Edgar Allen Poe fanfic is a dreary exercise in serial killer tropes
(NEWSER) - As far as critics are concerned, The Raven ought to be tossed in a cellar, sealed in with brick, and left to be forgotten. The thriller, which imagines Poe hunting down a serial killer inspired by his work, currently has a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes . Here's what critics are saying:
- James McTeigue directs with "dark style and at galloping speed, neither of which disguise the fact that the movie often doesn’t make a lick of sense," writes Ty Burr of the Boston Globe . "If it were content to lighten up and admit it was trash, there might be some fun to be had."
- The Raven "should not be mistaken for a movie about Edgar Allan Poe," warns Roger Ebert , at least not if you "find Poe a complex and fascinating man." This movie's more interested in "cobbling together spare parts from thrillers about serial killers," and its "melodramatic" Poe would have been better cast as Nick Cage.
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