The Annabel Lee film owes a great debt stylistically to the early cinematic period of German Expressionism and its short-lived avant-garde cousin, American Expressionism. The idea of psychic acoustics, where the environment takes on the characteristics of the protagonist's anguished mental state, was found to be very inspiring and visually dynamic. Edvard Munch (The Scream) is probably the best known painter that used that technique.
When the Poe Puppet himself was sculpted, both his works and those of Ivan Albright (The Picture of Dorian Gray) were on the workbench. Other painters that inspired the look of Annabel Lee include Beksinski, Bosch, Bacon, and many Symbolist and Romantic artists, including Bocklin and Friedrichs. All of these influences evolved into the final style of the film, which the director has dubbed 'Neon-Gothic'.
