The Raven [PG]

Still grieving over the loss of his wife, retiring magician Dr. Craven avoids the power struggles of the magician’s brotherhood and likes of Dr. Scarabus to grieve in peace and bring up his daughter Estelle. But he is forced to face all that he has renounced when a raven enters his home and it transpires that it is a fellow magician turned into a raven by the power hungry Dr. Scarabus. 

A comical horror farce on the classic poem of terror by Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven sits as another quirky and stupidly off-centre film in Roger Corman’s repertoire. Keeping in mind that this is the man who brought us The Little Shop of Horrors, it stands to reason that a loose adaptation of Poe’s dark poem of grief and (I believe) suicide had always the possibility of being in the making. Between the bizarre cast and the weird story itself, not to mention the humorous soundtrack and the not-so-dazzling special effects, The Raven isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just very cult and it takes a certain kind of person to appreciate and (furthermore) enjoy its weirdness. 

Still grieving over the loss of his wife, retiring magician Dr. Craven avoids the power struggles of the magician’s brotherhood and likes of Dr. Scarabus to grieve in peace and bring up his daughter Estelle. But he is forced to face all that he has renounced when a raven enters his home and it transpires that it is a fellow magician turned into a raven by the power hungry Dr. Scarabus. 

From the beginning, the story of The Raven is very pronounced with Vincent Price reading the poem in voice-over narration. We then get the first steps of the poem: the loss of Lenore, the knocks on the door with no one there, and then finally the actual raven flying through the window. The film then goes down a completely different path by having the raven speak in Peter Lorre’s distinctive voice! From there, it’s just one thing after another with all manner of weird things happening from the reanimation of a corpse to the appearance of a young Jack Nicholson with a feather in his hat and incredibly tight tights. 

A lot of the humour comes through the soundtrack, which is very exaggerated and reflective of what’s going on the scene, a bit like those old school Disney soundtracks, but what makes this one stand out especially is its cheeky samplings of other recognisable tracks including Auld Langsyne during the ‘climactic’ magicians’ duel to the death. 

The costumes too, add a touch of the fun and ridiculous to the film with a random montage of styles going on from extravagant satin robes and turban, to old page’s outfits, busty medieval dresses, and (as I mentioned before) feather hats and tight tights. 

Starring Vincent Price. Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Hazel Court, Olive Sturgess, Connie Wallace, William Baskin, Aaron Saxon, and Jack Nicholson, The Raven is a pretty ridiculous film that could very much be considered an absolute farce and insult to the genius Gothic of Poe’s original poem of terror. But, filled with action, magic, extravagant costumes, drama, romance, betrayal, and comedy, it’s a film that has gained cult status and if one is to take a step back and let it sink it, there isn’t really a question as to why. I wouldn’t be lying if I said I rather enjoyed it, but I have to say that it was nothing special or outstanding in any respect.