Edgar Allan Poe's Ligeia Synopsis & Summary

Wes Bentley, Eric Roberts, and Michael Madsen headline first-time feature filmmaker Michael Straininger's story of a successful writer and scholar who falls under the spell of a bewitching seductress on an obsessive quest for immortality. Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's acclaimed short story of the same name, Ligeia tells the story of Jonathan Merrick (Bentley), a respected academic engaged to the beautiful Rowena (Kaitlin Doubleday), but unable to resist the advances of ravishing siren Ligeia (Sofya Skya). Ligeia suffers from a terminal illness, and in order to cheat death she extracts the souls of others. After tricking Jonathan into supporting her ghoulish endeavor, Ligeia gradually draws him into her mysterious world of darkness. Forsaking his beloved Rowena, Jonathan joins Ligeia in her lavish manor at the edge of the Black Sea. There, Ligeia's amaranthine presence slowly erodes the fragile psyche of her prisoner Jonathan, forever cursed to be the victim of his own undying lust. - Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide