The works of Edgar Allan Poe tackled by George Romero and Dario Argento was probably greeted with excitement at the time of its release. They had yet to both shit their beds as tremendously as they would, so I’m sure there was some anticipation in the horror community. What we got, although nowhere as bad as either creator at their worst, was a somewhat enjoyable but mostly forgettable double feature. Romero handles The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar and it proves to be the stronger of the two. Ernest Valdemar is dying, his scheming wife and her doctor lover have managed to use hypnosis to bend him to their will. Looking for a large payday, they manage to get him to sign away most of his fortune. Some legal snags force them to hide his body when he passes away but that’s just the beginning of their problems. Ernie died under hypnosis and while he is medically deceased, the spiritual side of things ain’t that simple. Soon the curious doctor is communicating with the man he royally fucked over and his wife (Adrienne Barbeau) is growing more and more disturbed by the undead hubby. Of course, it ends violently. Argento presents us with a version of The Black Cat starring a slowly cracking crime scene photographer (Harvey Keitel, who doesn’t seem like he wants to be there) whose annoying girlfriend brings in a stray black cat. Keitel and the kitty do not get along and his girlfriend is slowly realizing that she should probably get out of this unstable relationship. She tries to leave when she figures out Keitel killed the cat but she gets caught and has a meat cleaver taken to her. Bodies are hidden, neighbors are suspicious and meowing gives away a crime in an incredibly stupid story filled with unlikable idiots. Tom Atkins and John Amos both show up as detectives (in separate stories) and there are some splattery special effects. Romero, at least, seems to be having a bit of fun.
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