Two Evil Eyes (Revisited)

Director(s) - George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead) & Dario Argento (Susperia)
Starring - Adrienne Barbeau (Creepshow, The Fog), Ramy Zada (The X-Files, After Midnight), and Harvey Keitel (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs) Release Date - 1990
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "When I wake you...you'll be dead"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Many moons ago, almost 8 years now, I started a blog to review movies.  I love horror but I wanted to review old obscure exploitation and action flicks from the 70s and 80s.  Before long I found myself focusing on horror because the genre is such a huge part of my life.  It was around this time that I scored a DVD of Blue Underground's Two Evil Eyes.  This anthology, for lack of a better word, featured two segments.  One was directed by George A. Romero and the other by Dario Argento with both segments based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe.  This wasn't the first time I watched the movie but I did decide to review it for my little blog.  Some years has passed since then and Blue Underground has released a gorgeous blu of the film.  I reached out to them and they were kind enough to send a review copy my way.  Thanks guys!

     The first segment follows a young wife and her husband's doctor as they scheme to liquidate all her husband's assets before he dies.  Sadly, he kicks the bucket before they are able to get all the money so they hide his body in a freezer in order to continue but things turn weird.  They start hearing him moan in the basement and he can communicate with them even though his heart has stopped beating.  Paranoia takes over and the two panic thinking they are going to get caught along with the fear that they can't trust the other. The second story follows a crime scene photographer who has earned a name for himself photographing heinous murder scenes.  He is putting all his photographs into a collection to have published but something was missing.  His girlfriend recently brought home a stray black cat and the two never got along.  One night he decided to kill the cat and document the process.  He photographs the act and inserts it in his new book.  When his girlfriend finds out she tries to leave town and he kills her after drinking too much.  When a student she was secretly seeing notices she is no longer around he notifies the police and they uncover the truth.

     I seem to respect this one more with each viewing.  I've only seen it a hand full of times and each time I take something different away from it along with a growing appreciation for what Argento and Romero was trying to achieve.  The movie may suffer from pacing issues in both segments but it still excels in others aspects.  The acting in this one is top notch.  After reading my previous review I noted that I didn't care for some of the characters and this still rings true.  That doesn't mean the acting is bad but some of the characters are just hard to like.  Harvey Keitel is the star of the show.  He absolutely kills it with his performance and his character is the only one that stands out from the film.  He does a stellar job and should be recognized for his performance here.  The stories in this one both start out rather dry before slowly building up to a big pay off (this is not a porn).  Both segments start out slow with some character development and setting the scene before moving on to the suspense and chills.  If you can make it through the slow opening you will really enjoy the ending of both tales.  They have twists that we all see coming but that only adds to how entertaining it is.  Finally, this one doesn't have a lot of gore but what it does have is outstanding practical effects and make up effects.  The undead and the corpses in this film are fucking phenomenal and are still top notch even by today's standards.  If you want to see amazing practical effects I highly suggest tossing this one in.  Overall, Two Evil Eyes is a bit of a drag but the overall film is well worth your time.  The blu from Blue Underground is a thing of beauty.  Any horror fan will need this one for their collection.  Check it out now!