The Raven (I) (2012)

When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's works, a young Baltimore detective joins forces with Poe to stop him from making his stories a reality.

Director:

James McTeigue

Writers:

Ben Livingston, Hannah Shakespeare

Stars:

John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cusack	...	Edgar Allan Poe
Luke Evans	...	Detective Fields
Alice Eve	...	Emily Hamilton
Brendan Gleeson	...	Capt. Charles Hamilton
Kevin McNally	...	Maddux
Oliver Jackson-Cohen	...	John Cantrell
Jimmy Yuill	...	Captain Eldridge
Sam Hazeldine	...	Ivan
Pam Ferris	...	Mrs. Bradley
Brendan Coyle	...	Reagan
Adrian Rawlins	...	Doc Clements
Aidan Feore	...	Stage Manager
Dave Legeno	...	Percy
Michael Cronin	...	Old Gentleman
Michael Poole	...	Professor

Storyline

This movie is set in the mid 1800s and involves poet Edgar Allan Poe. A serial killer is on the loose and murdering people using Poe's descriptions from his published stories and poems. Poe teams up with Detective Fields, a Baltimore policeman to try and catch the killer by using his knowledge of the descriptions. Even though the stories are fictional, they start to become reality and the killer is a step ahead of them. Then it takes on a personal note as Poe's lover becomes a target. Will they stop the killer in time?

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Plot Keywords:

murder | serial killer | poet | 19th century | poem | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for bloody violence and grisly images

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [br]

Country:

USA Hungary Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

El cuervo

Filming Locations:

Novi Sad, Serbia

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$7,289,642 (USA) (27 April 2012)

Gross:

$16,005,978 (USA) (6 July 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Intrepid Pictures, FilmNation Entertainment, Galavis Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SDDS Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joaquin Phoenix was at one point in negotiations to star in the project together with Jeremy Renner. Phoenix would have played Poe to Renner's police inspector Fields, but the deal fell through when Renner decided to do Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.

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Goofs

The Baltimore City Police badges worn by the uniformed officers in the film were not issued until late 1851. Also, the revolvers in the opening scene look to be later (even if they were indeed 1847 Colt Walkers, this would be rare for a police dept. like Baltimore to have in 1849).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Breathless Tenement Man: It's the fourth floor.

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Review of 2012 (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Nocturne, es-dur, OP.9"
Composed by Frederic Chopin
Arranged by Lucas Vidal

User Reviews

The Black Raven of Boredom

The black raven of boredom devoured my bitter brain with the fickle flicker of each passing frame. He paused every now and then in between a burp and a bite to remind me that this film's folly was to be blinded by the madness of the night where the dull destiny of dreariness consumed every painted pixel of deadly distortion and the illumination of reason was abandoned in a passionless puddle of great proportion. Alas, when the closing credits finally rolled in response to my prayers to the good Lord above who also resides as a gift to the mind deep within, I began to feel my empty skull slowly heal with the rapid exit of this foul-smelling memory of witnessing this sinister cinematic sin. And as I cast my eyes over to the lifeless bones of the black raven who died with his clutching claws desperately targeting the rewind button on the dusty remote, I suddenly discovered a tiny handwritten note which had been tied tightly around his faint and feeble throat. It read as follows: "To whomever survives this torturous agony of melancholious monotony concealed within less than five evil gigabytes of diabolically conceived insanity, do not forget to warn others of this wicked curse in the hopes they might avoid this treacherous calamity thrust upon the silly stage of Poe-profanity as a small stain trying to soil forever the sweet innocence of divinely evolving humanity."