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List Price: $19.95 | | Label: Blue Underground
Salesrank: 52226
Released: April 29, 2003 |
| Our Price: $10.25 |
| Used Price: $8.29 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
The masters of modern horror - George Romero and Dario Argento - bring you an unprecedented pair of shockers inspired by the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.
In Romero's The Facts In The Case Of Mr. Valdemar, a conniving wife (Adrienne Barbeau of THE FOG) and her lover use a hypnotic trance to embezzle a fortune from her dying husband, only to receive some chilling surprises from beyond the grave. Then in Argento's The Black Cat, a deranged crime scene photographer (Harvey Keitel of RESERVOIR DOGS) is driven to brutal acts of madness and murder by his girlfriend's new pet. But will this cunning feline deliver a final sickening twist of its own?
Description of Two Evil Eyes:
Legendary horror directors George Romero and Dario Argento team up to direct a pair of short films inspired by the writing of Edgar Allen Poe. In Romero's story, a woman (Adrienne Barbeau) and her lover hypnotize her ailing, older husband into signing over his riches. But when he dies while still under their command, his soul haunts them, seeking to be freed from their hypnotic spell. In Argento's tale, a crime-scene photographer (Harvey Keitel) kills his live-in girlfriend in a fit of jealous rage, but her black cat continues to torment him after her death. While Romero's piece toys with horror conventions and Argento's plays out in his typically elongated fashion, their dramatic story lines, unexpectedly gruesome imagery, and ironic endings shock some life into the movie. It is rumored that this was originally meant to be a quartet of horror tales with contributions from Wes Craven and John Carpenter, but at least we got these two. --Bryan Reesman
Two Evil Eyes Reviews:
Two part horror film based on Edgar Allan Poe stories. 
2008-04-29 - This horror anthology film basically consists of two horror tales which are based on short stories by Edgar Allan Poe and was directed by two famous horror directors George Romero and Dario Argento, the film also stars Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins and Harvey Keitel who were all great in this film. Two Evil Eyes was first initiated by Argento who came up with the idea to direct his favorite short stories from Poe so you have two classic tales brought to life, while I did like Romero's contribution The Facts In The Case Of Mr. Valdemar and thought it was fun my favorite had to be the one done by Argento, this was definitely a great horror film.
The Facts In The Case Of Mr. Valdemar, Jessica (Adrienne Barbeau) a former flight attendant who is married to a very rich and very old man named Ernest Valdemar is anxiously waiting for his death so she can collect her money and inheritance and live the high life with her lover Dr. Hoffman. To ensure things go as planned Hoffman hypnotizes Ernest to give all the money to Jessica. The plan works well until Ernest who is still hypnotized is dead but trapped in a limbo so hes like a zombie, he later terrorizes Jessica who cannot escape this nightmare. The film had some awesome makeup fx done by Tom Savini and George Romero's directing was very good and suspenseful and it also has a creepy ending thats quite effective.
Argento's version of The Black Cat concludes the film, Harvey Keitel stars as Roderick Usher a crime shot photographer who is driven into utter madness by his girlfriend Annabel's new pet. The cat is in need of a new home so Rod decides that its O.k. despite hesitating at first he also notices that the cat has been staring at him the whole time which makes him feel abit uneasy and agitated and soon the situation becomes worse as the cat is not friendly towards Rod, he starts strangling it to death while keeping this a secret from Jessica. He also has violent outbursts and becomes more aggressive towards people while having strange visions (I really liked the strange medieval dream sequence) and a detective who works with Rod becomes more suspicious. Argento's Black Cat definitely had its shinning moments and was the better half in my opinion. The dialogue is more superior in this segment of the film and the acting was brilliant especially from Kietel and the gore was amazing so if your a Dario Argento fan then you must see this.
Overall I would have to say that both stories were interesting and well paced so if you like Edgar Allan Poe and these two directors then you should definitely check this out. Make sure that you get the two disc edition since it has some awesome special features in it like the personal tour of Tom Savini's house.
