This past Friday marked the 162nd anniversary of the cryptic death of the master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe. It also marked the release of the latest trailer for The Raven, the thriller that imagines a world in which a brutal serial killer draws from a series of Poe's stories to create a template for murder. (Be sure to have a look at The Raven trailer before continuing).

John Cusack stars as Poe against Luke Evans as a Baltimore detective who enlists the notorious author's help on the hunt for the ruthless killer. Alice Eve plays the author's beloved and beautiful damsel in distress; a woman caught in the clutches of a cat and mouse game between Poe and the man who would use the darkness of the author's imagination to propel himself into infamy. The figure of the woman in peril is often used in the Gothic tales the author spun, and as Cusack himself reminded the audience at the Comic Con panel for The Raven, “Poe said there is nothing more fascinating in the world than a beautiful woman dying. So we had to have that [in the film]."

The film takes place during the mysterious last days of Poe's life. For those who are unfamiliar with the details, Poe was found in a state of delirium, dressed in clothes that were not his own on the streets of Baltimore on On October 3, 1849. He remained incoherent and distressed for the next four days until he died of what remain unknown causes on October 7th. Poe was said to have repeatedly called out the name "Reynolds" in those last harrowing days.

The Raven creates a fictitious restructuring of the events that lead to the author's demise.

We had the opportunity to speak with Alice Eve and John Cusack about what drew them to the film, what they feel Poe meant to the world of literature, and how Eve overcame her claustrophobia to film a sequence that required her to be buried alive.

Take a look at the interviews below.

Video interview with The Raven's Alice Eve

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Video interview with The Raven's John Cusack

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James McTeigue (V for Vendetta)  directs a cast that includes John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson, Kevin McNally, Brendan Coyle, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen.

The Raven opens in theaters on March 9th, 2012.

 

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