This teaming of DAWN OF THE DEAD collaborators George Romero and Dario Argento and horror maestro Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most underrated horror movies in recent memory.
TWO EVIL EYES received minimal theatrical distribution in the USA (where most people wouldn't know a good horror movie if they tripped over it), and went practically straight to video, where it didn't do too impressively either. This was undoubtedly due to some scathing reviews that labelled this movie as abysmal, boring and pointless.
I, on the other hand, think TWO EVIL EYES is a great movie. True Romero fans will see the director's brilliance at work in "The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar". Romero steers clear of blood and guts (which is why most "fans" were disappointed by it) and instead creates a macabre atmosphere, and gives the piece the look and feel of an EC or Warren horror comic, complete with campy dialogue and over-the-top performances. Pick up a copy of TALES FROM THE CRYPT or CREEPY and compare it to Romero's segment.
You'll see how perfectly Romero captures the flavor of a bygone era in illustrated horror. When the mesmerized Valdemar wails "Jessica", you can almost see the wavy dialogue bubble appear next to his head. It's as worthy a tribute to such publications as the Romero-Stephen King masterpiece, CREEPSHOW. Romero takes liberties with Poe's story, but keeps the feeling of irony and sardonic wit that makes Poe's work so rich. It's a great little movie from one of the true masters of the genre, though, unfortunately, it's his best work to date since DAY OF THE DEAD.
I may be one of the only defenders of this movie who likes Romero's part better than Argento's. This is because Romero keeps Poe's spirit alive throughout his segment. Argento simply takes one basic story ("The Black Cat"), adding elements from a few other Poe stories (including "Berenice" and "Pit and the Pendulum") and uses them as a clothesline for his own twisted and bizarre nightmare fantasies. There's nothing wrong with that, but I think he fails to capture the feel of Poe, which I thought was the point of the movie (which was his idea). At any rate, it's very good Argento. His camera constantly swoops and creeps along the corridors of the house in which the story takes place, and he creates some genuinely disturbing imagery. He also gets an excellent performance from Harvey Keitel, who brings a cruelty and maliciousness to his character most actors would not dare attempt.
Overall, TWO EVIL EYES is an entertaining movie for horror fans who enjoy more than just blood and guts, and are patient enough to let a story take its time developing. Give it another chance.