Romero and Argento team up to bring us Two Evil Eyes 
2007-10-28 - It was only fitting George A. Romero and Dario Argento would team up for a project. They first worked together on George A. Romero's masterpiece Dawn of the Dead. Two Evil Eyes was the first time they worked together since. Two Evil Eyes takes two stories written by Edgar Allan Poe and are adapted for the screen. Originally Two Evil Eyes was going to be a collaboration between not only Argento and Romero, but John Carpenter and Wes Craven, another idea was a cable based show, but the other scripts were written but sadly never produced.
When George Romero and Dario Argento are involved together on a project interest among fans will pick up and there will be really high expectations. Both are two of my very favorite filmmakers, George Romero would have at least 2 films in my top 10 and 3 films in the top 20. And some of his others would crack my top 50. Dario Argento would also have several films in my top 20 and probably the most films in my horror 100 than any other filmmaker. So upon seeing Two Evil Eyes I was quite excited.
Some people say this project was on their downside of their career. I have to disagree in particular with Argento, at this point he was still going strong and his next 2 feature films were very solid, it was after Trauma and The Stendhal Syndrome his career would be mixed. Romero may have taken a slight step down, but was still a solid horror filmmaker at this time. Both may have peaked, but were still at the top of their game.
First up we have George A. Romero's The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar; this part has taken some heat among the viewers as being the weaker of the two segments. While I understand why it's seen that way I have to disagree. The screenplay by George Romero was quite solid the basic plot is a very common theme. A woman and her lover plot to steal millions from her dying husband. We have seen many variations of that concept done, but to Romero's credit he's able to keep things interesting despite most of the movie made up of dialogue until the very end.
He benefits from a solid cast led by Adrienne Barbeau who like always gives an excellent performance. All the actors are solid in this installment and help make The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar interesting. As a director George A. Romero is able to keep the pace moving even if it's a little slow at times and is able to build upon some good tension. The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar only runs at about 55-minutes, but it doesn't really drag despite the lack of action. The script and acting are solid and again Romero is able to keep things moving along at a pretty good pace.
What brings this down though is the fact like I stated earlier the concept has been done so many times. The only real twist is the dying husband has to stay alive for a certain amount of time for Adrienne Barbeau's character to get the money. I understand this is based off a story that came before a lot of the films and TV shows that used this concept, but nothing here really stands out.
Towards the final act there were certain aspects I personally felt didn't work all that well. The corpse being able to communicate with the characters I felt just didn't quite work in my opinion. It was an interesting twist in the story, but that is basically the only downside for me. The final few minutes is when all the action kicks in. George Romero delivers and a solid final act and he closes his story out on a high note.
To be honest this feels a little like an extended version of Tales from the Crypt only without the campy humor. But overall I found The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar a solid segment and much better than some reviews might lead you to believe. Don't expect any violence until the end. And I think that is why it's disliked most people were probably expecting more action. Ramy Zada, E.G. Marshall and Bingo O'Malley also star and Cult Icon Tom Atkins appears in the final few minutes as none other than a cop.
For the 2nd and final segment we have Dario Argento with The Black Cat, which is the more popular of the two segments among the fans. The Black Cat is a rather popular story in the horror genre, sometimes it's a straight up telling of the Poe story and other times there is a twist put on it or some how worked into the plot even if it doesn't always seem to fit.
The Black Cat was written by Dario Argento & Franco Ferrini and like Romero's story suffers from being too much like other movies just like it. The Black Cat was overall well written though and the characters were quite interesting for the most part.
When it comes to Argento you can expect a great visual ride and he delivers that in The Black Cat; his camera shots are excellent and there is even a POV shot from the cat, which was an interesting touch. In my opinion Argento delivers the best POV shots in film. His use of colors is toned down at times, but from a pure visual side this is Argento so you know it will be a great looking piece.
The pacing here for The Black Cat is slightly better; there is a little bit more action and more stuff going on and that is why it's the favored of the two stories. But again like Romero's we have seen this story played out so many times and quite honestly, Argento really doesn't offer us anything different from what we have seen before with his take on The Black Cat, but I have to admit I very much enjoyed it.
