Why The Crow (1994) Is So Hard to Top in the Comic Book Movie Genre
Posted on February 24, 2023
When the term anti-hero is uttered, The Crow comes to mind for a lot of people who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, and it’s no mystery. The Crow blew open a lot of doors for the now common revenge plot, has a production that’s both gritty and polished, and visceral surrealistic moments of agony with just the right amount of optimism peppered throughout. Simply put, Brandon Lee’s portrayal of Eric Draven is nothing short of legendary, and his performance in The Crow inspired many reboots that have never quite captured the same energy as the original.
While the Batman movies of the ’90s were adored for being dark, yet campy, The Crow showed another side of vigilante justice that was a little more cynical, a lot more violent, but adored by millions, and we’re about to get into why this worked so well.
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Related: The Crow Reboot Starring Bill Skarsgard Wraps Filming
They Nailed the Film Noir Feel in the Original Film
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When we think of film noir, the first thought that comes to mind is the private eye taking the law into his own hands. While there isn’t a whole ton of sleuthing in The Crow, there is plenty of vigilante justice to go around. It’s the cynical nature of The Crow that puts it in the noir category; Eric’s revenge plot is supported by down-on-his-luck vice officer Darryl Albrecht, and their run-ins are often peppered with dark sarcasm as if to say, “I’m on your side, but I’ve also got my hands tied. Good luck, and Godspeed.”
An excellent example of the dark exchanges that penetrate in The Crow is when Eric blows up Gideon’s pawn shop with cans of gasoline, and a shotgun loaded with discarded wedding rings. He turns to the shopkeeper he after begs for his life, and says, “I’m not gonna kill you. Your job will be to tell the rest of them that death is coming for them, tonight. Tell them Eric Draven sends his regards.” The audience knows they’re going to spend the rest of the film witnessing a bloodbath, but there’s a cool and calculating, yet cynically comedic vibe to this exchange, and the ones that follow.
Brandon Lee’s Method Acting
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Did you know that Brandon Lee did his own Crow makeup for this film? That’s not all, though; every night before bed, he would put the makeup on, and fall asleep in it, so it’d look ragged and worn out. about commitment! But he was right to do this, because his makeup, while simple, is absolutely menacing, and it wholeheartedly represents the grief that Eric Draven is going through on Devil’s Night. Think about it… Draven’s soul is brought back from the land of the dead exactly one year after he and his wife are brutally murdered, so he’s not supposed to look like a million bucks.
Use of Surrealism to Perfectly Capture Eric’s Grief
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There are some moments in The Crow that don’t necessarily carry the plot forward, but are included in the film to set the mood. An apt comparison is how a song in a musical moves the plot forward, but doesn’t always necessarily have to say much at the time; a change in mood and pacing, is signed. But you have to ask yourself the question, do we really need an Eric Draven in full Crow garb, playing a blistering guitar solo in the rain and thunder while standing on top of the roof of his condemned apartment building, before smashing his ax to bits and hurling it into the streets below him? Obviously, this scene isn’t instrumental to developing the story, but it expertly captures Eric’s grief; that solo, it’s captured in a very short amount of time, and it lets the audience know that things are about to get heavy.
Excessive, Yet Cartoonish Violence
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Violence for violence’s sake is never a good look, but The Crow pulls it off with grace by sticking to its comic book roots. There is so much violencebut it doesn’t take you out of the film. This is partly because the shootout and chase sequences are produced in such a gritty way that it almost seems cartoonish, so the audience is allowed to sit back and watch the carnage unfold. Another thing to consider is that we’re dealing with very bad people– the type of people who turn something as innocent as Mischief Night into a celebration of sexual assault, arson, and murder. These are the same people who then go to the bar and Celebrate by pounding shots of whiskey containing bullets for fun. In other words, the audience is okay with the violence because by design, everybody gets what they deserve, and they want to see vengeance.
Related: The Crow Reboot Officially in Post-Production With New Financial Backer
Mentoring Sarah Makes Eric a Likable Character
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After Eric and Shelly’s murder, we’re clued into the fact that they took in a young girl from the streets named Sarah. Sarah’s mother is a drug addict who works at the bar owned by Top Dollar, the main antagonist, and she often comes home to terrible living conditions, so she takes it to the rainy streets of Detroit with her trusty, yet waterlogged skateboard. In life, and then later in his resurrected state, Eric looks after Sarah. revenge arc gets a softer side, because Sarah is like a daughter to him, and he wants to make absolutely sure she’s protected as bedlam unfolds on Devil’s Night.
Amazing Soundtrack
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Is it even a true gothic anti-hero story without a soundtrack full of bangers? We’ve got Pantera, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, Helmet, Stone Temple Pilots, and The Cure just to name a handful. forget It Can’t Rain all the Time, which is actually a Jane Siberry song, but used in the film by Eric’s band, Hangman’s Joke. The recurring line “it can’t rain all the time,” is what allows Sarah to know that the undead crow carrying ghoul is in fact Eric , and establishes trust between the two characters when first reunited.
The Crow’s The impact is still felt today in the form of countless reboots, and attempts to franchise the property. It’s not that these adaptations are necessarily bad, but when the original cinematic source material is so close to perfect to begin with, there are such big shoes to fill, and while we’re along for the ride, we also wish anybody trying to replicate the charm of the 1994 version and it’s legendary cult status good luck.
