The Tell-Tale Heart

I loved this. It’s a dark and eerily menacing story of a man, an eye, a murder and some great vocal characterisation from James Mason. Like many mad men, this one believed himself perfectly sane as he began to have issues with one is his elderly neighbours. This old fellow never troubled him, nor was probably even aware of his existence but gradually this obsession assumed dominating proportions. As this anxiety accumulated, his mind turned to more drastic action - but is there any way at all he can remove this psychological stain from his mind? It’s the kind of detailed and threatening animation that might have inspired a Roger Corman or Tim Burton film, and with the Kremenliev score adding loads to the increasingly frenzied atmosphere here it’s very far removed from any mainstream cartoon you’re ever likely to have seen before. Poe knew how to set a scene allowing our own imagination to take charge, and with the effective use of colour - especially the harlequin shaping towards the end, has created something that must have been quite shocking in 1953.

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