"Masters of Horror" The Black Cat (2007)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Directors:

Stuart Gordon
Stuart Ortiz

Writers:

Mick Garris (creator)
Dennis Paoli (teleplay) ...
(more)

TV Series:

"Masters of Horror" (2005)

Original Air Date:

19 January 2007 (Season 2, Episode 11)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

The Black Cat, set in 1840 Philadelphia, has the great writer Edgar Allan Poe, struggling with alcoholism...

Plot Keywords:

Black Cat | Cat | 1840s | Alcoholism | Writer's Block

Cast

Jeffrey Combs	...	Edgar Allan Poe
Elyse Levesque	...	Virginia Poe
Aron Tager	...	George Graham
Eric Keenleyside	...	Sgt. Booker
Patrick Gallagher	...	Barman
Christopher Heyerdahl	...	Rufus Griswold
Ken Kramer	...	Doctor
Ian Alexander Martin	...	Mr. Fordham
Ryan Crocker	...	Policeman

Directed by
Stuart Gordon
Stuart Ortiz		(additional material)

Writing credits
Mick Garris		(creator)
Dennis Paoli		(teleplay) &
Stuart Gordon		(teleplay)
Edgar Allan Poe		(short story "The Black Cat") (as Edgar A. Poe)

Produced by
Keith Addis	....	executive producer
Morris Berger	....	executive producer
Steve Best	....	associate producer
Ben Browning	....	co-producer
Stephen R. Brown	....	executive producer (as Steve Brown)
Andrew Deane	....	executive producer
Mick Garris	....	executive producer
Adam Goldworm	....	co-producer
John W. Hyde	....	executive producer
Lisa Richardson	....	producer
Tom Rowe	....	producer
Pascal Verschooris	....	line producer

Original Music by
Rich Ragsdale		(as Richard Ragsdale)

Cinematography by
Jon Joffin		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Marshall Harvey

Casting by
Stuart Aikins
Sean Cossey
Lindsey Hayes Kroeger
David Rapaport		(as David H. Rapaport)

Production Design by
Don Macaulay

Art Direction by
Margot Ready

Set Decoration by
Ide Foyle

Costume Design by
Lyn Kelly

Makeup Department
Howard Berger	....	special effects makeup
Lyne Denomme	....	first assistant makeup
Mike Fields	....	on-set key makeup artist (as Michael Fields)
Sarah Graham	....	on-set key makeup artist
Marcy Hodel	....	first assistant hair stylist
Harrison Lorenzana	....	on-set key makeup artist
Gregory Nicotero	....	special effects makeup
Geoff Redknap	....	on-set key makeup artist (as Jeff Redknap)
Adina Shore	....	key hair stylist
Margaret Solomon	....	key makeup
Elisabeth Jolliffe	....	key makeup artist: second unit (uncredited)

Production Management
Margo Coughlin Zimmerman	....	production manager: Starz Productions (as Margo Zimmerman)
Sally Dixon	....	post-production supervisor
Sheri Mayervich	....	unit production manager
Stacey Jade Smart	....	executive in charge of production: Starz Productions
Pascal Verschooris	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alexia S. Droz	....	second assistant director (as Alexia Droz)
David Markowitz	....	first assistant director
Ania Musiatowicz	....	third assistant director
Stuart Ortiz	....	director: additional imaging
Rob Duncan	....	first assistant director: second unit (uncredited)

Art Department
Andrei Andrianko	....	assistant art director
Nick Dibley	....	property master (as Nicholas Dibley)
Jim Geddes	....	construction coordinator
John McIntosh	....	greens
Jake Miller	....	assistant property master
Nathalie Morin	....	assistant set decorator (as Natalie Morin)
Zbibgniew Scheller	....	construction foreman (as Zbish Scheller)
John Wilcox	....	paint coordinator
Rowena O'Connor	....	assistant on-set props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Anke Bakker	....	sound supervisor
Brian Campbell	....	dialogue editor
Jay Cheetham	....	background sound editor
Kelly Cole	....	re-recording mixer
Jacqueline Cristianini	....	dialogue/adr supervisor
Hugo DeLaCerda	....	re-recording mixer
Kris Fenske	....	sound designer
Devan Kraushar	....	sound effects editor
Jason Mauza	....	foley editor
Laurie Melhus	....	audio post-production coordinator
Glen Noseworthy	....	adr mixer
Iain Pattison	....	re-recording mixer
Sebastian Salm	....	sound mixer
Shane Shemko	....	foley artist
Colin Smith	....	boom operator
Cam Wagner	....	foley artist
Matthew Wilson	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Jaremy Aiello	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
Randy Ball	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
Jack Bricker	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
Rob Derry	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
Terri Fluker	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
Derek Heselton	....	best boy special effects
Steve Katz	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group (as Steven Katz)
Lynette Roy	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
Wayne Szybunka	....	special effects coordinator
Veronica Torres	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
John Wheaton	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
Mike Hyrman	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
Lino Stavole	....	special effects technician: mold department (uncredited)
Chris Sturges	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
Attila Vaski	....	lead/fab/asst (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Christopher Ahrens	....	cg artist
Matt Belbin	....	digital effects editor (as Matthew Belbin)
Sébastien Bergeron	....	digital effects supervisor
Julie Bergman	....	cg artist
Michael Goddard	....	cg artist (as Mike Goddard)
Gael Hollard	....	digital compositor
Annabelle Kent	....	digital compositor
Adam Marisett	....	cg artist
Stephen Paschke	....	cg artist
Lisa K. Sepp	....	visual effects producer (as Lisa Sepp-Wilson)
Lee Wilson	....	visual effects supervisor
Jayson Castro	....	visual effects production assistant (uncredited)

