The first trailer for James McTeigue's The Raven has gone online.  The story takes place in 1840s Baltimore where a series of grisly murders appear to have been inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack).  Poe and a detective (Luke Evans) must team up to find the killer before he takes out the woman Poe loves.  While I think the premise is intriguing and I'm always up for a crime thriller that pulls the setting out of the modern day, this trailer comes off like "Hey, remember From Hell?  Let's try that again."  Hopefully McTeigue's film will play far better than the unfortunate adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel.

Hit the jump for the trailer.  The film also stars Alice Eve, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, and Brendan Gleeson.  The Raven opens March 9, 2012.

Click over to Apple to see the trailer in HD.

Here's the official synopsis for The Raven:

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In this gritty thriller, Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack, Being John Malkovich) joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans, Immortals) to hunt down a mad serial killer who’s using Poe’s own works as the basis in a string of brutal murders. Directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta,Ninja Assassin), the film also stars Alice Eve (Sex and the City 2), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Faster).When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered in 19th century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) makes a startling discovery: the crime resembles a fictional murder described in gory detail in the local newspaper—part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe. But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also inspired by a popular Poe story.

Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe’s writings as the backdrop for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author’s help in stopping the attacks. But when it appears someone close to Poe may become the murderer’s next victim, the stakes become even higher and the inventor of the detective story calls on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before it’s too late.

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