A Maldição de Raven's Hollow

A film about a young Edgar Allen Poe who finds strange things afoot in in spooky village of Ravens Hollow.

The film has 2 main themes, the first is the main story that concerns people being killed by having their hearts torn out by the 'Raven'. The second is preoccupied by touching on Poe's inspiration for his future as a writer. Beating hearts, tick. Ravens, tick. Etc. Etc.

Kate Dickie is wonderful and as terrifying as ever, the rest of the acting, not so much.

The movie starts well enough, creates a spooky atmosphere but cannot keep the tension going to the end.

I think with a little more money to spend on a competent director, better lighting and cast there would have been a decent film here. Shame.

I wanted to like this very badly. I love 1800 New England and autumnal settings and gothic horror. The whole setting and aesthetic was right up my alley. Unfortunately, this movie did not live up to my hopes.

The main problem, I'm sorry too say, is the acting. William Moseley is not up to the task of playing young Poe. I believe he's going for the whole 'stoic 1800s Northerner' thing, but he never drops this affect for a moment. He never seems scared or really terrribly affected by the goings on around him. The performance is overall much too flat. He can't carry off some of the flowery dialogue that is clearly inspired by Poe's writing. You never buy that the horrors in this movie turned this clean-cut cadet into a tortured gothic horror writer. He's just not Edgar Allan Poe.

I watched this film based on a recommendation from a source I trust without checking the rating here on imdb(which I usually always do).

I was shocked when I saw the low rating here after watching the movie. Usually imdb ratings are very accurate but not for this movie.

This is a great movie. It is a thinking person's horror movie. I would call it a horror-drama. While it could be considered a slow burn the movie is engaging and gripping throughout.

That strong atmosphere combined with it's engaging nature is very effective. I hesitate to call it a slow burn at all because things are happening and developing steadily through the entire movie. And I found it to remain very engaging.

The directing is very, very good. The story is complex and the are a few significant plot twists. So you have to pay attention and keep tracking with it.

Now some reviews said it isn't horror. False. It is indisputably horror. Strong horror. I think why some viewers fail to see that is because it has substance and intelligence and artistry and that it comes from a whole different world than your 'slasher of the week'.

And there is some extreme gore in this movie and coming from me that's a significant statement.

It is a violent movie. It doesn't compromise on violence like some would lead you to believe.

It has a good story. No cookie cutter backdrop for violence here. The story can be a little confusing and you need to pay attention to get the whole story.

It has this wonderful mysterious element to it. Even with what's revealed in the film's final act the mysterious atmosphere persists right through the end credits, in a good way.

One thing I liked about the movie is that the main character, Poe, is a good and noble person and that comes across in a very authentic way. He is a likeable and very admirable character, which is unfortunately rare for a horror movie protagonist.

This is not an iffy, maybe it's good, maybe it's bad movie. It's genuinely a great movie.

It's well paced. An intelligent viewer will be drawn into the steadily developing story. The atmosphere is so strong. It's very well directed.

And it has a great story. It's very intelligent. It plays outside of the stereotypes. Perhaps that is why the unperceptive didn't like it.

Raven's Hollow could be one of most imaginative adaptations from literature recently. Similar to Lincoln the Vampire Hunter the premise is intriguing. A clever portrayal of colliding cultures, reluctance to change and chaos that follows. The Raven's hatchling being stranded by Poe is a clever expression of human relationships. With regards to the visuals the colour tones are perfect and special effects are satisfying too. Great use of background audio which is unique and fitting well. Brilliant performances by the cast to keep up with sudden shifts kf the plot. Raven's Hollow surely has a good amount of shudder in store.

Simply another well made British detective, with quite beautiful, moody and dark photography. With some really solid acting performances. A tight knit story that is quite suspenseful. What more could I wish for in a detective?

Any bad? It isnt horror, although it is listed as a horror movie on Imdb. It isnt thrilling or intensely spooky either, but it has got a constant dark mood of doom that is quite fascinating to watch.

If I have to dig deep to find anything wrong I would like to say that the moment certain evil forces became visible (half way into the movie), I was disappointed a bit, because I always hold the stance that the evil which one cant see, is much more scary than CGI monsters. And the visualisation of this evil force wasnt done with the best CGI effects available nowadays. So that was (the only) minor letdown.

All in all, simply another solid British period detective story. Fans of the genre will be pleased (I guess).