Stunts
Jim Dunn	....	stunt coordinator
Dan Redford	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Sandy Cooper	....	first assistant camera
Brian Johnson	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Mike Kolafa	....	gaffer (as Michael Kolafa)
Brock Miller	....	best boy grip
Jos Oman	....	first assistant camera
David Pelletier	....	additional director of photography
Steve Sherlock	....	key grip
Jared Smith	....	best boy lighting
Peter Wilke	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Ian Gariepy	....	dolly grip (uncredited)
Aaron Haesler	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)
Marc Nolet	....	grip (uncredited)
Jeremy Spofford	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sandra-Ken Freeman	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Glenna Owen	....	assistant costume designer
Tyler Tone	....	set costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Nathan Atkins	....	assistant editor
Richard Cordes	....	color timer
Andrea Dixon	....	color timer
Asim Matin	....	assistant editor
Troy Sitter	....	post-production assistant
Matt Venables	....	post-production coordinator
Mike Williamson	....	editorial coordinator

Music Department
Mike Beckett	....	music editor
Sean McMahon	....	orchestrator
Jennifer Ross	....	music supervisor
Ed Shearmur	....	composer: main title music (as Edward Shearmur)
Casey Stone	....	scoring mixer
Richard Temple	....	music preparation
Sean McMahon	....	musician (uncredited)
Mark Robertson	....	orchestra contractor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Louie Hausner	....	transportation captain
John Swetlikoe	....	transportation coordinator
Duane Shearer	....	office driver (uncredited)
Jovan Vujatovic	....	picture car coordinator (uncredited)

Other crew
Christine Barrie	....	stand-in
Genessa Davis	....	assistant production coordinator
Jim Desroches	....	production coordinator (as James Desroches)
Annie Doyon	....	assistant accountant
Chris Garbasauskas	....	production assistant
Cameron Grierson	....	assistant to producer
Cameron Grierson	....	script coordinator
Richter Hartig	....	production auditor: Starz Productions (as Richter Q. Hartig)
Dave Harvey	....	assistant accountant
Tom Hoeverman	....	assistant location manager
Elissa Howarth	....	production administration manager: Starz Productions
Alison Hunter	....	script supervisor
Andrea Kaufman	....	production coordinator: Starz Productions (as Andrea M. Kaufman)
Katy Lew	....	executive administrator
Ross Redhead	....	assistant to producers
Tracey Renyard	....	location manager
Adrian Salpeter	....	producers assistant: Lisa Richardson
Stephen Tibbetts	....	stand-in (as Stephen Tibbets)
Bill Vigars	....	unit publicist
Beverly Wiens	....	production accountant
Anthony Bortolussi	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Stephanie Brown	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Nancy Heller	....	office manager: Anthem Visual Effects (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Starz Productions
• Nice Guy Productions
• Industry Entertainment

Distributors

• Kadokawa Entertainment (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• Premiere (2009) (Germany) (TV)
• Showtime Networks (2007) (USA) (TV)
• Splendid Film (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Starz Home Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (DVD)
• Starz Media (2007) (USA) (all media)

Special Effects

• Anthem Visual Effects

Runtime:

58 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-MA | Australia:MA (2007) | Italy:VM14 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Starz Productions

Poe-tic Madness!

I don't know (nor care) how much research went prior to writing the teleplay for "The Black Cat" and neither do I know to what extent the little details about Edgar Allan Poe's private life are truthful. Basically I just assume that it was Start Gordon's intention to illustrate how creative brilliance and mental madness are two inseparable qualities a horror novelist must dispose of. The tormented protagonist in this umpteenth adaptation of E.A. Poe's legendary tale of "The Black Cat" is no other than … E.A. Poe himself! "The Black Cat" also marks Stuart Gordon's second attempt at the narration of a Poe tale, after his straight-to-video version of "The Pit and the Pendulum" in the early 90's. As expected, this is one of the better episodes in the Masters of Horror's second season, though slightly more flawed than I initially expected … or hoped. Jeffrey Combs' performance is – as always – mesmerizing, the filming locations and costumes are downright exquisite and perfectly capture the depressingly harsh atmosphere of the 19th Century first half, but the script is slightly lackluster and even a bit tedious at times. Combs stars as (and creepily resembles) Edgar Allan Poe and the story takes place during an incredibly difficult period of his life. Poe is completely out of writing-inspiration, struggles with financial problems as well as alcoholism and his beloved young wife Virginia fell victim to a severe illness. Unable to deal with all of this, he develops a strange paranoid condition where he thinks the black house cat is some kind of immortal demon that gradually destroys his entire existence. Even though the episodes in the Master of Horror series barely last an hour, this almost seems to be long in this case and the lack of relevant subject matter inevitably leads to a couple of redundant padding sequences. The actual share of the titular black cat only begins halfway through the tale, and before that it's primarily Poe's own drinking abuse that dominates. There's only one gory part in "The Black Cat", but I assure it's one that counts! Oh yes, this one-hour film features – hands down – THE greatest axe murder ever depicted. Combs receives excellent support from Elyse Levesque as Virginia. I never heard of her before, but she's quite talented and extremely good-looking. With a number of episodes still waiting on my personal must-see list, "The Black Cat" ranks as the second best of series two so far, second to Brad Anderson's "Sounds Like".