While the film is widely praised for its acting and visual style, some reviewers found the final act to be a bit "preposterous" or "predictable". However, for those who enjoy a slow-burn whodunnit with a dark, atmospheric twist, it remains a standout entry in the genre.

The film you're referring to, (released in English as The Pale Blue Eye ), is a 2022 gothic murder mystery that premiered on Netflix in early 2023 . Directed by Scott Cooper, the movie stars Christian Bale as a veteran detective and Harry Melling as a young, eccentric cadet who would eventually become the famous writer Edgar Allan Poe.

To avoid a scandal that could shut down the fledgling academy, the military brass enlists retired detective Augustus Landor (Christian Bale). Finding himself blocked by the cadets' "code of silence," Landor recruits an unlikely ally: an intellectual, poetry-loving cadet named . Why You Should Watch It

Critics have hailed Harry Melling’s portrayal of the young Poe as a "breakthrough," bringing much-needed energy and color to the film’s somber tone. Christian Bale delivers a characteristically intense, nuanced performance as the haunted detective.

Filmed largely in Pennsylvania, the movie captures a frozen, 1830s Hudson Valley landscape that feels authentic and deeply unsettling. The cinematography by Masanobu Takayanagi uses a muted, "frostbitten" color palette to enhance the macabre mood.

Set in 1830 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the story begins when a cadet is found dead under suspicious circumstances. The tragedy turns into a horror when it’s discovered that the victim’s heart has been surgically removed while in the morgue.