the_wolf_imdb Generally I have nothing against creative adaptations of some classic works. I was even able to swallow South Park adaptation of Dickens story which was of little fun but in the context of the series it was okay. But there are some limits that should not be crossed in rehash and these have been crossed a big way here. The actors performance and the Victorian era feel are okay, but the movie is simply wasted by its insulting and crazy storyline.This "Poe story" rehash is a very bad one. Basically it is mix of several of his stories together combined with his real life to create very generic Hollywood thriller. It is basically a big fail to mix several self contained stories in some "thriller revue" style putting focus to something that would Poe never do (like focus on the secondary characters in the story, because Poe never did that in his stories). There are too many twists for such short story etc etc. In short: Do not try to improve Poe if you have no idea how his stories work. Even the Simpsons adaptation of The Raven was more faithful! To add insult to the injury the creators of this mix-up decided to use Poe as a lead psychopathic character. They let him kill several animals in pretty ruthless graphic way, then kill his wife, then bury the wife and to tease the police officers. This is just incredible for real character! Yes, there is artistic license to change reality a bit, but there must be limits. What about making a movie about Abraham Lincoln that would show him has a young spoiled brat that would beat the black guys and rape the black girls? You know, you would do that because you want to create "the redemption" style movie, he changes his ways of life, then leads the nation against the slavery. Why not? If you can show A.E.Poe as a psychopathic murderer, why not do the same thing for A. Lincoln? I find both these cases insulting in the very same way. You just do not pee on people's graves just because it could add some "juice" to your story. That's insulting, simply insulting! And what about the ending in style "it was just a bad dream"? It is classical poor unimaginative ending when you have no idea how to quickly clean up all the mess you have created. The only thing that would be even more pathetic would be "The End?" This movie is an insult to E.A.Poe and to the good taste in general. I simply do not understand anyone who would comment this movie as a "respectful" or "true to the Poe's work".

Bjorn (ODDBear) Well, one more version of "The Black Cat". Let's see...Dario Argento has done it, Lucio Fulci has done it, Sergio Martino has done it and that's the ones I can think of right now. Others have adapted "The Black Cat" as well. But I'll be damned if this isn't the finest version I've seen so far.The aforementioned directors put a different spin on the story and that's the case here as well. The original story's writer, Edgar A. Poe, is the central character. Not only do you get the important elements from "The Black Cat", you also get a glimpse of the author's life as well. Poe, living in poverty with his sick wife, succumbs to drinking and fearing he may have lost the talent to write. But salvation appears in the form of that fateful black cat.We're used to seeing Stuart Gordon (and Jeffrey Combs, for that matter) in H.P. Lovecraft territory and those collaborations resulted in the gruesome twosome "Re-Animator" and "From Beyond", both excellent horror films. Gordon is no less skillful in adapting Poe to the screen and his "Black Cat" is a superb combination of tragedy and gruesome horror.The love story between Poe and his wife is wonderfully handled and the gruesome bits are masterfully executed as well, no small feat to achieve. This is also thanks to a wonderful central performance by Jeffrey Combs who's had a nearly flawless career in horror movies.The sets are great and the scenery wonderfully atmospheric. This is one of the best "Masters of Horror" episodes.Highly recommended.

Michael_Elliott Black Cat, The (2007) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Stuart Gordon directs this entry into the Masters of Horror series. Edgar Allan Poe (Jeffrey Combs) is slowly drinking himself to death over the illness of his wife when their pet black cat begins to act strangely. This black cat will either drive Poe mad or force him into writing a great story. The first part of the film works pretty well as we see Poe struggling to make a living but things quickly fall apart as the film turns into a slasher film with Poe stalking his wife and pets with an ax. Combs is terrific in the role and has an uncanny resemblance to Poe but the supporting players are all rather dry. The visual look of the film is very good and perfectly captures the time and setting.

KittyGrimm This was the very first Masters of Horror episode that I saw and even after other episodes, this one still remains a big favorite. Thehour-long film tells the story of the famed alcoholic horror author and poet, Edgar Allan Poe, and his struggles to write a new story whilst caring for his consumpted wife, Virginia, when short on money. However, he grows madly obsessed with his black cat, Pluto, who brings him to the point of madness and even murder. The director, Tom Gordon, clearly knows his Poe and shows that through this film, which can be good for history and literature. For example, the Poes did, in fact, live in poverty and own a lot of pets whilst Edgar was struggling with alcoholism and caring for Virginia when she had caught tuberculosis and she did actually have a massive attack over the piano when singing and playing for Edgar and a guest. As a large fan of Edgar Allan Poe, and since studying his life, I've no regrets in saying that this film was no disappointment in being faithful to both the story and the life of Edgar Allan Poe. The sepia colors with one specific color standing out (namely red) is sheer genius and the acting is superb, not to mention the fact that Jeffery Combs looks exactly like Poe himself. Needless to say, this is the best episode yet and I highly recommend it for Poe fans everywhere. They'll need it if they've seen Ulli Lommel's take on The Raven. Edgar Allan Poe would have been proud.