Sunday, December 14, 2014

Quick Reviews: The Black Cat (Masters of Horror)

It only makes sense to feature more of these that I actually own, right?  Yeah, thought so.
In this Episode, Stuart Gordon veers away from Lovecraft to instead give us Poe, although his favorite Actor is still here.
Jeffrey Combs is playing Poe (better than John Cusack) and he's just trying to make a buck.  Why?
Well, his world-famous love Lenore is sick and he needs to write more successfully to keep her well.
What Poe needs is a brand new tale of Terror to rival his works like 'The Raven.'  His Poetry- while well-respected now- is just not making him money.  Can he come up with one?
I wouldn't SPOIL this one too much.  I mean, look at how Poe reacts when I even say the word 'SPOILER' here...
I will say that his drinking habit/addiction does not do him any favors here.
Oh and that this happens.  No other SPOILERS.  Honest.  The End.
A Cult Favorite of mine.  While all the other Master of Horror Episodes I own are in bundles, this one is solo.  It is that good.  Gordon and company do a great job of immersing you in the Time Period without overdoing it.  You feel for Poe living in this time where his genius is not appreciated properly.  You feel for him just trying to make a living to save his love.  The Story is great, playing off of Poe's real-life and his Stories.  The real winner here is Jeffrey Combs, who completely disappears into the role.  You *believe* that he is Poe.  He plays him for all of his strengths (passion, intelligence) and weaknesses (drinking, desperation).  Knowing History, you know that this can't end all too happy.  Even so, you really root for him to make it through this.  Much like Poe's actual life, the bleakness of his existence is balanced out by Lenore.  She is a light, however dwindling, in this rough world.  You see why Poe does what he does to keep her alive.  As things go awry, you feel for both of them.  Can it all be worked out?  You sure hope so.  Seeing Stuart Gordon do Poe makes me want to see him do more of it and I'm not sure that he has.  If anyone in Hollywood reads this, let the man do some more Poe!  Hell, bring Jeffrey Combs on board again and I'm really sold.  If you haven't seen this MoH Episode yet, do it already!  Here's real Poe to send you off...
While it is not the most complex of the Masters of Horror Tales, it is still one of my favorites.  If you ever read this Mr. Combs, you were DAMN good here.

No comments:

Post a Comment