"Masters of Horror" The Black Cat (2007)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Directors:

Stuart Gordon
Stuart Ortiz

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

Plot:

The Black Cat, set in 1840 Philadelphia, has the great writer Edgar Allan Poe, struggling with alcoholism...

Plot Keywords:

Black Cat | Cat | 1840s | Alcoholism | Writer's Block

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:

USA:TV-MA | Australia:MA (2007) | Italy:VM14 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Starz Productions

Movie Connections:

Version of Maniac (1934)

Poe-tic Madness!

I don't know (nor care) how much research went prior to writing the teleplay for "The Black Cat" and neither do I know to what extent the little details about Edgar Allan Poe's private life are truthful. Basically I just assume that it was Start Gordon's intention to illustrate how creative brilliance and mental madness are two inseparable qualities a horror novelist must dispose of. The tormented protagonist in this umpteenth adaptation of E.A. Poe's legendary tale of "The Black Cat" is no other than … E.A. Poe himself! "The Black Cat" also marks Stuart Gordon's second attempt at the narration of a Poe tale, after his straight-to-video version of "The Pit and the Pendulum" in the early 90's. As expected, this is one of the better episodes in the Masters of Horror's second season, though slightly more flawed than I initially expected … or hoped. Jeffrey Combs' performance is – as always – mesmerizing, the filming locations and costumes are downright exquisite and perfectly capture the depressingly harsh atmosphere of the 19th Century first half, but the script is slightly lackluster and even a bit tedious at times. Combs stars as (and creepily resembles) Edgar Allan Poe and the story takes place during an incredibly difficult period of his life. Poe is completely out of writing-inspiration, struggles with financial problems as well as alcoholism and his beloved young wife Virginia fell victim to a severe illness. Unable to deal with all of this, he develops a strange paranoid condition where he thinks the black house cat is some kind of immortal demon that gradually destroys his entire existence. Even though the episodes in the Master of Horror series barely last an hour, this almost seems to be long in this case and the lack of relevant subject matter inevitably leads to a couple of redundant padding sequences. The actual share of the titular black cat only begins halfway through the tale, and before that it's primarily Poe's own drinking abuse that dominates. There's only one gory part in "The Black Cat", but I assure it's one that counts! Oh yes, this one-hour film features – hands down – THE greatest axe murder ever depicted. Combs receives excellent support from Elyse Levesque as Virginia. I never heard of her before, but she's quite talented and extremely good-looking. With a number of episodes still waiting on my personal must-see list, "The Black Cat" ranks as the second best of series two so far, second to Brad Anderson's "Sounds Like".