How much do any of us really know in terms of what to expect from a film these days? Recent history is littered with impressive premises and trailers giving way to crushingly mediocre finished products, which makes The Raven a difficult one to call. It could be Seven meets Sleepy Hollow (in a good way), but experiences over the past few years warrants caution.
The trailers and images so far have looked pretty impressive, giving a suitably murky sense of time and place. John Cusack has been scientifically proven* to bring about a 37.8% improvement in the quality of any film he is in, the premise of a serial killer working from the none-more-gothic fictional material of Edgar Allan Poe and the man himself joining in the investigation is an intriguing one and the rest of the cast and crew have good, solid work behind them.
Today’s new stills are very much in keeping with what we’ve had to date, though there is a moment of genuine smiling on display here, which is novel. Beyond that, it is lots of serious looks, mist, gravestones and bowed heads. Enjoy these and hopefully you are looking forward to 9th March (UK) and 27th April (US) when we will get to see if it is worth the anticipation.
*not actually proven in any way, shape or form
