Two Evil Eyes-1990

Director George Romero, Dario Argento

Starring Adrienne Barbeau, Harvey Keitel

Scott’s Review #1,239

Reviewed March 26, 2022

Grade: B+

Two legendary masters of horror, American director George Romero, famous for zombie films, and Italian director Dario Argento, famous for stylistic horror,  team up to create a thrilling double-bill horror feast.

For fans of the genre, the idea is titillating, to say the least, and the follow-through is a robust success.

There is a gnawing television-film feel to each film that is eventually overshadowed by the reminder that grand directors are at the helm.

Cleverly, they base their films on the works of the poet Edgar Allan Poe, famous for macabre, peculiar poems and short stories.

‘The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar’ (1990) and ‘The Black Cat’ (1990) are the featured tales.

Having seen many Argento and Romero works, with Suspiria (1977) and Dawn of the Dead (1978) as my respective favorites, the fun is seeing how each film contains familiar aspects of the other, with a sprinkling of the 1960 Hitchcock masterpiece, Psycho, thrown in for good measure.

Fun fact- Psycho star Martin Balsam appears in ‘The Black Cat’ story.

In the first feature, ‘The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar’, Adrienne Barbeau plays an ex-flight attendant named Jessica who plots with her lover, Dr. Robert Hoffman (Ramy Zada), for her elderly husband’s money.

While liquidating large amounts of cash, her husband’s lawyer grows suspicious and warns her that there will be consequences should her husband die in the next three weeks.

Naturally, he does, and events grow weird and terrifying.

In the second film, ‘The Black Cat, Harvey Keitel plays an unlikable man named Rod Usher who works as a crime scene photographer. He suffers the consequences when he viciously kills his girlfriend’s cat.

In his attempts to rid himself of both his girlfriend and the cat, they continue to reappear, much to his chagrin. With two detectives on his tail, the finale is both grim and satisfying.

If forced to choose, I am more partial to ‘The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar,’ mostly because of the casting of Barbeau, whom I am a big fan of.

It’s also the winner of the two when it comes to the unexpected conclusion.

Barbeau carries the film, even in its short run, and imbues a character who could easily be dismissed as a gold-digging bitch with likability. Jessica feels some sensitivity and truly wants no harm done to her husband; she only desires some money.

After all, in her mind, she deserves the payoff for having married an older man.

Romero’s influence is apparent, but not as much as Argento’s is in ‘The Black Cat’. A gruesome scene at the conclusion, when a character’s decomposing body lumbers forward, immediately brought me back to the zombie delights of ‘Dawn of the Dead.

The music in the opening credits reminds me of Argento films in general. A mysterious, high-pitched synthesizer sound peppers the experience with highly effective, horrific beats.

I did not enjoy the prevalent cat torture scenes in ‘The Black Cat,’ and they are tough to sit through. I was somewhat encouraged by the knowledge that the dead cat does, in the end, exact revenge on its torturer.

I chuckled at the numerous references to ‘Psycho,’ mostly when Balsam’s character, Mr. Pym, appears. When the man climbs a flight of stairs, it’s a similar scene in ‘Psycho’ with a deadlier result.

Another scene of draining shower water immediately conjures up the legendary shower scene in ‘Psycho’.

Casting heavyweights like Barbeau, Keitel, Balsam, Tom Atkins, John Amos, and Kim Hunter lends credibility to a project that could easily have been dismissed as a throwaway horror double feature.

The experience is much better than that, as the compelling nature and minute-by-minute thrills will keep the audience invested and longing to know what happens next.

‘The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar’ (1990) and ‘The Black Cat’ (1990) effectively pair two of the best horror directors in dedication to the best horror poet.

Perhaps a longer duration for each film might have allowed time for more character exploration, but the results are just fine.