Jonathan Merrick (Wes Bentley) has it all: a beautiful girlfriend, a successful writing career, the respect of his colleagues. All of this is put on the line, however, when he unwillingly becomes entangled with a student, Ligeia (Sofya Skya), who has become unhealthily interested with him through his lectures on the macabre. Unbeknownst to Jonathan, his returned infatuation with Ligeia comes not from her Eastern European beauty or sexy accent, but from the black magic which she practices in order to seek the immortality that her ancestors before her could not attain.
In recent years, there have been a huge number of indie straight-to-video adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories & poems, including literally a dozen versions of 'The Tell-Tale Heart.' Poe's story 'Ligeia' has only been the source material for a few adaptations, though, with the most well known being the Roger Corman/Vincent Price matchup 'The Tomb of Ligeia' (1964). There are reasons why 'Ligeia' is not as popular to adapt as other Poe pieces like 'The Fall of the House of Usher' or 'The Raven.' For one, it's not as popular a story as some of those others. But, the real reason is that it's simply just a difficult story to adapt. The original source material does not spread far with plot and it's told, like much of Poe's work, within the head of our narrator. Therefore, there are a lot of additions that a screenwriter would have to make to be able to make this an interesting and entertaining film. Unfortunately, writer John Shirley ('The Crow') did not succeed there in the slightest.
To be memorable in the independent sector of horror, a film must either be very bad or very good. There are hundreds of horror films released each year and the wide majority of those will go unseen by even the most dedicated horror fan. This is why mediocrity is just about the worst curse for a horror film that wishes to be appreciated, or even remembered. For rookie director Michael Staininger, the graveyard of mediocrity is sadly where his first film will be laid to rest. This is because nearly every aspect of 'Ligeia' falls in the ranges of unimpressive or subpar. The acting is bland and boring, even from typically dependable actors like Michael Madsen, Eric Roberts, and Wes Bentley, who has performed well in the past with films like 'American Beauty' and 'P2' (though, his recovery from drug abuse may be a cause of this downfall). There is very little creativity with cinematography, even though the crew did have quite a few excellent locations which would have played nicely with talent behind the camera. However, the real reason for the film's lackluster quality is, without a doubt, the main creative components: the script & the directing. It's sad to see John Shirley, who started his film career with a bang penning the cult classic 'The Crow' in the '90s, sunk to the level of straight-to-video boredom like this film. Also, the rookie director's lack of ability to properly execute anything special with the mundane material also crippled the film's chances. These two components, as they would for any film, killed all opportunity 'Ligeia' had from ever reaching anything worthwhile.
To sum up, other than the intriguing concept and the various settings, there isn't much to see with this film. It's poorly executed, boring, and boasts some truly disappointing performances by a usually impressive cast.
Final Verdict: 4/10. Not a good start to the Fright Fest.
-AP3-
In recent years, there have been a huge number of indie straight-to-video adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories & poems, including literally a dozen versions of 'The Tell-Tale Heart.' Poe's story 'Ligeia' has only been the source material for a few adaptations, though, with the most well known being the Roger Corman/Vincent Price matchup 'The Tomb of Ligeia' (1964). There are reasons why 'Ligeia' is not as popular to adapt as other Poe pieces like 'The Fall of the House of Usher' or 'The Raven.' For one, it's not as popular a story as some of those others. But, the real reason is that it's simply just a difficult story to adapt. The original source material does not spread far with plot and it's told, like much of Poe's work, within the head of our narrator. Therefore, there are a lot of additions that a screenwriter would have to make to be able to make this an interesting and entertaining film. Unfortunately, writer John Shirley ('The Crow') did not succeed there in the slightest.
To be memorable in the independent sector of horror, a film must either be very bad or very good. There are hundreds of horror films released each year and the wide majority of those will go unseen by even the most dedicated horror fan. This is why mediocrity is just about the worst curse for a horror film that wishes to be appreciated, or even remembered. For rookie director Michael Staininger, the graveyard of mediocrity is sadly where his first film will be laid to rest. This is because nearly every aspect of 'Ligeia' falls in the ranges of unimpressive or subpar. The acting is bland and boring, even from typically dependable actors like Michael Madsen, Eric Roberts, and Wes Bentley, who has performed well in the past with films like 'American Beauty' and 'P2' (though, his recovery from drug abuse may be a cause of this downfall). There is very little creativity with cinematography, even though the crew did have quite a few excellent locations which would have played nicely with talent behind the camera. However, the real reason for the film's lackluster quality is, without a doubt, the main creative components: the script & the directing. It's sad to see John Shirley, who started his film career with a bang penning the cult classic 'The Crow' in the '90s, sunk to the level of straight-to-video boredom like this film. Also, the rookie director's lack of ability to properly execute anything special with the mundane material also crippled the film's chances. These two components, as they would for any film, killed all opportunity 'Ligeia' had from ever reaching anything worthwhile.
To sum up, other than the intriguing concept and the various settings, there isn't much to see with this film. It's poorly executed, boring, and boasts some truly disappointing performances by a usually impressive cast.
Final Verdict: 4/10. Not a good start to the Fright Fest.
-AP3-