Two Evil Eyes is a collaboration by two horror masters; George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead), and Dario Argento (Suspiria). Special effects are also provided by the top name in horror movies of the period, Tom Savini. To top it off, both stories are based on works by Edgar Allan Poe, arguably one of the largest influences on works of horror, well... ever. And the efforts of these great names quite lives up to expectations. In fact, it may succeed them if you are aware of the decline in the quality of output by both of these directors around this time period. Romero's next film after Two Evil Eyes was the appalling King adaptation The Dark Half, and Argento's the lukewarm Trauma. So if one is knowledgeable of this it would be nothing but natural to approach this film tentatively. Fortunately, your fears will be calmed. The first half is titled The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, and is based on the Poe short story of the same name. Romero's adaptation is a fun and concise update. The storyline is engaging, easy to follow, well acted, well shot. I wouldn't say that it's going to blow your mind but it's certainly enjoyable. Argento's effort, as would be expected, was somewhat more complicated. In terms of quality, plot, and appearance. The Black Cat is, mainly, based on the well known Poe story of the same name. It also incorporates nods to other works by the author and the main character's last name is Usher. The story is somewhat muddled and confusing, but that really comes with the territory when Argento is concerned. There are also a few questionable set choices but overall I really found the second half very enjoyable as well. Overall I really think that Two Evil Eyes is a pretty damn enjoyable selection and probably more even than I've made it sound. It's better than its place in the filmographies of the respective directors would suggest as well.

I blame it on my mother: she recited poetry by Edgar Allan Poe to me when I was a kid and told me scary stories when I went to bed each night; I came to treasure the chills that a good Horror story, well told, could invoke. Then came George Romero and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. It was a game changer, an uncompromising, brutal depiction of Life in these so-called "united" $tate$. Fright Films had suddenly EVOLVED into something Other than what they had been- and at the helm was Romero, co-writing and directing it all. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, with its documentary look and feel, ventured into uncharted territory (and, ironically considering the number of rip-offs it has inspired, no one else saw Fright Films as an opportunity to comment on The State of Affairs in this country) (not until John Carpenter came along, anyway). Romero became my Hero, and when it was announced that he would be producing a Horror series for television, I began submitting scripts as fast as I could write them. (In my arrogant ignorance, I'd already submitted a script for a sequel to DAWN OF THE DEAD... Two movies made me want to MAKE movies: John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN and George Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD.) While none of my scripts for TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE were ever used, I WAS lucky enough to get a kindly rejection from Romero himself. I'd sent him three issues of a self-published prose magazine I'd written and illustrated and he wrote back: "Some of the pieces are really fine." Coming from the man who gave us NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and DAWN OF THE DEAD, this was Praise, indeed! My nieces and nephews were weaned on Romero's movies. Just a few hours ago, I read that Romero died yesterday. The shock hit me first, followed by the pain that can only come when a knife has pierced the heart and entered the Soul. I tried to tell my wife, but talking was all but impossible; I went and sat in the car, numb and sick to my stomach, and cried off and on. Romero was a Hero of mine, one of only a handful of people in this life who've inspired me to try harder, to try to do something other than just sit and watch the World pass by; but his passing has taken the wind out of my sails. I'd hoped to finally meet him face to face at a Horror convention later this year. It's hard to believe that I now live in a world WITHOUT George Romero. I'll never get to shake his hand and joke with him. And I'll never again hear my Mother lulling me to sleep with a softly-whispered Tale of Terror.Damn, what a day.

On the surface, this would seem like a horror fan's wet dream. Two of horror's most celebrated directors, George Romero and Dario Argento, in a pseudo-anthology film, dedicated to the works of American legend, E.A. Poe. The reality, however, is that the film has its' shining moments, but the negatives outweighed the positives for me.Most of us have some passing familiarity with Poe's work, maybe you've read it in grade school, or maybe you're more familiar with the Corman adaptations from the 60s. He is considered to be the father of American horror, as well as the inventor of the detective story. His work has been used as a launching point for many horror films and here they attempt to adapt his work somewhat faithfully, though with plenty of additions and embellishments. The stories were originally created for a proposed television series. Unfortunately it was abandoned with only two episodes and, thus, we get the two one-hour segments shown here. The fact that they were created for the small screen is one of the biggest drawbacks to the film. Romero's segment, especially, just reeks of low budget and bad production values. The first story is THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF M VALDEMAR done by Romero. It utilizes some of the weakest parts of the Poe oeuvre, in my opinion. It's very indicative of the sort of "detective fiction" that was crafted by Poe letting a plot VERY slowly unwind and, also, shows his preoccupation with the mysticism and hypnotism so popular at the time. The problem is that all the tension that he tries to build just goes nowhere and never provides a satisfying resolution. Maybe I'm just too jaded, but a guy laying frozen with a disembodied voice just doesn't elicit many chills for me. Of course, being Romero, he uses the story as an excuse to comment on capitalism and drag out one of his trademark zombies. The second story is THE BLACK CAT by Argento, which is really a strange melange of several Poe stories, including THE CASK OF AMONTIDALLO. It stars Harvey Keitel a few years before his Tarantino-fueled resurgence. The story has a few of the best elements of Argento's work, including some gorgeous looking crime scenes. Unfortunately, it has some of the worst elements of his work, as well, namely an odd, meandering plot and a bad male lead character that is hard for anyone to relate to because I've never met one person who acted remotely like him. Both directors were about five years past their prime, at this point, and do a serviceable job of translating stories that are now over a hundred years old, to make them more modern. I found the Argento segment to be much better than the Romero, but neither one would even have made a very good episode of TALES FROM THE CRYPT, let alone an entertaining horror film.

