Extraordinary Tales

This film was made in a similar way to An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe. An array of horror stars narrate selected short stories by Poe, this time accompanied by various animations, not all of which seem completely fitting or having enough of a horror atmosphere. The core story is a needed cement in which the writer’s soul talks to his demons, however, the viewer is probably more interested in the individual segments: The Fall of the House of Usher: Sir Christopher Lee reads my favourite short story. There is absolutely nothing wrong with his performance, but the animation is slightly childish, akin to a video game, which doesn’t fit the dark atmosphere. The Tell-Tale Heart: This is a more visually interesting animation, with a style slightly reminiscent of Sin City, and is narrated by Bela Lugosi from an old archived recording. This means poor sound quality and a noticeable hum, which is at times intrusive. The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar: Read by Julian Sands, accompanied by a very apt animation, making this segment probably the most balanced contribution to the anthology. The Pit and the Pendulum: Although I was worried about how understandable Guillermo del Toro’s reading would be, his performance is nevertheless excellent and adds a solid voice-over to the unfortunately relatively dull animation. The Masque of the Red Death: In the last segment, instead of relying on classic tale telling, there’s a minimalist narration from the mouth of Roger Corman (as the classic creator of Poe film adaptations, including his own version of The Masque of the Red Death), and there’s much more emphasis placed on the imagery, which is enough to tell a simple story, but could be a little disappointing for the viewer if they were looking forward to Corman’s narration in full. (01/06/2019)

Extraordinary Tales is a collection of animated adaptations of stories by Edgar Allan Poe, each rendered in a different style – the result, however, is nothing more than a demonstration of techniques and styles, where the form is in no way aligned with the story, so the result is merely a shallow exhibition intended for festivals. (04/13/2015)

A beautiful example of how animation can have horror potential if it is undertaken by a good animator and if they are not afraid of the atmosphere. And Raul Garcia truly was not afraid. His "Mask of the Red Death" is absolutely captivating and has a perfect atmosphere combined with great artwork. The other stories are good as well, but this one just got to me in the end. (10/27/2015)