Two Evil Eyes [1990] [DVD]

Trevor Willsmer

at 1:27 pm

Review by Trevor Willsmer for Two Evil Eyes [1990] [DVD]
Rating: (3 / 5)

Two Evil Eyes threatened to be another disappointment from Dario Argento, especially since the first half of this modernized Edgar Allen Poe double-header, The Facts in the Case of Mr Valdemar, directed by George A. Romero, felt like a competent but uninspired network TV compilation episode. So it’s a real surprise just how much dark fun Argento has with The Black Cat, playfully riffing both on Poe’s other short stories and classic movies (there’s even a subtle Psycho moment where Martin Balsam’s nosey neighbor finds himself at the foot of another staircase looking for another missing woman) as Harvey Keitel’s crime photographer – first seen photographing the aftermath of a Pit and the Pendulum incident – finds his life going to Hell when he gets rid of the girlfriend’s cat. It’s not prime Argento, but compared to his stale going-through-the-motions later efforts like Phantom of the Opera, The Card Player and Phenomena, it’ll remind you why you liked him in the first place.

Unlike Blue Underground’s extras-packed 2-disc US NTSC DVD or Anchor Bay’s deleted UK PAL disc with the 53-minute documentary Dario Argento – An Eye for Horror, Arrow’s PAL version is extras-lite – just the trailer for this and other Argento films.