DVD Review: Two Evil Eyes
Two Evil Eyes (1990)
Distributor: Arrow
Directed by: George A. Romero, Dario Argento
Starring: Adrienne Barbeau, Harvey Keitel, Ramy Zada, Madeline Potter, EG Marshall, Tom Atkins
Review by: Ben Bussey
The year was 1990 and, though they might not have known it, two of the world’s most esteemed horror directors stood on the brink of a precipice, each set to enter something of a ‘wilderness years’ period. I’ve said my piece on both directors before; but even though I hold Romero in higher regard than Argento, I still recognise what an exciting proposition a collaboration between the two of them was. Much as seventeen years later messrs Tarantino and Rodriguez would collaborate to pay homage to the grindhouse cinema experience, so Romero and Argento came together here with their tribute to the writing of Edgar Allen Poe. But rather than directly recreate his work in period setting, Two Evil Eyes gives us their personal modernised take on Poe, with contemporary settings and a very 80′s take on horror. And while the results hardly rank among the greatest work of either director, they’re still interesting and noteworthy films.
First up is Romero’s The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar, which takes the central conceit of Poe’s tale – a man dies whilst mesmerised, and subsequently his consciousness lives on – and works it into a tale of a trophy wife having an affair with her dying husband’s doctor, who plot together to elope with his riches, using hypnosis as their secret weapon. From the premise alone, this feels very much like an outtake from Creepshow. This is a feeling made all the stronger by the brevity of the piece, the largely similar visual style, and of course the casting of Adrienne Barbeau. But hey, similarity to Creepshow is no bad thing in my book: that movie ranks as one of Romero’s best, and a great reminder that there’s more to the man than zombies (which the man himself could do with reminding of late). Barbeau gives an absolutely terrific performance, reminding us what a damn shame it is she’s never been given more lead roles like this one. It may have been the dawn of the 90′s, but she’s an 80′s woman here through and through, with her power-dressing wardrobe straight out of Dynasty and her signature big hair. (Yes, I said her big HAIR you reprobates, her certain other famously large attributes remaining undercover for the most part.) Ramy Zada also perfectly encapsulates that body-beautiful, greed-is-good 80′s male ideal – i.e., the Patrick Bateman type – and the two play off each other well, united in desire for one another but above all desire for money. Yes, it’s another parable on the perils of lust for material wealth that Romero has always specialised in, which were especially prescient in the Reagan/Bush Sr. years. But lest you fear the whole thing seem a little too inescapably 80′s, there’s a great deal of good old-fashioned film noir iconography at work here, from Barbeau’s archetypal gold-digging femme fatale to Tom Atkins’ joyfully hammy cameo as a stogie-chewing, trenchcoat-and-fedora-clad cop (I was dying to hear him say “thrill me…”).
Argento’s take on The Black Cat comes next, and given the director it should probably go without saying it’s by far the crazier of the two. Boasting a suitably unhinged lead performance from Harvey Keitel (just prior to his career resurgence courtesy of Reservoir Dogs), this one takes Poe’s tale of the sometime animal lover who sinks into drink and madness thanks to a certain dark-furred feline and transposes it to the similar breakdown of a newspaper crime scene photographer. While this was, to the best of my knowledge, the first time Argento had shot in the US with an all-American cast, it’s still unmistakeably his handiwork owing to the abundance of impressive POV shots, swooping down corridors and around corners, giving us the cat’s eye view. As with Romero’s section there are some unmistakable 80′s-isms: Keitel’s dress sense and taste in freefrom jazz fusion for a start, plus a number of gory prosthetic creations which Keitel encounters in the course of his work. And of course, who else but Argento could put a bizarre scene of pagan revelry slap bang in the middle looking like it belonged in a completely different film, without any shift in tone whatsoever? The scenes of Keitel abusing both the cat and his young girlfriend may push the envelope a bit far for some, but it’s all true to the tone and content of Poe’s original tale, and its overriding theme of how peversity drives us to do that which we know to be wrong. On top of which, Argento manages to squeeze in a few nods to some of Poe’s other works, perhaps most notably The Pit and the Pendulum. It may fizzle out with a rather sudden and unsatisfying ending, and despite his best efforts John Amos isn’t quite as endearing an old-school cop as Tom Atkins, but it’s still an interesting and entertaining piece of work. And, as is typically the case with Argento, it’s got a great, memorably creepy synth rock score.
This is another nice package from Arrow Video, as ever sporting wonderfully grisly original cover art which is also immortalised on an enclosed free poster, plus an informative and insightful pamphlet by Calum Waddell about the origins of the movie and its reception on release. Incidentally it’s also Region 0, so you can buy with confidence no matter where in the world you are. You may recall that this DVD was originally set for release back in February (read here), but was postponed due to concerns that the original DVD was too sparse. While I felt and still feel it is very admirable that Arrow were willing to take such steps to provide a more satisfactory product, I must say I’m not sure the effort was entirely worth it. On top of the poster and pamphlet (which were set to be included on the original edition anyway), the disc extras are only scene access, original trailer and Argento trailer reel. Also, in what I find a somewhat grating move, the two films can only be viewed individually, with no option to watch both straight through in one go. No, it’s not a huge inconvienence to have to pick up the remote then hit down and enter, but it does break the ambience a little nonetheless. A minor complaint, but a valid one in my opinion.
No, Two Evil Eyes doesn’t rank among the best work of either director, and does feel a little half-baked and insubstantial; a feeling which might have been different if, as Calum Waddell mentions, it had been made as a larger anthology film as was originally intended, with contributions from John Carpenter and Joe Dante. Such a shame that didn’t come to pass, for as Waddell stresses one thing that Two Evil Eyes does stand up as is a swansong for the glory days of 80′s horror. The 90′s weren’t too kind to most of the old masters, and it’s fair to say most of them have struggled to recapture that former glory, Argento and Romero being no exception. And as rumours now abound that Argento is planning to shoot Dracula in – quel surprise – 3-D, and that Romero might be doing a remake of Argento’s Profondo Rosso, ALSO in 3-D, it’s hard to stifle a fanboy sob to see that things have sunk so low. As such, Two Evil Eyes offers some comfort. It might not be the cream of the crop, but at least it’s a good reminder of how good it was before (to carry on the dairy analogy) things went sour.
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