Edgar Allen Poe(Jeffrey Combs, a bit hammy but still entertaining)is really struggling to find the inspiration to write another tale of the fantastic as his darling wife Virginia is slowly dying from tuberculosis("The White Plague")and his damn cat Pluto seems to be more irritating than usual. Living in poverty and drinking heavily, Poe is sliding into an abyss of sadness and depression. Virginia wishes to sell her beloved piano and Edgar returns from another round of gobbling booze so the idea of talking finances seems moot. A visitor, hoping to purchase their piano, is witness, along with drunken Edgar, to Virginia's beautiful playing only to see the horror of her throat's blood vessel bursting resulting in lots of splatter. Blood all over the piano and floor as Pluto drinks a little from a puddle. Very soon, Virginia can no longer stand very long and is practically bedridden. But, they are so poor(..and Edgar makes so little for his work during this period)and burdened with debt that their doctor will no longer invest in the welfare of her condition. With his wife at death's door and a creative drought lasting endlessly, Edgar is slowly growing mad and Pluto the cat just won't keep away from the pet goldfish and canary. He even claims that the cat is "killing" Virginia as Edgar spots it around her face when he walks into the bedroom. Soon she's passed on and he is at the point of no return..blaming the poor cat, Edgar cuts out his eyeball and eventually hangs him. Yep, cat lovers may wish to look elsewhere for their entertainment. With no money to properly bury his beloved, Edgar decides to leave her casket open while burning down the home they lived in..while Pluto hangs from the neck in death. Little does he know that Virginia actually awakens from the dead and Edgar carries her from the flaming house to live elsewhere. Yet, he will be haunted by the sound of a cat and the shadows of the feline loom around him.
Stuart Gordon presents a stunning looking film which might appeal to gorehounds and B&W Gothic horror fans alike. One image seems directly inspired by Tourneur's "Cat People" as a frightened Edgar walks hurriedly from a bar he just got thrown out of as a large panther-like shadow follows him across the stone walls of buildings. There's a nasty "head-splitting" scene where an unfortunate victim stands in the way for Pluto as Edgar lunges an ax directly into said person's face dicing the skull. The blood-vessel burst is a nasty bit of business as Stuart has sprays and gobs of the thick red stuff landing on the camera and piano keys. It's clear Stuart had to add a little black humor within the sad scene as the cat drinks from a blood puddle as if it were milk. The effects are amazingly accomplished on such a tight budget using both make-up effects and computer generated work. I watched the behind-the-scenes documents on the making of the short film from the Masters of Horror brand and the creation of the special effects and make-up. Combs looks very similar to Poe. My only real problem is the dialogue which seems rather modern, but I dealt with it okay, I guess. I think Gothic horror fans would fall in love with Stuart's use of black and white photography, splicing bits of color within. The setting, I felt, was pretty accurate for that time period considering the smallish budget this kind of production has. I am kind of curious if the twist at the end will work for many..I kind of thought it works as a presentation of a troubled artist finding inspiration through a bout of dementia.
Stuart Gordon presents a stunning looking film which might appeal to gorehounds and B&W Gothic horror fans alike. One image seems directly inspired by Tourneur's "Cat People" as a frightened Edgar walks hurriedly from a bar he just got thrown out of as a large panther-like shadow follows him across the stone walls of buildings. There's a nasty "head-splitting" scene where an unfortunate victim stands in the way for Pluto as Edgar lunges an ax directly into said person's face dicing the skull. The blood-vessel burst is a nasty bit of business as Stuart has sprays and gobs of the thick red stuff landing on the camera and piano keys. It's clear Stuart had to add a little black humor within the sad scene as the cat drinks from a blood puddle as if it were milk. The effects are amazingly accomplished on such a tight budget using both make-up effects and computer generated work. I watched the behind-the-scenes documents on the making of the short film from the Masters of Horror brand and the creation of the special effects and make-up. Combs looks very similar to Poe. My only real problem is the dialogue which seems rather modern, but I dealt with it okay, I guess. I think Gothic horror fans would fall in love with Stuart's use of black and white photography, splicing bits of color within. The setting, I felt, was pretty accurate for that time period considering the smallish budget this kind of production has. I am kind of curious if the twist at the end will work for many..I kind of thought it works as a presentation of a troubled artist finding inspiration through a bout of dementia.