Two Evil Eyes puts together two of the most prominent horror directors, George Romero and Dario Argento and while the movie is far from perfect, and I did have a preference for Romero’s The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdermar, but The Black Cat had its moments as well.
Two Evil Eyes
— 3-Disc Limited Edition —
(1990)
Genre(s): Supernatural Horror
Arrow Video | NR – 120 min. – $49.95 | October 29, 2019
Date Published: 11/04/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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Blue Underground provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3.5/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: In George Romero’s The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar, a conniving wife (ADRIENNE BARBEAU) and her lover (RAMY ZADA) use a hypnotic trance to embezzle a fortune from her dying husband (BINGO O’MALLEY), only to receive some chilling surprises from beyond the grave. Then in Dario Argento’s The Black Cat, a deranged crime scene photographer (HARVEY KEITEL) is driven to brutal acts of madness and murder by his girlfriend’s (MADELEINE PORTER) new pet. But will this cunning feline deliver a final sickening twist of its own? Quick Hit Review: Although I’m no horror hound, I have enjoyed both of George A. Romero’s and Dario Argento’s more cult classic films including Dawn of the Dead and Suspiria so seeing the two pair up for a two film feature seemed like a fun idea, though would have been better if the idea of John Carpenter and Stephen King had panned out. In any case, the films within Two Evil Eyes, are rather different and everyone seems to have their favorite. For myself, I enjoyed The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar, as there’s a more crime-drama element more so than The Black Cat. I especially liked the darkly comedic parts in Valdemar, however doesn’t help I’m also a cat lover and seeing a character in The Black Cat strangle one did put me off. This is not to say The Black Cat didn’t have its moments. I felt the direction from Argento was evenly handled and you can never go wrong with having Harvey Keitel as your lead, and he was tremendous. As for Adrienne Barbeau, she was wonderful in her own right in Valdemar. With all that said, if going in viewing this along the lines of a Tales from the Crypt, these aren’t half bad stories and perfect viewing on Halloween. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.5/5 |
| This release comes with a lenticular slip cover and the interior artwork is reversible.
DISC 1: Poster & Still Gallery Theatrical Trailer (1:28) DISC 2: Savini’s EFX (12:08) is a behind-the-scenes look at the film’s Special Make-Up Effects by Tom Savini. At Home with Tom Savini (15:42) — Savini gives a personal tour of his home. Presumably from the early 90s. Adrienne Barbeau on George Romero (4:35) — In this brief interview, the actress discusses working with Romero. Originally shot for a documentary from 1989-90. Interviews (all new for this release):
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VIDEO – 5.0/5 |
| Blue Underground releases Two Evil Eyes onto Blu-ray presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and has been given a new 1080p high-definition transfer, culled from a 4K restoration taken from the original camera negative. As it is, this is a fantastic looking picture, the detail is amazingly well defined, colors are vibrant without seemingly artificially pumped up and the natural film grain and noise has been thankfully retained. |
AUDIO – 4.5/5 |
| The movie comes with a DTS-HD MA 7.1 as well as a 2.0 option, the former is default. The 7.1 track seems a little bit much for a movie from 1990 and not meant for all of these channels, but even so, dialogue did sound great and the depth was halfway decent. I did sample the 2.0 track and it too was nice even being relegated over the two channels. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
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Two Evil Eyes puts together two of the most prominent horror directors, George Romero and Dario Argento and while the movie is far from perfect, and I did have a preference for Romero’s The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdermar, but The Black Cat had its moments as well. This 3-Disc Limited Edition set does have a great selection of bonus features to go along with the well done video/audio transfers. |