It’s been a strange year for authors in movies. First William Shakespeare was made out to be a fraud in Anonymous, and next spring Edgar Allan Poe will become entangled in a murder investigation when a cunning killer slaughters his victims in a grisly reproduction of some of Poe’s most twisted tales. Inspired by the bewildering circumstances of Poe’s strange final days, James McTeigue’s The Raven aims to blend curious facts with outlandish fiction to craft a chilling mystery tale fitting of Poe’s reputation. John Cusack will star as the peculiar and plagued author.

While its first trailer strove to aptly explain the complicated plot line (even introducing the Alice Eve love story element), the international trailer amps up the adrenaline, and is reminiscent of Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow in tone, relishing in mystery and macabre imagery.

Check out the trailer at My Movies: (Via Shock Till You Drop)

Synopsis:

When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered in 19th century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) makes a startling discovery: the crime resembles a fictional murder described in gory detail in the local newspaper–part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack). But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also inspired by a popular Poe story. Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe’s writings as the backdrop for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author’s help in stopping the attacks. But when it appears someone close to Poe may become the murderer’s next victim, the stakes become even higher and the inventor of the detective story calls on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before it’s too late.

The Raven hits theaters March 9th, 2012.

 What do you make of this trailer?