After viewing Dario Argento's interesting 1996 Giallo The Stendhal Syndrome,I took a look at other Argento DVDs that I had placed by the side of my bedroom,and was pleased to spot an anthology title that Argento had co-directed with George Romero,which led to me deciding,that this would be the perfect time to open the 2 evil eyes wide. The plot:Note:due to there being 2 stories,I am going to spilt the plot into 2 parts.Story 1: The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar.Looking at her old husband laying on his death bed, Jessica Valdemar decides that after having spent the last few years being Ernest's arm candy,that it is time to make her "sugar daddy" pay for all the years Jessica has given him.Starting an affair with Ernest's doctor, (Dr. Robert Hoffman)Hoffman hypnotises Ernest,so that he can give his approval to all his cash being given to Jessica.As they count down the final days to the transfer being confirmed,Jessica and Robert are left shaken,when Ernest suddenly dies.Desperate to get their hands on the cash,Jessica & Robert decide that the best thing to do is to chuck Ernest into the freezer (what a charming couple!) As they start to relax round the house,Robert and Jessica begin to hear strange noises coming from the freezer.Story 2:The Black Cat.Returning home after taking photos from the latest police crime scene,Rod Usher goes into his photo lab,and starts developing the pics.As the development is taking place,Rod notices that a mysterious black cat has somehow gotten into the room.Talking to his long-term girlfriend Annabel,Rod discovers that she is adopted the cat,due to her belief of black cats being connected to historical witchcraft.Gathering up photos for his first to be published book,Rod finds a rapid hatred suddenly growing between him and the cat,with a gap increasing in his relationship,as Annabel finds herself standing by the cats side.Placing the cat in the middle of a photo-shoot,Rod finds himself hating the very sight of the cat,which leads to him killing the fur ball.Finding his relationship with Annabel to become more fragile from the pets sudden 'disappearance',Rod is left speechless,when the shadow of the murdered moggy suddenly returns. View on the film:Filmed just before he entered the Decade of the Dead-Ends,co- writer/ (along with Peter Koper) director George Romero disappointingly stays away from displaying the Valdemar's decadent life style,with Romero giving his segment a frozen appearance,which appears to be largely focused on Tom Savini's cartoon-style practical effects,that leads to Adrienne Barbeau performance as Jessica to feel extremely cold.Updating Poe's story,the writers brilliantly dip the segment into Film Noir waters,as Jessica is showed to be a dame who will betray anyone,in order to get her hands on some cold hard cash.Gradually increasing the presence of a horror element,the writers show Jessica and Roberts Greed to be something which will lead to them having to pay in "blood" money.Swinging into action with a wonderful score by Pino Donaggio,co- writer/ (along with Franco Ferrini) director Dario Argento hits his US debut with a tremendous confidence,as Argento smoothly swings from cheerful nods to Poe's works, (such as The Fall of the House of Usher & The Pit and the Pendulum)to threading his own web of mysterious terror.Avoiding the chance to make the segment a direct copy of Poe's story,the writer's instead slowly transform the plot from gritty police protocol into tense paranoid horror,as Rod finds the mysterious cat digging into every part of his life,which leads to Rod falling into insanity,as he tries to destroy the black cat'O nine tails.Leading the segments cast, (which includes a very good Kim Hunter)Harvey Keitel gives a brilliant performance as Rod Usher,with Keitel showing Usher to be a clean-cut crime photographer,who has demons laying on the fringes of his psych,that are being awaken by the claws of a cat.Standing in the way of Keitel and the fur ball, Madeleine Potter gives a great,fragile performance as Annabel,thanks to Potter showing Annabel being horrified of the claw marks that have entered her relationship with Rod,and eventually finding herself tangled in a deadly game of cat's cradle.Opening his segment with a swing from Poe's Pendulum,Dario Argento and cinematographer Peter Reniers pull out the dirt from the cats nails,to show the doom-laden world that Rod is in,as Argento subtly covers Rod's house in the darkness that he brings back from the crime scenes.Along with the doom-laden horror atmosphere,Argento also shows a startling eye for ultra-stylised left-field chills,with Argento revealing the truth behind the cat in a dazzling dream/possible flash cat,as the black cat opens its two evil eyes.