The Raven

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The Raven

R

2012

1h 51m

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

22%

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143 Reviews

46%

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100,000+ Ratings

In 19th-century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) makes a horrifying discovery: The murders of a mother and daughter resemble a fictional crime described in a story by Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack).When another murder occurs, also seemingly inspired by Poe's writings, Fields realizes a serial killer is on the loose and enlists Poe's help in catching the felon. The stakes become personal for the struggling author when someone close to him may become the killer's next victim.

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Critics Consensus

Thinly scripted, unevenly acted, and overall preposterous, The Raven disgraces the legacy of Edgar Allen Poe with a rote murder mystery that's more silly than scary.

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Tim Grierson

Deadspin

The problem is that "The Raven" is all surface. The movie is nothing but its fun idea, without much development or ingenuity

Feb 12, 2013

Full Review

Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

But on the whole, Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare's never finds solid footing, and although the early murders are inventively intriguing, as the film goes on they slowly but surely lose their power to startle, amaze and perplex.

Rated: 2/4

May 15, 2012

Full Review

Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

The maniac on the loose i less Jack the Ripper than a literarily inclined nobody, and not even a butler, to boot.

Rated: 1.5/5

May 4, 2012

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

There have been so many good adaptations of works by Edgar Allan Poe that few will work up much enthusiasm for this thriller in which the great author himself is put through the paces of an average serial-killer yarn.

Rated: 2/4

Sep 27, 2025

Full Review

Katelyn Nelson

Daily Grindhouse

Rather than parody or melodramatic spoof, it dissects the cliché of tortured-writer-as-dark-figure and in its place presents a man firmly planted in the space between reality and imagination, and aware of the limitations of each.

Aug 4, 2024

Full Review

Iván Kazi

EscribiendoCine

With one of the most intriguing literary figures of all time and plenty of visual splendor, The Raven is a thriller that shouldn't go unnoticed. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 6/10

Jun 14, 2023

Full Review

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Carolyn K.

Terrible and very non-creative and its register of a fantasy drama, more eerie, and a natural than any genius or genuine poem, readers, and fans whatever I imagine could happen – – distasteful selection, and a bad bad impression of a life, quite daunting and curiously magically, mysterious, and cut and blistering pieces of humanity all at once …

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/30/25

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Troy R

Decent story with decent acting. As a fan of Poe it was an interesting take on his stories played out in the real world. I think the ending was ok... nothing special. Whole movie kind was like that a little slow, nothing overly amazing, and just a decent watch. The audio seemed to have a little bit of a mixing issue where the characters were very quite but the music/back ground noises could be loud, maybe just the version I was watching.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/20/25

Full Review

Twiggy H

I feel sorry for the great actors in that absolute mess of film writing. Quite idiotic to have a film depicting fan-fiction and plagiarism, that spent more time terrorising a poet than actually kicking the absolute shite out of the 'rival' character. In effect, the film contradicts itself entirely, especially with the ending scene of Poe declaring the chap as absolutely talentless and unoriginal. I'm sure the amount of effort and time that went into writing that film could have written something better and truly unique instead *shrugs*. Besides that, the actors were great.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/16/24

Full Review

Руслан Г

Я заснув через 20 хвилин перегляду. Проснувся і вимкнув. Нецікавий фільм. Немає чого сказати гарного. Гарний сон- це найкраще враження від перегляду.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/19/24

Full Review

Dramabubb K

I think it's a good movie. Not a critic so it's not my living. But I'm a legit movie buff. It's worth the watch.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/01/24

Full Review

Regina P

This didn't work, sorry. It would be one thing if it were a fictional detective or author chasing a serial killer who was motivated by Edgar Alan Poe. But this is supposed to be the real Poe? No. I couldn't buy it any point. It just seemed too ridiculous. And the way the kidnapping happened was not any credit to the writer here. They were already on high alert, and they still let that happen? When? It might have worked if they had used a fictional protagonist and made the crimes make more sense.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/05/23

Full Review

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James McTeigue

Director

John Cusack

Edgar Allan Poe

Luke Evans

Detective Emmett Fields

Alice Eve

Emily Hamilton

Brendan Gleeson

Charles Hamilton

Oliver Jackson-Cohen

John Cantrell

The Raven: Official Clip - Drinking Poison

2:27

The Raven: Official Clip - The Critic and the Pendulum

1:10

The Raven: Official Clip - The Masque of the Red Death

1:55

The Raven: Official Clip - Buried Alive

2:26

The Raven: Official Clip - Chasing the Killer

2:30

The Raven: Official Clip - The Cask of Amontillado

2:13

The Raven: Official Clip - The Tell-Tale Heart

2:01

The Raven: Official Clip - Annabel Lee

2:23

The Raven: Official Clip - The Killer Revealed

2:14

The Raven: Official Clip - The Theatre Hunt

2:24

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Synopsis

In 19th-century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) makes a horrifying discovery: The murders of a mother and daughter resemble a fictional crime described in a story by Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack).When another murder occurs, also seemingly inspired by Poe's writings, Fields realizes a serial killer is on the loose and enlists Poe's help in catching the felon. The stakes become personal for the struggling author when someone close to him may become the killer's next victim.

Director: James McTeigue
Producer: Aaron Ryder, Mark D. Evans, Trevor Macy
Screenwriter: Hannah Shakespeare, Ben Livingston
Distributor: Relativity Media
Production Co: Galavis Film, Intrepid Pictures, Pioneer Pictures, Relativity Media, FilmNation Entertainment
Rating: R (Grisly Images|Bloody Violence)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 27, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 8, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.0M
Runtime: 1h 51m

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