Masters of Horror - The Black Cat (TV)

When one thinks of the literary, poetic horror tales of the tragic figure Edgar Allen Poe, Grand Guignol does not usually come to mind. It's all about atmosphere and tension, not blood and gore. However, in this latest take on the often-filmed The Black Cat, writer-director Stuart Gordon beautifully meshes psychological suspense with lots of red corpuscles.

Eddie Poe (Jeffrey Combs) is a down-on-his luck author of spooky, romantic poetry and the occasional tale of terror. He's got a bad case of writer's block, no cash flow, a mounting bar tab, a pretty young wife who's dying of consumption, and of course, an ungrateful black cat. All the elements are there in this period piece, but Gordon takes it all to another level.

Virginia (Elyse Levesque) is truly suffering, but she draws strength and comfort from her loving husband, and her passel of pets — Finneus the fish, Anabel the bird, and Pluto the kitty. As Virginia endures her illness in prim, quiet 18th century beauty, Eddie blunders through barrooms, begs from newspaper editors, stiffs the doctor, insults houseguests… and oh, yeah — maims and murders the family pets.

Or does he? As he tries to curb his alcoholism and buckle down to write and earn a few bucks, strange things start to happen. Is Poe in the throes of the DDTs and committing these horrible acts himself, or is it really the enigmatic, ever-watchful Pluto the cat?

The Black Cat is often quite gory, but Gordon never loses sight of the crux of the story, which is about the disconcerting suspense created by an unreliable narrator. It's very well-done, and is bolstered by excellent cinematography, great sets, obviously good animal trainers, and nuanced performances by all the actors.

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