The Black Cat also benefits from a solid cast led by Harvey Keitel; his character was quite cruel and even creepy at times. Madeleine Potter as Annabel also provides a solid performance, but unlike Keitel she is sympathetic. The two actors work quite well together and really add to the story. Martin Balsam appears in a brief role and steals the show as the nosey neighbor. John Amos appears though out as a detective and it was great seeing him. I have always liked his work.
Overall despite the clichés of The Black Cat it was a lot of fun to watch, there is some decent suspense and tension, Argento has done better work, but The Black Cat is still a solid project in his career. Again it's only brought down by the fact we have seen this story played out so many times in TV and film. My only real complaint with this segment is the sudden and anti-climatic ending. It seems Argento and Ferrini didn't quite know where to end it and just simply thought of something on the spot. The build up was excellent; the final few minutes are quite strong, but the ending there isn't much of a payoff.
Two Evil Eyes may not be the strongest work in the careers of George A. Romero and Dario Argento, but it does provide great fun if you are fans of these two Iconic filmmakers. Between the two I found The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar to be the better written of the two and had characters with a little more depth, but I prefer Argento's The Black Cat for the sheer fun of the story.
A lot of the times when two great filmmakers work on a project together for some reason it doesn't always work; I don't just mean product, but more financially. Two Evil Eyes didn't really get over that well and thus this was the only installment. I think we the viewers go in with such high expectations. As much as I did enjoy Two Evil Eyes it was a slight letdown since it was Romero and Argento. But if you are a fan of these two filmmakers I would highly recommend this. Again it may not be the best project in their career, but it does prove for a solid and good time.
Two stories of revenge and murder.
2007-10-16 - This is not a low-budget film. This is a Dario Argento and George A. Romero film released in the USA in 1991.
Two trilling stories to horrify you.
"The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar"
Mrs. Jessica Valdemar (Adrienne barbeau) wants money now while her husband, Ernest Valdemar is on his death bed. She even rehearses what she is going to say to the attorney. Jessica and Robert (Ramy Zada), doctor and Jessica's lawyer, make Ernest sign all the necessary papers even under hyptnosis.
In order for Jessica to inherit $3 million dollars, Valdemar must stay alive for 3 more weeks. Valdemar dies sooner than expected. Jessica and Robert device a morbid plan to keep Valdemar "alive" with horrifying results.
"The Black Cat"
Harvey Keitel is a photographer who is visited by a black cat in his home. This cat acts like a stray and doesn't like him at all, however the cat doesn't bother his wife. The black cat will drive him mad.
Also in the cast: Tom Atkins, John Amos, Martin Balsam, Sally Kirkland, Kim Hunter.
Great horror anthology from Romero and Argento.
2007-03-20 - A collection of two stories inspired by Edgar Allen Poe, the first tale "The Facts of the Case of Mr. Valamar" has a woman (Andrienne Barbabeu) who's married to an old rich man, she decides to take his money as her secret lover hypnotizes him then literally freeze him so they can kill him. They both hear his voice to find out that he's not all dead as later he returns from beyond the grave to seek revenge. Next is "The Black Cat" which tells the story of a crime scene photographer (Harvey Keitel) who's girlfriend brought a stray cat in that seems to drive him mad to the brink of insanity.
A winning horror anthology from George A. Romero and famed Italian horror master Dario Argento that delivers scares, splatter and thrills. Both stories have the macabre and dark feel of Edgar Allen Poe's works for Tom Savini's gruesome make-up effects really make the movie and there's amusing appearences by Tom Atkins and E.G. Marshall.
This 2-Disc DVD has great picture and sound quality with nifty extras like poster-and-still gallery, trailer, talent bios, interviews and featurettes.
Two Evil Eyes 
2007-01-15 - This is an interesting adapation of two E.A. Poe short stories. The one chosen by Argento is the classic "The Black Cat". The one chosen by Romero is the lesser known "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar". In my opinion, Argento's part is the superior one, full of innovative and inventive camera shots and a good performance by Keitel. The Romero part of it is not bad, but not nearly the usual inspired and creative level of his work.
