THE CROW (2024)

Confession: I only recently watched Alex Proyas’s cult classic The Crow (1994). I saw it two nights before attending a theatrical screening of Rupert Sanders’ 2024 remake. Perhaps this was a mistake. Because, even with its flaws, including clichéd evil villains and unrealistic acting, the original film contains more excitement, heart, and entertainment than the reboot could ever hope to achieve. The storylines the two movies follow are more or less the same, but with significant changes that make this new rendition far less appealing.

Eric Draven (Bill Skarsgård) is a “beautifully broken” junkie with a tragic past who meets the equally broken Shelly (FKA twigs) in rehab. They escape the facility together and go on days or weeks long (it’s never made clear how much time has passed) amorous bender. Shelly’s past eventually catches up with her and she’s killed by agents of Vincent Roeg (Danny Huston) alongside Eric. Eric then enters the Realm of the Dead, where spirit guide Kronos (David Evropejesky) informs him he’s been given a chance to return to the Realm of the Living to seek vengeance on Roeg and save Shelly from Hell.

There are several problems with the writing that causes the audience to immediately lose interest. Despite an early and poignant flashback scene involving a beloved horse, we know very little about Eric. And the little we do learn doesn’t endear him to us. We only know he’s a junkie with a tragic childhood. Shelly tells us he’s “beautifully broken” but, despite Skarsgård’s best efforts to show us this damage, we never see Eric’s beauty shine through. There’s also little real beauty in Shelly’s character who, despite having a lovely voice and pretty face, again, offers nothing underneath but darkness and pain.

Eric’s relationship with Shelly is supposed to be as beautiful and love-filled as it was in 1994. But in that rendition, the characters had been together years and were engaged to be married. Through bright flashbacks, we saw the joy in their relationship.

In this remake, however, other than clear physical chemistry and sexual passion, we never see a truly deep relationship develop between our protagonists. We get the sense that these are two mixed-up young adults who are attracted to each other and cling to their relationship as a way to keep themselves from drowning. It’s been an interesting premise for many films and it’s acted well by both Twigs and Skarsgård. But The Crow asks us to believe that this short-lived relationship, mostly involving sex, drugs, and the occasional conversation, is “true love”. Again, despite the best efforts from the actors, you never get the sense that’s true. We never see beauty in their affair. Passion, yes. Potential, sure. But not beauty.

Indeed, there’s little beauty or truth in this film. The fact that there’s nothing here to cut through the darkness makes it more difficult than it should be to watch. There is, for example, nobody in the living world who relies on Eric or Shelly, as was the case with the pre-teen character of Sarah in the first movie. In 1994, the fact this young girl depended on Shelly and Eric to care for her, and with their death that care was gone, immediately made the audience understand the stakes of the film. There was a reason why Shelly needed to live.

Here, Shelly and Eric live entirely in their own bubble. Other than one tattoo artist friend who plays no significant role in the story, and the aforementioned mentor, there’s nobody to assist Eric in his plight, and seemingly no one even cares that Shelly and Eric are, in fact, dead. Since no one else cares about these characters, the audience isn’t given a reason to either.

As stated before, Bill Skarsgård’s performance is impressive. He does his absolute best to make Eric a real, human character. The fact that he doesn’t succeed is only the fault of the script and poor plotting. Likewise, Danny Houston plays the villain as an interesting, philosophical mastermind rather than the comic book-style villain we got in the ’90s. That said, the fact his villain is given little screen time, motivation, and backstory makes even this potentially fascinating bad guy feel lazy and one-note.

Indeed, the entire film feels as though it’s been put together by people who were cynical, bored, and possibly high. Even the villain’s reaction to Eric’s reappearance (“Didn’t I kill you?”) feels blasé and banal. Everyone in the film is going through the motions of life and feels a sense of relief when they’re finally killed. Unfortunately, this attitude extends to the audience. If even the characters don’t seem to care about their life or death, there’s no reason we should.

In the end, The Crow remake offers nothing to its audience except the message that life is boring, brutal, and short. Any attempt to impart a truthful theme or convey beauty is undercut by its almost obsessive cynicism. When there’s only darkness with no hint of light, there can be no truth. And when the lights are out throughout an entire film, the best the audience can do is fall asleep.

In short, if you’re looking for a good revenge movie, stick with the campy but entertaining 1994 version of The Crow comic-book. If you’re looking for a film to cure your insomnia, The Crow 2024 might do the trick. If not, steer clear.

UK • FRANCE • USA | 2024 | 111 MINUTES | 2.39:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH

Cast & Crew

director: Rupert Sanders.
writers: Zach Baylin & William Schneider (based on ‘The Crow’ by James O’Barr).
starring: Bill Skarsgård, FKA Twigs, Danny Huston, Josette Simon, Laura Birn, Sami Bouajila, Isabella Wei & Jordan Bolger.