Relativity Media just sent over the above first official look at John Cusack as the tormented Edgar Allen Poe in The Raven, which is set to hit theaters on March 9, 2012 directed by V for Vendetta helmer James McTeigue.
We saw a couple of images of Cusack in the role which has been described as a fictionalized account of the final five “mysterious” days of Edgar Allan Poe’s life. The story will follow the famous writer as he joins the hunt for a serial killer whose murders are inspired by his stories. “It’s like the poem, ‘The Raven,’ itself, crossed with Se7en. It should be pretty cool. The script is really good and everyone responds to it really well. I’m in the middle of casting,” director James McTeigue said.
Just below is the official plot synopsis and you can click here for a larger look at the above image.
In this gritty thriller, Edgar Allen Poe (John Cusack, Being John Malkovich) joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans, Immortals) to hunt down a mad serial killer who’s using Poe’s own works as the basis in a string of brutal murders. Directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta), the film also stars Alice Eve (Sex and the City 2), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Faster).
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 the local newspaper–part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe. But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also inspired by 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 stopping the attacks. But when it appears someone close to Poe may become the murderer’s next victim, the stakes become even higher and the inventor of the detective story calls on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before it’s too late.
Oh, and as a side note, if you would like to watch another film titled The Raven, but doesn’t have anything to do with Poe, check out Henri-Georges Clouzot’s excellent 1943 film Le Corbeau, which I discussed after I first saw it last February.
