A George A. Romero Retrospective: ‘Two Evil Eyes’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

‘It’s too late. The others -- the others. Without me, they can’t return. They’re with you now.’
- Ernest Valdemar

​One thing that we often see in filmmaking and have outright discussed in this retrospective of George A. Romero’s incredible body of work, is how titans of the industry will often pay homage to the stories that outright influenced them to become filmmakers as well. In part to honor those who awakened something powerful within them, but also to allow them to live vicariously through their hero, if only for a moment. If anything, this is always lovely and wonderful to see since it allows for the audience to get to know their favorite filmmaker a little better, all while enjoying a unique take on a story that everyone loves. But while it is quite delightful to see this happen on screen, one thing that is supremely fascinating about these tributes, is that they only go so far. 
 
Because for the most part, modern icons of the industry, rarely take the time to just outright adapt a story from the person that influenced them, or a story from an icon in their respective genre and understandably so. After all, they received their praise and accolades and respect from doing something unlike any other storyteller out there. So, why take the time to adapt another legend and attempt to interpret their work and their style, when the icon in question is already doing incredible things on their own? But once in a great while, some of the titans try their hand at adapting stories from the finest storytellers out there and back in 1990, George was joined by his Italian counterpart Dario Argento in offering up a modern take on a pair of stories from Edgar Allan Poe in Two Evil Eyes.
 
Which is quite the wonderful team up for certain and as expected, having these two minds come together in a motion picture is nothing short of spectacular. For they each bring their own unique flair and proclivities to the Poe stories they adapt, making each one of them quite special and worthwhile in their own right. Take Argento’s adaptation of ‘The Black Cat’ for instance. Since Dario does a phenomenal job of turning a story that was grounded in notions of guilt into a modern-day parable revolving around the power of ego and how some people don’t believe the law applies to them and that they can do whatever they want in life. Which in turn leads to some supremely disturbing scenes for certain since Rod Usher is a savage man that will stop at nothing to hide his crimes.
 
But while Argento’s segment does a fine job of unsettling the audience with some horrific visuals and some outstanding gory sequences that once again come courtesy of special effects maestro, Tom Savini (who also did the effects for George’s segment), what Romero does with his particular adaptation is downright incredible for certain. Because Romero not only added a modern update to ‘The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar’, he found a way to make this story a modern day parable on greed and how we tend to play with things we simply don’t understand because our curiosity and our foolishness to tend to get the in the way of logic and that makes ‘The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar’ quite the fascinating tale for certain, one that features some phenomenally splatter-y moments and a slow build to the terror in question.

---

Something that is achieved by way of George's ability to lull of the audience into a false sense of security. Because at first glance a story that was once about the nature of death and the afterlife and our fear of it, appears to have been revamped into a grand caper story. But once we come to learn that hypnosis is being used to extort a fortune out of a dying old rich man, so that his trophy wife and her side piece can enjoy the good life when he’s gone, well that’s when things start to get interesting. In large part because Adrienne Barbeau (Jennifer Valdemar) and Ramy Zada (Dr. Robert Hoffmann) offer up some electric performances, and are able to teach us what makes these characters tick and why they're so bitter in a ridiculously short period of time. 

But it’s the horror elements that drop out of the blue that make everything worth the audience’s while. Because Romero goes old school in this particular tale, using hypnosis to bring forth contact with the other side and seeing Robert’s curious mind play with this notion when he shouldn’t, creates all kinds of terror. For now, Jennifer is constantly watching over her shoulder and quite frankly, so is the viewer. Because the subtle warnings from a dead Ernest about other beings that are on their way to our world, truly creates a sense of dread, the kind that only grows as the moments roll along and that all leads to a powerhouse finale, one that catches you completely off guard with the dark and gory places that it goes to, making for one satisfying tale for certain.  
 
Mainly because, it takes you on an emotional ride, really because of that tension and also because, the jerks in this tale do indeed get just what they deserve, in classic anthology fashion, and of course what Romero has to say about the human condition is quite lovely as well. Because this story does a fine job of teaching the audience how greed and lust and an overall disdain for the mistakes we make, can lead us to do terrible things, and oddly enough, everything that George does with this story, makes it feel as though you’re watching a period piece, which is quite incredible. Because minus a few technological marvels in this film, mainly in Robert’s apartment, and by way of the cars we see, this feels as though it was released during the golden age of cinema. Something that is further enhanced by Tom Atkins’ amazing performance as a grizzled detective. 
 
In the end however, this motion picture really is just a magnificent treat. Because you get two horror greats offering up some incredible interpretations of another horror great, and what we get is pretty darn stellar in the end, and you can never go wrong with Romero working within the framework of anthology horror, and while this might not be George’s most complex story, you simply don’t care when watching. Because as is always the case, Mister Romero managed to assemble a compelling film filled with chilling moments and quality characters and oddly enough, it is safe to say that this particular venture motivated George to really dive deep into what drives mankind to go to dark places. For his next two movies explore this notion in great detail, and come complete with the patented twists and turns that can only be found in George's work.

---