It can’t rain all the time.

Eric Draven and his fiancée are brutally murdered, Eric returns from the dead to lay vengeance upon the drug gang that killed them.

Released in 1994 and directed by Alex Proyas, The Crow is a visually striking revenge film based off the comics of the same name. It has an excellent cast, with the late Brandon Lee as the lead, Michael Wincott, Tony Todd, and Ernie Hudson.
On the surface The Crow is a murky, violent thriller. But at its heart it is a surprisingly affecting story about mortality and lost love.

Director Alex Proyas also directed the film Dark City in 1998. With these two films, one can see the inspiration for decades of action movies to come. The director must have been high on life during this period, creating two visually distinct and inventive movies. He would go on to make… Gods of Egypt in 2016. How the mighty have fallen.

Set in a perpetually rainy urban city, the film opens with a grim crime scene overseen by police sergeant Albrecht (Ernie Hudson). The victims in the crime: one girl, raped, who dies in hospital, and a man, dead from injuries and thrown from the window. One year later, we receive the eerie voice-over from young Sarah (Rochelle Davis) stating that when someone dies, their soul is carried to the land of the dead by a crow. However if the soul cannot rest through terrible sadness, the crow returns the soul to right what is wrong.
Enter Brandon Lee as our protagonist Eric Draven, who’s traumatic resurrection (literally bursting out of his own grave) bombards him with terrible visions of his death. But with this revitalisation comes immortality, and the faces of he and his lover’s killers. So begins a targeted spree of vengeance, and the protection of innocent or noble allies.

It is often required to remind one self that this film was released in 1994. Despite the grainy film quality, future films owe a lot to The Crow. While it itself is inspired by films such as RoboCop, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy owes a lot to The Crow. Eric’s relation to the police and young Sarah is not unlike Batman’s with his citizen allies. Eric was setting fire to symbolic effigies long before Batman did.

The film is dark. We never see the sun; the city is in perpetual night-time. Gothic architecture is rife. Eric is cloaked in shadow whenever we see him, his face starkly white with make-up. It is a gothic dream. The camera swoops around dark city streets, following the titular crow that aids Eric in his quest. No drone cameras available in 1994, but it is still extremely effective even today.
The story depicts an awful city to live in. Focusing around “Devil’s Night”, the 30th of October, where gang violence increases to the extremes. Drug use, murder, thievery, all regular occurrences. Such is the setting that allows us to root for Eric’s litany of carnage against evil doers. He doesn’t have Batman’s code of ethics; Eric is a spirit of vengeance.

However the film is not entirely grim. While Eric is a shadow of his former self, actor Brandon Lee gives teasing glimpses of humanity. A musician and member of a band, Eric has a wry sense of humour, and is good natured enough to tell people that smoking is bad for them. This undercurrent of levity is not corny, or delivered forcefully. It keeps us the audience anchored just enough to keep caring for this person and their mission.
The film’s villains are suitably awful. Michael Wincott’s gravel-voice is unmistakeable from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves three years earlier. Tony Todd’s towering presence is also menacing. Wincott’s character’s sister is a witch of contemporary times, played by Bai Ling.

The film’s message of mortality, of loving those who have passed away as a means to keeping them alive, hits even harder still. The film’s controversy lying in lead actor Brandon Lee’s death on set. Taken from us far, far too soon. The film’s production was halted by Paramount, only for it to be picked up again by another studio. CGI was used to complete the film with composite shots of Lee, and despite this being in the 1990s, you cannot tell to look at it. Brandon Lee’s fiancée at the time, endorsed the decision to complete the film.

The Crow remains a often unspoken comic book adaptation. But it is a very effective and visually striking movie. It released at a time when grunge and gothic styles were reaching a peak, and Eric Draven was iconic. The film would bring multiple sequels, all with diminished levels of quality.

If you have not see the original The Crow, but enjoy all sorts of dark comic book movies, this is required viewing. Most certainly before seeing the 2024 remake.

Funny how Paramount reclaimed the rights to The Crow in 2020, and now a remake exists in 2024…