The A.V. Club
You never know what you’re getting in an animation anthology—they tend to be grab bags of visually and even thematically unrelated material, varying widely in quality. Extraordinary Tales initially seems like it should be an exception to the rule: It’s a themed anthology of five Edgar Allan Poe short-story adaptations, all helmed by the same man. But Spanish-born director Raul Garcia seems to have gone out of his way to preserve the diverse anthology feel. Each of the shorts has a markedly different visual approach, and they feel radically distinct in terms of pacing and editing as well. In spite of the common source material and tone of oppressive psychological horror, these shorts feel like they could be the work of five different people.
I enjoyed reading Poe in high school. Great stuff.