Plot
1840, Philadelphia. Edgar Allan Poe’s editor requests that he set aside his love poems to instead dedicate himself to writing more-remunerative horror stories.
But his alcoholism, exacerbated by his beloved wife Virginia’s serious health issues, increasingly undermines his mental equilibrium. During an intense psychotic episode, the writer takes it out on his wife’s cat, brutally pulling out its eyeball.
But the worst is yet to come…
I have this longing in my soul to do violence to the ones I love, to my own nature...
Critique
5For the second season of the “Masters of Horror” television series, Stuart Gordon chooses to rather liberally adapt the well-known 1843 Edgar Allan Poe short story, turning the author into the protagonist of his own story (the famed horror writer is played with gusto by multi-talented veteran actor Jeffrey Combs).
Certainly not one of the finest works by the man who brought us the legendary “Re-Animator” (1985), but Gordon’s touch is still evident. Beyond that, there’s a notable tendency towards splatter, which was completely foreign to the Boston poet (the axe scene reminiscent of Mario Bava isn’t bad), as well as a veiled penchant for the grotesque. Jon Jofflin’s gorgeous cinematography leans towards evocative autumnal tones.
Subpar conclusion.
More Info
- Inspired by the short story "The Black Cat" (1843) by Edgar Allan Poe
Quotes
- I have this longing in my soul to do violence to the ones I love, to my own nature... to do wrong for wrong's sake.
Trivia
- “The Tell-Tale Heart” (1843) and “The Premature Burial” (1844) are two of the various Poe short stories nicely cited by Gordon.
- This isn’t the first time Jeffrey Combs has played a big name in horror literature, having previously taken on the role of H.P. Lovecraft in the underrated “Necronomicon” (1993) by Brian Yuzna.
- There’ve been numerous film adaptations of the 1843 story “The Black Cat”, generally not very faithful to the literary source. Among them, we would cite: Charles Krauss’s “Il Gatto Nero” (1920), the second episode of “Tales of Terror” (1962) by Roger Corman, and Lucio Fulci’s “Black Cat” (1981).
Products
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| Product name | Price | |
|---|---|---|
 | Masters of Horror: The Black Cat | |
 | The Black Cat | |
 | The Black Cat and Other Tales |
| Nome del prodotto | Prezzo | |
|---|---|---|
 | Masters of horror Stagione 02 Volume 02 | |
 | Il Gatto Nero | |
 | Il gatto nero e altri racconti del terrore | |
 | Il gatto nero. Testo inglese a fronte |
| Product name | Price | |
|---|---|---|
 | Masters of Horror: The Black Cat (Blu-Ray) | |
| Masters of Horror: Black Cat [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] | |
 | The Black Cat: By Edgar Allan Poe - Illustrated | |
| The Black Cat and Other Tales |
| Nombre del producto | Precio | |
|---|---|---|
| El Gato Negro / Masters of Horror: The Black Cat (Blu-Ray) | |
 | El Gato Negro - Spanish Version | |
 | Scu. El Gato Negro Y Otros Cuentos (Ed.Integra): 56 (Selección clásicos universales) |
| Produktname | Preis | |
|---|---|---|
| Masters of Horror {The Black Cat (#2.11)} | |
| Masters of Horror: The Black Cat ( ) [ Spanische Import ] (Blu-Ray) | |
 | The Black Cat / Der schwarze Kater (Buch + Audio-Online) - Kommentierte zweisprachige Ausgabe Englisch-Deutsch, m. 1 Audio, m. 1 Audio: Englisch ... Cat" - eine Reise durch Schuld und Wahnsinn | |
 | Die schwarze Katze: und andere Erzählungen |
| Nom du produit | Prix | |
|---|---|---|
| Le Chat noir / Masters of Horror: The Black Cat [ Origine Espagnole, Sans Langue Francaise ] (Blu-Ray) | |
 | Le Chat noir et autres nouvelles |
| Product name | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Masters of Horror: Black Cat | |
| The Black Cat | |
| The Black Cat and Other Tales |