Two Evil Eyes
| Two Evil Eyes | |
|---|---|
Italian theatrical release poster by Enzo Sciotti
|
|
| Directed by |
Dario Argento George A. Romero |
| Produced by |
Claudio Argento Dario Argento Achille Manzotti |
| Written by | Dario Argento Franco Ferrini George A. Romero Peter Koper (uncredited) |
| Based on | The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar and The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Pino Donaggio |
| Edited by | Pat Buba |
|
Production
company |
ADC Films
Gruppo Bema |
| Distributed by | Taurus Entertainment Company |
|
Release date
|
25 January 1990 25 October 1991 (USA) |
|
Running time
|
120 min. |
| Country | Italy United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $9 million |
| Box office | $349,618 |
Two Evil Eyes (Italian: Due occhi diabolici) is a 1990 horror film, written and directed by Dario Argento and George A. Romero. The two had previously worked together on the immensely popular Dawn of the Dead in 1978. The film is split into two separate tales, both based largely on the works of Edgar Allan Poe: "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar", directed by Romero and starring Adrienne Barbeau, showcases his traditional mix of horror with social commentary, especially capitalism; and "The Black Cat", directed by Argento and starring Harvey Keitel, which blends a number of Poe references into a new narrative. Both of the tales were filmed in and take place in contemporary Pittsburgh.
Jessica Valdemar, an attractive 40-year-old woman, rides in a taxi to the downtown Pittsburgh office of Steven Pike, her elderly husband’s lawyer with some paperwork for Mr. Pike approval. Pike sees that Jessica’s 65-year-old husband named Ernest Valdemar, who is dying from an unnamed terminal illness, is liquidating a number of his assets for cash and suspects Jessica of having undue influence on him. Jessica denies the allegations that she’s any negative influence over her husband, while Pike makes a phone call to the house to talk with Ernest Valdemar, who speaks over the phone in a weak but coherent voice explaining about his decision to let Jessica take control of his money and assets from his personal signature on the written documents that she has. Pike reluctantly agrees to let Jessica have access to the money, but warns her that if anything were to happen to Mr. Valdemar within the next three weeks before the transfer of his estate over to Jessica is finalized, she will be investigated by the authorities.
Jessica returns home to Ernest Valdemar’s large suburban mansion where she meets with Dr. Robert Hoffman where it is revealed that he and Jessica have been conspiring to cheat the terminally ill Mr. Valdemar out of his estate by hypnotizing him and having him do what they wish from his deathbed. Jessica doesn’t like the procedure, but Robert wants it done because he used to have a romance with Jessica and wants to run off with her after they acquire his $3 million assets. The next day, Jessica goes to a bank where she withdraws $300,000 and stores it in a safe. Robert sees this. But then, Mr. Valdemar goes into cardiac arrest and dies while under another hypnosis spell. Not wanting to reveal his death just yet, Robert and Jessica carry his body to the basement where they hide it in a freezer. But during the night, Jessica becomes frightened when she hears moaning coming from the basement, but when she tries to wake up Robert, he has put himself under a hypnotic-induced slumber to help him sleep.
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