It's always tricky to evaluate a filmmaker when at work on a film that is in an in-between realm of short and feature. Actually, by technical ruling (or what would be considered by most festivals), it is feature-length with each segment. But I found Two Evil Eyes an underrated effort, after reading many mixed reviews (many leaning to the lesser side for especially Romero's film, and some faint praise for Argento's). The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar and The Black Cat are not the tippy-toppest best for either filmmaker, and for Romero it's a strange kind of quasi-conventional experiment while Argento stays in somewhat familiar territory. Each has its own strengths, own weaknesses, and it's a fine little treat.

'Valdemar': This starts with the veneer of what comes in the range of something like a cross between daytime Soap and a 40s melodrama. A woman (Adrienne Barbeau) married Mr. Valdemar late in life, and as he's about to die (and soon does) she stands to collect a load of money with her cuckold- a smooth operating doctor who has a knack for hypnosis.

What unfolds after his death, and their cover-up in order to secure more funds, is something still like a 'living-dead' movie for the director, but more psychological in head-games and, to be sure, a faithfulness to the Poe source. It is a peculiar feat to adjust to in seeing Romero, at least in the first half hour, directing more like an old pro of the studio era than with his trademark panache in editing and shocks.

This time he brings on the dread in a gradual fashion, built on guilt and paranoia, and then as Valdemar is in that freezer, a Gothic form of psychosis: two people stuck with a body, and a voice, they can't get rid of and become absorbed with. I liked it a lot- maybe more than I should have from what I read (the 'Soap' argument against it I read before, though Romero does try to give his actors more to work with than any hack would)- as it preys on the fear of death as not a final measure, with one last wicked kick in the nuts with that bed scene. Top shelf Romero? Not quite, but it's still oddly gripping, like a polished piece of clichés giving way to a wild head game of "old-school" horror.

8/10 'Black Cat': Argento's dip in the Poe pool goes to the lengths that he as a director always goes to: elaborate-to-the-Italian-horror degree style in camera and deranged horror, and even bits of dark horror that almost make Poe seem tame. I can't say how much this is tied into Poe more than I can Valdemar, but try as I might I couldn't see this as being totally peak Argento either, despite (or almost in spite of) everything he has going for it. Like Valdemar, it's about someone not coping with life after death; a photographer (Keitel) into the macabre, with a (color me shocked Argento) violinist girlfriend, has a black cat, whom the photographer strangles while taking some provocative photos. She knows he's behind it, but he can't stop himself- he needs another cat- just like the old cat- which will meet some grisly consequences.

Keitel's always game for something like this part, which plays like his Bad Lieutenant gone Grand Guignol, which makes for one of the best pleasures of the project. He doesn't have a whole lot of range in the role, but it's a fun one for him, chewing on the meat that Argento throws out for him scene after scene. Argento, meanwhile, even for *him* overdoes it with the horror music in certain scenes, and dares to go to too much excess with the symbolism of the white spots on the cat. But it's totally a wonder to see that dream sequence, where Keitel is in the midst of a medieval Pagan sacrifice, with a sharp cut-away in the most violent bit.

And I loved the pleasure that Argento takes in enlivening Poe's macabre with his own, with the violence extending from mania into the visual. I had my complaints at times, but it's hard to not throw up one's hands with Argento and say "why carp!" when he's unabashed in his passions of mostly constant camera movement (tracking, cranes, close-ups, pans, you-name-it) and illogical steps in plot (i.e. why Keitel's character would even put out a book with cat deaths knowing his girlfriend might see them, let alone so soon).

8/10 Bottom line, fans of the directors should check out the films, and decide for themselves how they do. It's two tall tales of curses and death, derangement and the surreal, and it's a concoction worth at least one viewing.

Collaborations - they are or rather can be quite the dream for fans. So seeing Dario Argento doing a movie with George Romero ... I can only guess how excited some were back in the day. But this is not one movie - it is is actually two movies or rather two stories.

And as one may expect of me, I liked the Romero part better than the Argento part. That does not mean, I think the Argento second half of this is bad. Actually even the Romero "short" (if you can call a one hour segment that) is not up to other things that he did. Not sure what the background to this was, but as it is, the shorts are enjoyable. The acting is fine and the effects are also ok, for the time and budget they had

"Two Evil Eyes" is something of an anthology, consisting of a mere two parts based loosely on Edgar Allan Poe tales (although my understanding is that the film was intended to have more notable directors attached). In the first film, a couple deals with a frozen man who refuses to stop talking to them. In the second, a man and his girlfriend have a rocky relationship and his intent to end it is thwarted by a black cat.

George A. Romero's half is rather bland, nothing amazing to speak of and almost made me fall asleep (though I was heavily intoxicated on Scoresby Scotch by this point, so sleep was immanent). Adrienne Barbeau appears, which was a treat for horror fans who enjoyed her in other films ("The Fog", for example). Romero is a nice guy and a talented guy, but his genius is overstated and this film just further stresses that point. While he may be remembered for zombies (his original trilogy of "Dead" films is awesome), he has just as many flops and failures. This can join that list.

Luckily, the other (second) half was directed by Dario Argento and starring Harvey Keitel ("Reservoir Dogs") in a beret. While I should have been more sleepy at this point, I perked right up with Argento's well-paced story and Keitel's erratic behavior (which never seems to get old no matter how many films he comes across the same). This part is based on Poe's "Black Cat", although the connection is only very minor for the bulk of the story. Compare this to other incarnations, and you've still got a solid movie. I thoroughly enjoyed Stuart Gordon's interpretation of "Black Cat" (and may say it is the best), but this did nothing to take away from Argento's vision.

I would have to be sober in order to more properly analyze this film. But, I can say this: the Romero part was boring and the Argento part was not, just as I could have predicted. Since the two halves have nothing connecting them, at least as far as I could tell, I would still say this is a movie worth owning. You could skip to the second half and be in the presence of a great work of art. Of course, you should watch the first part, too, but I don't believe it will get a lot of repeated viewings. (Also appearing: Julie Benz, in her first acting role, and Tom Savini.)