The Black Cat
The Black Cat
| 19 January 2007 (USA)
The Black Cat Trailers

The Black Cat, set in 1840 Philadelphia, has the great writer Edgar Allan Poe, struggling with alcoholism, writers block, as well as being out of ideas, short on cash, and tormented by his wife Virginia's black cat that will either destroy his life or inspire him to write one of his most famous stories.

Reviews
Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?
WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Paul Magne Haakonsen Not being familiar with the works of Poe does not, and should not, keep you from watching this episode of the Masters of Horror series.The story is well chiseled out and grips you firmly and keeps you nailed to the seat till the very end. The entire atmosphere is marvelous. There are so many small and fine details. It has a very gloomy feel to it, which heightens the experience all together.And of course the cast plays a huge part. They all shined through here, putting on good performances and bringing their characters to life in a believable fashion. Especially Jeffrey Combs, wow! He is amazing in this role.There is a constant underlying feel of dread and frustration to "The Black Cat", and it works so well. The effects are good, and you will be kept thrilled till the very end. No major scares though, but that doesn't really matter, because the intense feeling from the atmosphere more than makes up for that.There certainly are a vast difference in appeal and quality to the episodes of the Masters of Horror series, and for me, this is one of the better. It is genuinely thrilling and compelling without being over the top.
ametaphysicalshark "The Black Cat" has long been one of my favorite Edgar Allan Poe tales, a spectacularly gruesome and disturbing story, but also one of real psychological depth and precise prose. Upon my belated discovery that Stuart Gordon, a man responsible for some loose but still excellent Lovecraft adaptations, had directed an adaptation for the "Masters of Horror" series I rushed out to rent it, expectations skyrocketing especially after I read the plot outline, which seemed far more faithful than basically any other adaptation of the story which is commercially available and longer than a few minutes.I was not disappointed. "The Black Cat", scripted by the director Gordon and Dennis Paoli, is a work infused with real respect and affection for Poe and his work, and does what few Poe adaptations have manged to do (if any at all): it captures the morbid, Gothic nature of the story without letting go of the ever-present psychological resonance of his stories. This effort captures the atmosphere wonderfully and makes sure to include the story's most iconic moments, captured here in all their disturbing, gory glory, but also, by making the lead character Poe himself, is a wonderful tribute to his writing and life and devoted Poe enthusiasts will surely have fun with this more or less historically accurate view of Poe and some of the events in his life (outside of the more fantastical areas of the story, of course).Stuart Gordon doesn't seem to have really gotten the reputation he deserves after his many quality efforts in the genre, and "The Black Cat" did nothing to put me off his work. It's everything I want from a Poe adaptation and although it walks a fine line and risks becoming too snide and self-referential, it ultimately succeeds wonderfully. Jeffrey Combs is utterly superb in the lead role as well.9/10
Michael_Elliott Black Cat, The (2007) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Stuart Gordon directs this entry into the Masters of Horror series. Edgar Allan Poe (Jeffrey Combs) is slowly drinking himself to death over the illness of his wife when their pet black cat begins to act strangely. This black cat will either drive Poe mad or force him into writing a great story. The first part of the film works pretty well as we see Poe struggling to make a living but things quickly fall apart as the film turns into a slasher film with Poe stalking his wife and pets with an ax. Combs is terrific in the role and has an uncanny resemblance to Poe but the supporting players are all rather dry. The visual look of the film is very good and perfectly captures the time and setting.
Paul Andrews Masters of Horror: The Black Cat starts as the broke Edgar Allan Poe (Jeffrey Combs) tries to sell some poetry to his publisher George Graham (no not the Arsenal football club legend!) but he thinks Poe should get back to writing what he writes best, fantastical stories of horror. Poe disagrees & continues to squander his money on drink, however his priorities have to chance when his wife Virginia (Elyse Levesque) becomes seriously ill & he has to find money for her medicine. As Poe sit down to write the sort of story Graham (Aron Tager) wants his wife's black cat Pluto seems to haunting him & driving him mad...This Canadian American co-production was episode 11 from season 2 of the hit-and-miss Masters of Horror TV series, the second Masters of Horror story to be directed by Stuart Gordon I was deeply disappointed by The Black Cat. The script by Gordon & Stuart Paoli feels more like an autobiographical character study rather than horror for the first 40 odd minutes before it finally gets going during it's last quarter. As a lover of the horror genre myself I should be fascinated with this episode which bases it's central premise around Edgar Allan Poe who was responsible for the source material & ideas for a lot of genre films but to be honest I couldn't give a toss about him, I haven't got a clue whether this is an accurate representation of him & what he was like & frankly I couldn't care less either way. So straight away I've got a problem with it, then there's the fact that the majority of the time Poe is painted as some drunk, aggressive, rude, lying brute who I really disliked & that made it very difficult for me to care about anything which was going on. Then there's the clichéd lame cop-out ending which destroy just about everything that has gone before although I admit I didn't see it coming mainly because I thought the likes of Gordon was better than it. I was pretty bored during the opening half but at least things pick up towards the end, it's well written enough I suppose & I can see how some might be drawn in & like it but it didn't do much for me.Director Gordon does a fine job, this one looks good with great period sets & detail as it was set in the first half of the 19th Century (Poe himself lived between 1809 & 1849). Almost all the colour has been removed & this isn't too far away from being black and white apart from the brilliant creative decision to emphasise all the reds, from the bright red wine to the predictable spurts & splatterings of bright red blood, it's a nice touch which works very well & gives The Black Cat a bit of style. There's not much gore here although there is one big special effect when someone gets an axe stuck in their head in a great scene with plenty of blood, a cat has it's eye poked out, someone coughs up loads of blood & animal lovers should beware a few critters bite the dust so bear that in mind. This one lacks any great scares & there are only a couple of horror themed sequences throughout.Technically The Black Cat is excellent with great production values & it's very well made with a convincingly realised & authentic looking period setting. The acting is good although while I've liked Combs in just about everything I've seen in him I thought he was a bit bland & unlikable in this.The Black Cat certainly isn't a Masters of Horror I will look back on with any great fondness, I'm sorry but it's as simple & straight forward as that. Another week, another Masters of Horror episode, another disappointment.