The Raven

It's "Sherlock Homes" meets "Saw" meets "Buried" as film makers fictionalize the last days of Edgar Allan Poe in a search for a serial killer and kidnap victim. However, the film has an unsympathetic lead, lacks suspense, and feels slow and dreary. Poe fans may appreciate the references to his famous works, but the movie doesn't capture his sense of the macabre and the gothic. The storyline seems modern, but the setting is not. For Alien, this film may have worked better as a present day murder mystery thriller about Edgar Allan Poe expert chasing serial crimes linked to Poe's literary works. Alien will see "The Raven" nevermore.

Alien gives it 2 "Poe obsessed" stars out of 4.