Update: “The Raven” poster removed at the request of Relativity Media.
Here’s a quick look at some artwork that teenagers will be putting up in a multiplex near you.
We have to admit, when we first heard about an Edgar Allen Poe movie in which the poet/writer himself tracks down a serial killer that uses his own works as a guide to murder, we were pretty much ready to write it off. But so far, everything is pointing to a much edgier and darker film than we’d been expecting. Described by John Cusack at Comic-Con as “an art-movie and a popcorn movie” rolled into one, and with our man in the U.K. seeing early footage at Empire Big Screen and saying it “seems closer to ‘Seven’ and could be good gothic fun,” our interest has certainly been raised. And certainly, this latest teaser poster is a nice piece of minimalist work with the black raven and single long drop of blood conveying everything we need to know about the pic. Directed by James McTeigue and co-starring Luke Evans, Alice Eve and Brendan Gleeson, the movie opens on March 9, 2012.
Meanwhile, Sam Peckinpah‘s still controversial “Straw Dogs” has been given a contemporary re-do in Rod Lurie‘s forthcoming remake. Starring James Marsden, Kate Bosworth and Alexander Skarsgård, this new take relocates the story to the southern United States but still pits a nebbish, intellectual nerd (Marsden) against a pack of raping savages led by Skarsgård, leading to a showdown in which the man will have to defend his home and wife. These new character one-sheets paint the picture more as a straight thriller, which we suppose is strictly for marketing purposes and it’s hard to blame Screen Gems — it’s not exactly the easiest movie in the world to advertise, given the harrowing central sequence around which the entire film turns. We’re cautiously curious about this one, which has seen the release date move around quite a bit, but will finally arrive on September 16th. [Latino Review/IMPA]
