The Raven Movie 2012

Movie Information

Directed by:James McTeigue

Produced by:Marc D Evans,Trevor Macy,Aaron Ryder.
Written by:Ben Livingston,Hannah Shakespeare.

Starring:John Cusack,Alice Eve,Brendan Gleeson,Luke Evans,Kevin McNally,Pam Ferris,Sergej Trifunović,
Ian Virgo,Sam Hazeldine.

Music by:Lucas Vidal

Cinematography:Danny Ruhlmann

Editing by:Niven Howie

Studio:Relativity Media,FilmNation,Entertainment,Intrepid Pictures.

Distributed by:Rogue

Release Date: March 9, 2012 (UK)|April 27, 2012 (USA)

Running time:111 minutes

Country:United States
Language:English

Budget:$26 million

Box office:$7,078,891

Synopsis: When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered in 19th century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) makes a startling discovery: the crime resembles a fictional murder described in gory detail in part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack). But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also in the manner of a popular Poe story. Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe's writings as the backdrop for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author's help in unraveling the case. But when someone very dear to Poe could become the murderer's next victim, the stakes become dangerously high--the inventor of modern detective story must draw on his own powers of deduction to solve the case before it's too late.

Plot: The film opens in 19th century Maryland -- where several Baltimore policemen are chasing after the screams of a woman in an apartment. The police arrive at the apartment in time only to discover the door has been locked from the other side. The door is eventually broken down only to reveal a bloody scene: an elderly woman is sprawled on the floor with her throat sliced open and the corpse of her daughter is found stuffed in the chimney. Detective Emmett Fields is called to assist in the investigation and determines by the grip on the victim's necks that the killer is a large man but the other detectives are confused how the killer escaped through a closed window nailed shut. It's soon determined the window has a trick lock on it, a detail that Fields recognizes from something he read in a book. Fields then discovers that the crime resembles a fictional murder in the short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", which is part of a collection of stories penned by the writer Edgar Allan PoePoe at this stage in his life has become a social pariah and penniless drunkard whose stories have not been circulated for some time. He has fallen in love with the beautiful young Emily Hamilton and desires to marry her but faces opposition from her father Captain Hamilton, a military man who loathes Poe and goes to the length of threatening physical violence when Poe sneaks into their carriage to ask for Emily's hand in marriage once again. Poe is brought to see Fields for questioning and is horrified to learn someone is using his stories as the backdrop for a series of murders. Fields then proposes that Poe volunteer his services to help the police catch the killer and Poe agrees to the task.Sometime later the two men are called to investigate the murder of literary critic Rufus Griswold, the man who became Poe's rival after a feud that was published in the Baltimore newspapers. Poe realizes the gruesome crime resembles a scene from "The Pit and the Pendulum" as Fields notices a red demon mask near the corpse. The two then deduce that the scene of the next crime will take place at Captain Hamilton's annual masquerade ball - a scene that will resemble the Masked Ball in "The Masque of the Red Death". Fearing that Captain Hamilton will be the victim, Fields assigns several members of the Baltimore Police to go undercover as guests at the Masked Ball. Sometime before midnight, at the height of the festivities, a man on horseback dressed in a skeleton costume appears. Fields shoots the man only to learn he was an actor hired for the entertainment and receives an anonymous note. Poe then realizes Emily has been kidnapped, meaning the event was all a distraction. It's revealed in the killer's note that he will continue to commit murders and leave clues to Emily's location. The killer then threatens to kill Emily if Poe does not start writing columns for the newspaper that describe the brutal combination of fact and fiction -- forcing Poe to comply with the request in order to save Emily. Before Ivan leaves, he makes a reference to the Telltale Heart and Poe realizes that Emily is buried under the floor right where he's sitting. He breaks through the floor into the cellar and digs Emily out. The police get there and put Emily in an ambulance. Poe wanders off to a park bench to die after telling Emily that they will be married in heaven. While he's sitting there, a bearded man comes over and says he recognizes him as "Edgar Poe" the famous writer. That pleases Poe, but the poison has him so addled all he can say to the man is "tell Fields his name is Reynolds", which the man interprets as nonsense.Later, at the hospital where Poe is pronounced dead, the doctor tells Fields that Poe's last words were unintelligible, that he had "said that Fields's last name was Reynolds".Ivan is seen exiting a train station in France, and as he enters a carriage Fields greets him with a pistol.