Dos ojos diabólicos

When the two greatest Horror directors alive (and two of the greatest of all-time), George A. Romero and Dario Argento make a movie together, a fan of Horror might rightly hope for a masterpiece. "Due Occhi Diabolici" aka. "Two Evil Eyes" from 1990 features two separate 1 hour films based on the work of Edgar Alan Poe, "The Facts In The Case Of Mr. Valdemar", directed by Romero, and "The Black Cat" directed by Argento. "Two Evil Eyes" is certainly great entertainment and a pleasant Horror experience, however it does not quite come up to the high expectations one might have of a film by these two brilliant directors. It must be said, however, that it may be very difficult for a Poe-themed movie to impress me after Roger Corman's brilliant Poe-cycle from the sixties, starring my all-time favorite actor, the great Horror icon Vincent Price. These films, such as "Pit And The Pendulum", "The Haunted Palace" and "Masque Of The Red Death" (just to name the three most ingenious masterpieces of this brilliant cycle) are essential all-time Horror greats, no Poe-themed film has ever come close to those flicks, and it is very unlikely that any ever will.

The second segment, Argento's "The Black Cat" is, in my opinion, a lot better than Romero's "Mr. Valdemar", not only for the fact that one of the greatest living actors, Harvey Keitel, plays the lead, but also since it is far more twisted and atmospheric.

"The Facts In The Case Of Mr. Valdemar", mainly based on Poe's short story of the same name, tells the tale of a woman named Jessica (Adrienne Barbeau), who, alongside her ex-lover (Ramy Zada), is willing to do quite anything to inherit the entire property of her terminally ill older husband (Bingo O Malley)... The 1 hour segment has some very eerie moments, and a chilling atmosphere over-all. As mentioned above, however, Roger Corman handled the same topic with a lot more depth in 30 minutes as the final segment of "Tales Of Terror" (1962). Admittedly, Corman had a brilliant cast, Vincent Price, Basil Rathbone and Debra Paget.

"The Black Cat", is also mainly based on Poe's short of the same name. However, this second segment furthermore contains elements from certain other Poe works. A crime-scene photographer with a familiar name, Roderick Usher (Harvey Keitel) and his younger girlfriend Annabel (Madeleine Porter) live happily together in a nice old building. Until one day Anabel takes a black cat home... The second segment is highly atmospheric, nightmarish and very eerie, and crowned by Harvey Keitel's leading performance.

All said, "Two Evil Eyes" is neither a highlight of Romero's nor Argento's career, however it is still a good film. Let's not forget we're talking about two geniuses here! If you set your expectations too high and expect a masterpiece of the brilliance of "Night Of The Living Dead" Or "Suspiria" you'll be disappointed. Nevertheless, this is great Horror entertainment. Just keep in mind that you're not about to watch something comparable to Romero's or Argento's masterpieces in quality, and you will have a great time as a Horror fan. My rating: 6/10 for Romero's segment and 8/10 for Argento's segment, makes an overall 7/10. Recommended!

Instead of your usual trilogy or anthology, TWO EVIL EYES is two hour-long Edgar Allan Poe adaptations written for the screen and directed by two top horror directors. "The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar" (by George A. Romero) concerns a money-hungry wife (Adrienne Barbeau) and a greedy doctor (Ramy Zada) who team up to kill off the elderly husband Ernest (Bingo O'Malley) for his money. They unwisely use hypnotism to lure the victim to catatonia, which also allows Ernest to return from the dead and seek revenge. The storyline is too cliché in this outing and it's pretty dull despite an excellent lead performance from Barbeau and good (though sparsely used) Tom Savini make up FX. "The Black Cat" (by Dario Argento) is the reason to watch the movie. Harvey Keitel is typically good as Roderick Usher, an alcoholic crime photographer who makes a living publishing mondo photographs. His book ("Metropolitan Horrors") stirs up lots of controversy. The horror angle is added by a sinister black cat that constantly pops up in Usher's life and starts to drive him mad. Mixing elements from several Poe stories, Argento's flair for visual style and color schemes, loads of clever Poe reference (including nods to his "Pit and the Pendulum" and "Premature Burial") and lots of surprises, "The Black Cat" manages to be both entertaining and disturbing. Tom Savini also did FX for the segment (and appears). Pino Dinaggio did music for both.

