Watch the trailer for the John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe flick

John Cusack dons a cape, goatee, and sickly pallor to play a crime-fighting Edgar Allan Poe in The Raven, which -- judging from this preview -- looks kind of amazing.  The upcoming movie re-imagines Poe's last days, as he joins forces with a Baltimore detective to hunt down a crazed (and literary!) serial killer who's using Poe's stories as inspiration for a series of grisly murders. Raising the stakes, the killer has ensnared Poe's true love Emily (not Virginia?) in his deadly game. It's like Seven meets Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes with a touch of The Pillowman!

It appears that The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Cask of Amontillado all feature, but grab your friends and play "Name that Poe Story" while you watch.

And for cinephiles, check out these predecessors: The Raven (1915), The Raven (1935), and... The Raven (1963).