"Masters of Horror"
The Black Cat (2007)

Director:

Stuart Gordon

Writers:

Mick Garris (creator)
Dennis Paoli (teleplay) ...

TV Series:

"Masters of Horror" (2005)

Original Air Date:

19 January 2007 (Season 2, Episode 11)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Romance

Plot:

The Black Cat, directed by Stuart Gordon and written by Dennis Paoli & Stuart Gordon, set in 1840 Philadelphia...

Plot Keywords:

Writer's Block | Alcoholism | Burning Building | Poem | Dying Woman

Cast

Jeffrey Combs	...	Edgar Allan Poe
Elyse Levesque	...	Virginia Poe
Aron Tager	...	George Graham
Eric Keenleyside	...	Sgt. Booker
Patrick Gallagher	...	Barman
Christopher Heyerdahl	...	Rufus Griswold
Ken Kramer	...	Doctor
Ian Alexander Martin	...	Mr. Fordham
Ryan Crocker	...	Policeman

Runtime:

58 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:MA (2007) | USA:TV-MA | Italy:VM14

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Starz Productions

Movie Connections:

Version of Maniac (1934)

"The search for a lasting nightmare"

The life of a genius is not an easy one. In literature, the status is often incumbent on the adage, "ok, you're good, but what have you written lately." This then will be the eventually legacy of the actual man who was in fact the great American writer and classical poet, Edgar Allen Poe. Pressed by the enormous pressures of poverty, reoccurring alcoholism and the lack of inspiration, Poe suffers for his art. With historical retrospect,, we have come to lay wreaths of glory and monumental accolades on his works and therefore it's difficult to see how a great man could not have found success earlier. In this film we have another great artist Jeffery Combs, playing the part of the legendary and literary icon. One marvels at how uncanny Combs captured the haunting visual image of Poe and then imbued him with such mortal conviction. He thus awaken the conflicts of the Poet and his struggle for a horror story which would not only scare audiences throughout the decades, but may have paid his wife's medical bills. By immersing himself in a surreal fantasy, he discovers that fact and fiction are separated only by pain. All in all, I suspect this particular film will easily become a classic. ****