This film is an average entry from both directors. If you're a huge horror fan, it's interesting from the perspective that you can compare and contrast both Argento and Romero's styles as they both tackle material from Poe. Just from what I briefly read it seems like this film had some production troubles, so I can't really fault the movie for what it was. It was an experiment that worked in some places, and didn't work in others; it's pretty middling overall.

George Romero and Dario Argento, two great horror directors, tackling two short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Sounds like a surefire hit. So why isn't it? Romero writes and directs his story, "The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar." It's about a woman (Adrienne Barbeau) whose rich husband, Ernest Valdemar, is on his deathbed. A doctor (Ramy Zada) she's been having an affair with hypnotizes Valdemar into signing over all of his money to his wife. But Valdemar dies while hypnotized so he's stuck in between life & death and is surprisingly unhappy about it.

The biggest problem with Romero's story is that it feels like it was made for television. The annoyingly cheap and ceaseless music score doesn't help. Barbeau is the best part. She makes a paper-thin character work. She's also some very nice eye candy. E.G. Marshall plays Valdemar's attorney, who knows something is up but can't do much about it. Tom Atkins plays a homicide detective who conveniently answers 911 calls about screaming neighbors. The climax sees Romero turning Poe's story into something that belonged in Creepshow, which Romero directed and Barbeau, Atkins, and Marshall also appeared in. If this story was the entire movie, I might rate it a little higher. It's not great and there are big problems (that music!) but it's a passable time-killer. However, the other story drags the score down.

The Argento story is more stylishly directed, as you might expect. It's also more poorly written, as you might also expect. It's got lots of Poe references to establish Argento is clearly a fan but there's nothing of Poe's talent in this one. The story is "The Black Cat" and it's about a crime scene photographer (Harvey Keitel) who kills his girlfriend's cat. Then he goes crazy and it's a whole thing. Honestly, even with Keitel's bizarre performance and Argento's visuals, this one was a snoozer for me.

I think if you look at some of the other reviews here, particularly from those who love the movie, you'll see I'm in the minority on this. Most people seem to prefer Argento's story and hate Romero's. In a way, I get that. Argento has more style and a devoted cult following. I have enjoyed several of his horror films, though not enough to call myself a big fan of his. So take that into consideration. If you're someone who generally prefers a Dario Argento type of horror film, you are likely to prefer the second story to the first. Either way I'll be surprised if you love either of them, as they are both pretty mediocre.

Two Evil Eyes is a collaboration by two horror masters; George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead), and Dario Argento (Suspiria). Special effects are also provided by the top name in horror movies of the period, Tom Savini. To top it off, both stories are based on works by Edgar Allan Poe, arguably one of the largest influences on works of horror, well... ever. And the efforts of these great names quite lives up to expectations. In fact, it may succeed them if you are aware of the decline in the quality of output by both of these directors around this time period. Romero's next film after Two Evil Eyes was the appalling King adaptation The Dark Half, and Argento's the lukewarm Trauma. So if one is knowledgeable of this it would be nothing but natural to approach this film tentatively. Fortunately, your fears will be calmed. The first half is titled The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, and is based on the Poe short story of the same name. Romero's adaptation is a fun and concise update. The storyline is engaging, easy to follow, well acted, well shot. I wouldn't say that it's going to blow your mind but it's certainly enjoyable. Argento's effort, as would be expected, was somewhat more complicated. In terms of quality, plot, and appearance. The Black Cat is, mainly, based on the well known Poe story of the same name. It also incorporates nods to other works by the author and the main character's last name is Usher. The story is somewhat muddled and confusing, but that really comes with the territory when Argento is concerned. There are also a few questionable set choices but overall I really found the second half very enjoyable as well. Overall I really think that Two Evil Eyes is a pretty damn enjoyable selection and probably more even than I've made it sound. It's better than its place in the filmographies of the respective directors would suggest as well.