victim strapped to a table) – this soon loses its way.
Cusack, adept at the comic potential of Poe's eccentricities, never delivers much in the way of tension, even when his sweetheart Emily (Alice Eve) becomes a target for the killer. But ultimately the problem is that James McTeigue's film inhabits a middle ground of being too morose for a crowd-pleaser in the style of Sherlock Holmes yet not dark enough for those wanting a seriously disturbing serial killer pic.
RATING: TWO OUT OF FIVE
Read further: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/sftw/4181930/Alex-Zane-reviews-The-Raven-Bel-Ami-Trishna-Cleanskin-and-Payback-Season.html
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