“The Crow” movie fails to live up to expectations.
By Austin Gonzales
From Grief to Creation: The Birth of ‘The Crow’
Artist James O’Barr found himself struggling after the loss of his fiancee. Looking to cope with his grief, O’Barr created the comic book, “The Crow” in 1989.
The 4 issue limited series revolved around Eric, a murdered man on Halloween night who is resurrected by a mystical crow. Eric, now a walking corpse, looks to enact revenge on the gang that killed him and his fiancee, Shelly.
“If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.” -The Crow, 1994
A Timeless Tale: The Impact of the 1994 Film
In 1994, an adaptation of the comic would hit theaters. Brandon Lee would take on the main role of Eric Draven, giving an iconic performance that resonated with goth culture for decades to come. The film is directed by Alex Proyas and stars Ernie Hudson, Rochelle Davis and Michael Wincott.
Behind the brutal violence that is Eric Draven, Lee manages to bring a kind smile to a person who is deeply broken. From on paper to screen, Eric is a kind soul to those around him, fueled by rage that he couldn’t save Shelly. An iconic portrayal to never be forgotten, for better or worse.
A Familiar Yet Flawed Reimagining
Here we are in 2024, The Crow finally has a new adaptation. Directed by Rupert Sanders, starring Bill Skarsgård, FKA Twigs and Danny Huston. I remember hearing about this film in production since I was in high school, in 2014, ten years ago, and it feels like it. The movie suffers many problems from its writing to its direction and characterization.
The movie follows the beats of the original story to a lesser degree. Instead of being introduced to Eric and Shelly’s relationship through flashbacks like the 1994 film, we follow their love from the start. We meet Shelly, who is running away from an evil businessman, Roeg, who has demonic abilities. Roeg can make people bend to his well in exchange for sending innocent souls to Hell. Shelly meets and falls for Eric, who is suffering through early childhood trauma of his own, and they share a brief life together before the inevitable by Roeg. An otherworldly guide with CGI crows tells Eric he’ll be brought back to the land of the living, to take revenge and save Shelly’s soul from eternal damnation.
The movie is a slow build, and despite spending more time with the couple, we still know barely little about them. By the time Eric is brought back to life, he mostly just wanders the streets of Detroit, getting beat up or shot by the people he’s hunting. If there’s a positive, Eric’s immortal corpse re-animating is pretty cool. It’s not until seventy five minutes in when Eric becomes more of an action hero character finally getting an upper hand, realizing his powers and donning the famous makeup.
An Unsatisfying Conclusion
Ultimately this leads to an intense but awesome scene at an opera house where Eric searches for Roeg and his right hand woman. Once the final confrontation happens, it’s beyond underwhelming. The ending of the film raises more questions than answers in a weird attempt at time travel.
Gone is the unraveling trauma from the original source and ‘94 film, replaced with a whiny emo boy who just gets the shit kicked out of him left and right. If you’re looking for a story of love and grief, check out the original film, it’s a Halloween classic. Most importantly I implore audiences to read the source, O’Barr’s visually stunning heartfelt spectacle.
