Extraordinary Tales

Extraordinary Tales (2013)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

This animated anthology film from director Raul Garcia is certainly a mixed bag but it's certainly worth watching if you're a horror fan or a fan of Poe's stories. Basically what we've got here are five different Poe stories being told but what makes this film special is that they're narrated by some rather famous people.

Christopher Lee does "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Tell- Tale Heart" features Bela Lugosi, "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" has Julian Sands, "Guillermo Del Toro does "The Pit and the Pendulum" while the final segment, "The Masque of the Red Death" is told silent.

As is the case with most anthology films, they're always a mixed bag because the story quality is just so different from one to the next. For the most part this film is entertaining just because of how creative it was and because of the fact that it has some very big names in the horror genre lending their voices. An an overall level I'd argue that "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" is the best because it does feature the best animation and the overall tone is quite good.

The first film with Lee features the actor doing some great narration but I must admit that I didn't care too much for the CGI style. The Lugosi segment was an interesting one as it features an archival vocal performance with a bunch of static. To add to the feel of the audio this short was done in B&W and the effect is mildly amusing. Del Toro does a nice vocal performance and the final film also features some good animation.

EXTRAORDINARY TALES certainly has its flaws throughout and it's certainly uneven at times but if you're a fan of the actors or of Poe's work then it's worth watching.

You get Poe as animated as ever could be a pun, some might wanna make watching this. Seriously though: Poe interpreted by different artists and therefor different styles is a mixed bag as could be expected. First of all you have to like animation and horror to even think about watching this. If not you may want to stay clear of this, which also has a lot of Horror talent at voicing department.

The different animation styles can also be viewed as a curse (no pun intended) or a blessing. Some might have wanted one style throughout the whole thing, I personally like the change and the different approaches. But it's important you know before deciding to watch this. Especially if it's not your thing.

Depending on your knowledge of Poe, you will have a different degree of information concerning the plots of the stories. Whatever that will do to your viewing pleasure

In the time of excessive CGI, it's nice to see that there's still a place with distinct comic book, video game and ever classic painting style. This anthology is a delightfully eerie visual parade of short stories, each account spans for approximately ten minutes. While this eccentric niche unfortunately might not appeal to everyone, it's a great homage to the poet and frighteningly quirky enough for fans to thoroughly appreciate.

The tales are treated as separate stories, with different production value and narrator. For those who like graphic style of Corpse Bride, Coraline or even Sin City, they might find fascinating surprise here. There's even a nod to comic book signature, as well as my favorite "The Masque of the Red Death" which seem like a living portrait from centuries before.

They have one underlining theme of dread, with scare and gore one would expect from horror nowadays, although nothing too intrusive that it would repulse audience. Most have narrators and voice acting, these instances have such surreal feel about it. Many, especially gamers and animation enthusiasts would recognize the voice of Christopher Lee. However, the silence can just be equally effective to deliver the short burst of fright.

Its main obstacle is, ironically, its own unworldly styles. They can be so strange that one or a couple of them might alienate the audience. Among even fans of comic book or horror, not every tale would resonate on the same level. Still, they are relatively short, so one would most likely find something to adore here.

This collection is a myriad of uncanny tales affectionately crafted with unique visual. They are unmistakably bleak yet charming and designed to charm viewer with sheer oddity.

It was fun to see a series of animators and directors put their mark on some of the most recognizable Poe stories. First of all, each animation technique is quite unique and good fun. They are not for the faint of heart, some of the images being quite graphic. Last night Guillermo del Toro won the Academy Award for best director and best movie. I was surprised to see that name in the credits for one of the films, but it certainly gave them credibility. And, to get an old narration of Bela Lugosi to do the Tell-Tale Heart was really interesting. I found the best of these to be the last: 'The Masque of the Red Death." I''m quite glad I had an opportunity to see this, considering I had never heard of it.

The movie is likely to be entertaining for those who have read little to none of Poe's oeuvre, but it fails to deliver for those who know Poe very well. It didn't live up to my expectations, and they were not too high.

Were the stories presented back to back, the whole would be much better than with the cheesy conversation between a crow (shouldn't it be a raven?) that represents Poe and a feminine Death. The bird is poorly drawn and speaks nonsense that would never have left Poe's mouth, making the dumb dialog in the cemetery rather cringeworthy. With a more Poe-like Raven and a more Gothic feel, the tone could have been much closer to that of Poe's tales.

The short story adaptations are OK, although the recording of Bela Lugosi is (understandably) very bad quality, and the last story just didn't feel like a story at all. Naturally, not much happens in the original short story; it has a vivid imagery, full of gloomy impressions. This is why it probably shouldn't have been included in the movie. The other four stories are decently realized. Sadly, at the end, a word of the famous line from The Raven is misspelled: "quot", instead of "quoth", adding insult to injury.

A good effort, overall. It's a pity that the stories were "linked" to each other in such an awkward manner.