May 13th, 1994. A date I distinctly remember, and will never forget.
I had just turned fifteen, sitting with some friends in a packed theater on opening night, to watch The Crow. For any fellow Hoosiers, it might be noted that it was the long defunct EastGate mall, where I viewed dozens upon dozens of films throughout the 80’s and 90’s. A lot of good memories there, and this is one of them.
There isn’t much more adulation that can be heaped upon the original The Crow. It’s an excellent film, soundtrack, and comic book series that helped shape a generation and decade. Hell, I still listen to the soundtrack, and will re-watch it every couple of years, particularly around Halloween.
The impact was monumental.
The film was a loving tribute to Brandon Lee, who tragically died on set during March of 1993. Lee was a rising star, gone far too soon, and his death had an effect on my life, beyond The Crow.
I used to have a giant cardboard theater display for Rapid Fire (1992) in my room, right alongside a poster of Bruce Lee, so I was a fan from the start. Both Brandon and Bruce are beloved by many fans worldwide and their legacies live on through their final films.
Of course, none of this was intended. It was hopeful that The Crow would become a franchise, and Brandon himself stated in an interview that he might be interested in doing sequels.
Instead, it became a haunting and eerie time capsule of sheer creative brilliance, which never again found the the success or respect garnered by Lee’s performance and overall cinematic presence.
Production companies, and even creator James O’Barr himself, tried to reboot the concept several times over the decades, with new characters and poorly received sequels and comic books. There was even a short lived TV series in 1999, and every Hot Topic in the country was stocked with merch.
You can’t blame them for wanting to try and continue the character, even with the passing of its lead actor. We could even consider the possibility that without the style and influence of 1994’s film, we might not have gotten Blade (1998) or The Matrix (1999).
Let me note something here before continuing with this piece. I have never seen any of the follow-up movies, nor read any of the comic sequels. To me, The Crow was (and still is) Brandon Lee.
I protested online for years against any and all reboot attempts being made (going back to 2008), and was thankful that the series seemed “cursed” to keep losing writers, actors, and directors.
Eric Draven needed to finally be at peace, with his eternal love, Shelly.
Yet, thirty years later, and I’ll admit to being intrigued by the new version starring Bill Skarsgard because it was an interesting choice, look, and new direction.
Would it ever compare to the original in our hearts and minds? Never, but that doesn’t automatically mean it’s going to be a shitty movie, deserving of endless “edge-lord” hate a full year before it was even released.
I decided to rent The Crow today to see if it was, indeed, “the flop of the year” and worthy of such intense online ridicule and disapproval. And, expecting the worst, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it’s actually a decent action/horror film.
It has obvious pacing flaws, being nearly two hours long, and tends to rehash a few of the relationship elements, but all in all? It was a bit of gory fun, that attempts to modernize the situation and add new characterization, while not disrespecting the source material.
Likewise, all of the actors were fine, and the main theme, which is a love story, is fully intact. Had I seen this in theaters (which I intended to), I would still think it a decent flick, with not too much to pick apart and ridicule about it.
However, it also comes at a time of “superhero fatigue”, and had some really big shoes to fill. This reboot was doomed from the start, much like the love affair of the two lead characters.
It’s unfortunate that James O’Barr never got his way, in which he’d hoped for a more direct adaptation of the comic series, perhaps even shot in black and white. It’s also unfortunate that O’Barr never managed to successfully reinvent the character with different iterations.
It isn’t necessarily reviving The Crow that most fans hate, it’s reviving Eric Draven, and easy to see why the 2024 version failed so terribly, but also a shame. Because it’s a decent reimagining of an iconic independent comic book character.
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Michael A. Dyer is the host of the HORROR TO CULTURE podcast and website.
