Perhaps the single most macabre and chillingly entertaining animated short film ever made up until its release, The Tell-Tale Heart is an atmospheric and expressionistic animated masterpiece. Running at approximately seven and a half minutes long, it manages to faithfully re-tell the classic Edgar Allan Poe story in a manner that is at once disturbing and yet satisfying. The eerie narration by James Mason is so evocative that it almost feels as though Poe is telling you the story from beyond the grave.

In some ways, the short is reminiscent of the silent horror films of the German cinema, particularly Das Cabinet des Doktor Caligari. With its bright colours and tortured angles, and its visual manifestations of the main characters plunge into the realms of murderous insanity, the visual storytelling owes much to expressionism. But there are also hints of the Gothic stylings found in many of Universal's classic horror movies like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Old Dark House, and The Black Cat. This is, indeed, a classic worthy of being placed in the annals of film history amongst those greats.