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The Raven

The only one who can stop a serial killer is the man who inspired him. 

Year: 2012 
Running Time:
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 (Scope) 
Certificate: BBFC 15 Cert – Not suitable for under 15s 
Subtitles: This film is not expected to be subtitled, though this cannot be guaranteed. 
Directed by James McTeigue 
Starring: John Cusack, Luke Evans, Brendan Gleeson, Alice Eve  
An image from The Raven
Review:

Named after Poe’s best known work, it follows the story of Det. Emmett Fields (Luke Evans - Immortals, The Three Musketeers, Blitz) who is faced with the most shocking and difficult case of his career; a serial killer leaving a trail of victims in their wake. Yet the apparent modus operandi of the killer at each scene is markedly different. The only link between the killings – each one was inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack - 1408, Anastasia, War, Inc.). And so he is drafted in by Emmett to help solve the crimes.

However, it is a game: a game of riddles, of shadows, of hunter and hunted – but who is the hunter and who is the hunted? Edgar must crack the code behind the murders that lie within his great works. The one question that remains: does Edgar know his poems better than his admirer?

When Edgar’s wife is kidnapped the game becomes altogether more serious – it is no longer one of professional integrity for Edgar – it has become altogether personal. Now every stake is on the line for our protagonists where one false step, one wrong move may be their last, yet they know that they will not stop until either they are, or the killer is, dead.

With a plot similar to that of Denzel Washington’s The Bone Collector, James McTeigue’s (V for Vendetta, Matrix Trilogy and Star Wars: Episode II – The Attack of the Clones) The Raven is so much more dynamic. Along with his strong cast of John Cusack, Brendan Gleeson, and relative newcomer, Luke Evans – who better to take us by the hand and lead us into Poe's gothic realm!

With its suspense, tension and pacing will The Raven ever be beaten?

Quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore.’

Timothy Green

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Screenings of this film:

2011/2012 Summer Term (35mm)