The setting may be unusual for a 19th century crime thriller, as for once we're not in a murky London but the West Point military academy in America. This is immediately dealt with by making Edgar Allan Poe one of the two principal characters and having an almost entirely English cast essay an approximation of a Transatlantic accent which may just about be feasible for a snooty East Coast establishment in1830. On top of this, able cinematography of snowy woods and dark interiors, and a troubled Christian Bale as Augustus Landor, the investigator of grisly killings at the academy, certainly ensure that a potent atmosphere for a period murder mystery is in place.
As for the actual plot, it promises much as Poe bombards Landor with hyperloquacious hypotheses about the murders and gradually the notion of occultists as the culprits, rather than just a serial killer, is introduced. But then it goes too far down that track, too fast and becomes derailed. A shame, since that means an ultimate waste of the ample resources and virtues on show.
5/10
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