Extraordinary Tales (2013)

Extraordinary Tales Poster

Five tales by Edgar Allan Poe come to life thanks to a pictorical style animation, five tales that exude madness, pestilence, murder and torture.

Introduction
"Extraordinary Tales" is an animated anthology scary movie launched in 2013. Directed by Raul Garcia, the movie brings to life 5 of Edgar Allan Poe's the majority of widely known stories. Each tale is unique in presentation and design, with different illustrative strategies and narrative voices adding an intricate layer of storytelling. The movie presents the stories as different sections, tied together by an overarching narrative.

The Stories
The first story, "The Fall of your house of Usher", featuring the voice of legendary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, showcases a plain visual style, practically gothic and abstract in nature, completely matching Poe's dismal narrative. The tale follows a male who visits his old friend, Roderick Usher, who thinks that his home is alive.

The second tale, "The Tell-Tale Heart", told by the excellent Bela Lugosi with archive audio, utilizes an expressionist black-and-white visual design. It tells the story of a guy tortured by regret after he murders an old man due to the fact that of his eerie-looking eye.

The third story, "The Facts when it comes to M. Valdemar", engages with a more comic book-style animation and features a voiceover by Julian Sands. It's about a mesmerist who utilizes a guy's sticking around minute in between life and death for a twisted experiment.

The 4th tale, "The Pit and the Pendulum", features the singing talents of Guillermo del Toro. The animation work sticks out with its graphic unique appeal and the story narrates the tortures sustained by a detainee of the Spanish Inquisition.

The final tale, "The Masque of the Red Death", utilizes no discussion and relies on a more painterly, watercolor-esque design to represent Poe's allegorical story about a prince who attempts to prevent an unsafe plague, the Red Death, by hiding in his castle.

Overarching Narrative
Connecting all these tales is a narrative set in a cemetery, where Poe, embodied as a raven, arguments with death, personified by a graceful woman. This functions as a segue in between the individual tales, typically providing commentary and reflection on the styles being checked out.

Conclusion
"Extraordinary Tales" is a vibrant exploration of the scary genre which is emphasized with the stunning animations and varied storytelling strategies. It works as an effective tribute to the works of Edgar Allan Poe. From in-depth gothic visualizations to abstract representations, every tale encapsulates the somber tone and cooling essence of Poe's narrative. The film brilliantly mixes the horrors of the human psyche with the supernatural to unravel a narrative that captivates and terrifies, remaining true to the legacy of its source material. The movie's varied animations and voice-overs, from the similarity Christopher Lee, Guillermo Del Toro, and Bela Lugosi, permit each tale to stand apart, while still fitting into the cohesive story of Edgar Allan Poe's gothic universe.

Top Cast