Watch This: John Cusack Is Edgar Allan Poe in ‘The Raven’

Here it is: the first official trailer for The Raven, starring John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe. Who! Incidentally! Is caught in the middle of a string of gruesome murders, each of them copycatted from a Poe suspense story. And IT’S UP TO EDGAR ALLAN POE TO STOP THE MYSTERIOUS MURDERER BEFORE THE MURDERER KILLS SOMEONE VERY CLOSE TO EDGAR ALLAN POE. That is what I deduced entirely from the trailer, like the masterly detective I am.

But I can’t believe how seriously this trailer takes itself! Usually I am thrilled by movie trailers; I want to go right out and watch the movie advertised, no matter how piss-poor the preview. But not this time, Poe! Instead, I am eyeing you warily! My mother told me to never trust a man with such manicured facial hair, and she was right. How can I take that goatee seriously? I ask you.

The trailer isn’t all bad. I can pick out “Pit and the Pendulum” and maybe “Masque of Red Death.” And I mean, I was a big fan of Sleepy Hollow, and I started to really enjoy From Hell upon seventh or eighth viewing. Hmm. Best guess: the mustache/goatee combo is supposed to trick us into thinking we’re watching Johnny Depp.

Image via Huffington Post.