P.O.E.: Project of Evil

An Italian cast and crew try o update Poe for a modern age.

Sure, why not. First off, it may be that I'm not the audience for this. Like Lovecraft, I find Poe to be long on mood but short on compelling story. The mere fact that these folks are paying homage to Poe is not something that will, in and of itself, impress me.

The stories are uneven, as one would expect for any anthology. I was on the whole unimpressed, but if you love Poe, or Italian cinema, give it a shot.

"P.O.E. Project Of Evil" is an Italian horror anthology inspired by the works of horror's godfather Edgar Allan Poe. The second in a series of films, "Project Of Evil" takes on a more experimental, visceral approach to Poe's stories. 'The Pit and the Pendulum', 'Solo', 'Loss of Breath', 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', 'The Tell-Tale Heart', 'The System of Dr. Tar and Prof. Feather', and 'The Premature Burial' all become twisted, "very now" tales of creative terror.

The 7 stories featured in "P.O.E. Project Of Evil" bring out some of the best, modern talent of the indie community in true, avant garde fashion. The tales range from surreal to exploitation with forays in the expressionist's experimental playground. The direction of the overall collection is a metaphorical exploration of madness and fear guiding us through windows of the horror experienced by the institutionalized.

Each story plays out nearly perfect art-house thrills, with acting that creates both emotions steeped in paranoia and visions as raw grindhouse horror. The best of these 7 short films (for me personally) has to be "The Pit And The Pendulum" , "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", "The System of Dr. Tar and Prof. Feather", and "Loss Of Breath" , not that "The Tell Tale Heart", "The Premature Burial" or "Solo" are somehow deficient. Actually all the stories in "Project Of Evil" are right in my sweet spot of horror- the avant garde, experimental expressionist styles.

The special effects and soundtrack are both equality quality work which sell "P.O.E. Project Of Evil" completely. The visceral, gory practical effects are killer components that transform all 7 of these stories into truly hellish masterpieces. Very grindhouse, giallo style death scenes and nightmare sequences will please any horror fan. The sound effects and instrumental effects generate a dark, surreal atmosphere that is both captivating and chilling.

The haunting tracks of psychotica play against the gritty, art visual aspects in a way that only European cinema can ever seem to create so effortlessly. Now "P.O.E. Project Of Evil" will not please all horror fans, but those looking for something that is graphic, artistic and truly unique will definitely get off on this horror anthology.

My quick rating - 4,8/10. I am a huge fan of Edgar Allen Poes books/stories. That being said, this movie does no justice to them. First, here are the stories that are done (anthology style movie) : 'The Pit and the Pendulum', 'Solo', 'Loss of Breath', 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', 'The Tell-Tale Heart', 'The System of Dr. Tar and Prof. Feather', and 'The Premature Burial' . I have read all but one and could identify 4 out of 7 of them (scary I couldn't identify two) Reason I couldn't figure out which story it was? The movie was made in such a "I am trying so hard to be indie and artsy, I have lost the idea of the story itself" way that it loses all focus. This is why it isn't rated better. I really doubt this would be how the legend would want to see his films. The mood is set fairly well per story and the music is often fitting, but the acting was horrendous or non-existent. THe realistic gore was OK, but at times looked a bit strange. Can't quite place why, just out of place.I applaud the effort that these filmmakers put in even if they tried WAY too hard. At least I know they did their homework and read the classic stories so I have faith in literature again. Only for true Poe fans and even then, you may walk away with a lower rating then I gave.