Raven’s Hollow (2022)
Autumn, 1830. West Point military Cadet Edgar Allan Poe and four other cadets, during a training exercise in upstate New York, come upon a man eviscerated on a bizarre wooden rack. His dying words direct them to a forgotten community, which they believe is guarding sinister secrets. Enthralled by the Innkeeper's beautiful and mysterious daughter, Charlotte, and fuelled by the town residents' refusal to speak to the murderer, Poe determines to uncover the truth. Risking his life and more, Poe ultimately comes face to face with the terrifying creature that will haunt him forever.
A SHUDDER ORIGINAL
Director
Christopher Hatton
Writer
Christopher Hatton
Chuck Reevesn
Stars
Wiliam Moseley
Melanie Zanetti
Kate Dickie
David Hayman
The film starts out with what looks like a standard period piece scene as a little girl gathering food in the woods has to flee from an unknown evil, which soon turns out to be no respecter of a locked and barred door. Perhaps the same evil has something to do with the body of a young man, who is strung up in the trees, which is discovered by a small group of military cadets travelling in the area, one being Edgar Poe, as one of their members, insists on taking the body down and taking it home, reasoning that ‘home’ must be thereabouts. Just before expiring, the man had intoned the word ‘raven’ to Poe; there’s a small town nearby called Raven’s Hollow, which Poe suggests will surely take receipt of the man’s remains.
When the men arrive, the townspeople are reticent to say the least, though this may be due to the fact that they are already mid-way through a burial (and/or maybe aren’t all that used to strangers turning up carrying dead bodies). They claim not to know the young man at all. Poe, a sensitive and observant soul, disbelieves these claims and wants to know more about this place. Besides, it’s cold and getting dark: the men therefore decide to stay the night at the local inn. It’s an opportunity to ask more questions, which they do, though they find themselves laughing off the legend of a ‘raven’ which feeds on people; this creature is recently responsible for a small spate of deaths, it is claimed. They also discover that this folkloric creature is an old belief, far older than the settlement itself. Whatever their cynicism, strange events quickly begin to overtake the men: even as different townsfolk emerge and recede as suspicious figures, risk and danger begin to impact upon the cadets, and it seems they must solve the mystery in order to escape.
Step forward, Eddie Poe: never quite on the level with the other cadets, he holds a different viewpoint and seems open to different phenomena (this offers some justification for the isolated, troubled man he would become – Poe really was a cadet and really spent a few tumultuous years in the military). He is able to ask more pertinent questions and to gain the trust of several of the townspeople, even if for the short term; there are also hints that he is already rather more open to the kind of mythology or experiences which allegedly haunt Raven’s Hollow. The script here is very simple, though it does what it needs to do: it doles out its reveals rather carefully and in such a way that – with only a couple of brief lulls – the pace of the film holds fast, weaving together different strands of the mystery. There are some very gruesome set pieces, too, which have clearly been put together with some care.
As this takes place, there is a lot of period detail to enjoy: abundant mourning clothes, wine-coloured walls, dark wainscoting, tumbledown buildings, and a consistent, pleasing sort of prim decay which characterises the film throughout. It’s far more Eggers than Corman; forget that very lurid latter kind of Poe adaptation, as that is not for here (and, as a result of all the natural low light and candlelight used, this is a very dark film overall). So aesthetically, the film is a delight – if you like that sort of thing. There are a few missteps as Raven’s Hollow moves along with its famous literary figure in tow, however. Whilst the simplicity of the script is notable, and certainly never makes Poe himself a particularly verbose figure, as may be expected, by the same token some of the chunks of exposition are a little too simple; a character gets a few minutes to fill in a raft of back-story, for example, which can feel rushed. Some of the lip service to Poe lore is a little clunky, too, even if you momentarily enjoy catching these moments as they go by.
My Opinion is …
If you are a fan of gothic themes and mysteries, then you will enjoy this. I really did like it. I love Poe’s work and unique interpretations of his life, and this take could pass as a new and unique origin story for Poe's The Raven. If you are a Poe fan, you will be at a loss if you can't catch a few Easter eggs in the movie that reference his other stories, too.
The acting was good for what they had to work with. Kate Dickie, who had a minor role, does a great job with what she had to work with. The FX is good but not great; it feels a bit lacking for the time, more like five to eight years ago.
The plot is good—character development for Poe, but maybe not many of the side figures. Do not expect a blood bath. Slow burn gothic mystery is what i class it as.
