TwoEvilEyes

Two Evil Eyes (1990)

Directors George Romero and Dario Argento share a love for the writing of Edgar Allen Poe so they got together to make film based on 2 Stories of Poe’s. Thus Two Evil Eyes was born.

First up is Romero's "The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar." Here a scheming wife played by Adrienne Barbeau and her lover played by Ramy Zada, use a hypnotic trance to embezzle a fortune from her dying husband. Only to receive some supernatural surprises from beyond the grave in the end. Barbeau and E.G. Marshall from Creepshow re-team for Romero here.

The second part of the film is Argento’s entry "The Black Cat," Harvey Keitel is Usher, a crime-scene photographer who is clearly at least a bit deranged, who has run-ins with his girlfriends hated black cat, leading to his murdering it. The cat mysteriously returns repeatedly, and he is driven mad and to murder and so on. The director’s hand is all over this, it's reminiscent of Argento's previous film, 'Opera' with crane shots. There is also a very odd and hallucinatory dream sequence, apparently in the Middle Ages, what the heck. Tom Savini and his crew do the special effects here, which is a highlight. Also the great Tom Atkins has a role, which is always cool.

The video here is a slight step up to the DVD, I heard all about how bad this was video wise but I was surprised that is was better than what I expected but no doubt this is the best we are going to see this film.

The sound is fine with a 7.1 DTS HD and True HD tracks, I cant say how good they are since I don’t have a HD receiver, but the 5.1 track does the job.

In conclusion this is not a great movie but it’s a good one, the Romero segment is the weaker of the 2 in my option. Its slow and just the story itself isn’t anything we haven’t seen before and is executed in a pretty straightforward style. Argento entry is elevated by the director’s heavy hand with his style and Harvey Keitel performance, which is borderline over the top. Also the gore effects are great. Bottom-line here is this is not both director’s greatest work but for all the fans of both this is a must have but for everyone else it’s a rent. Again recommended for fans, a rental for everyone else. For more information about this and the other great DVDs from Blue Underground head over to their website at http://www.blue-underground.com/

2 ½ out of 4

reviewed by Steve Bennignfield