Legend has it that a crow carries deceased men’s souls to the realm of the dead. But if something so terrible happens that the soul can’t rest, the crow will bring it back to the land of the living to make things right. Just such a thing occurs when Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) and his fiancée Shelly Webster (Sofia Shinas) are brutally attacked one Halloween night by a gang of murderous arsonists. Hours before their wedding, she’s beaten, raped and left for dead, while he’s stabbed, shot and thrown out of a window (an iconic portal that signifies his watchful eye over the city, criminal activity, loved ones and the vision of his guardian crow). One year later, Eric rises from the grave, dons black and white makeup to mimic a tragedy theatre mask (“a mime from hell” and the same getup he wore as the front man for his rock band “Hangman’s Joke”) and goes on the prowl to avenge his murder. “They’re all dead. They just don’t know it yet.”

Little Sarah (Rochelle Davis) shakily narrates – she’s a youngster with street smarts and a drug-addled, prostitute mother (Anna Thomson), forced to look out for herself but aided by a kind police officer, Sergeant Albrecht (Ernie Hudson). Both are regularly involved in the plot, but are unable to contend with the powerful, corrupt network of gangsters behind all the crime in the city. Like any good revenge story, Eric starts at the bottom of the criminal food chain and works his way up, taking out each hoodlum with violent, amplified panache. The villains he goes after are just as over-the-top as the painted antihero, each one progressively more psychotic, animated, overacted, and contemptible.

They also have memorable nicknames to designate them as less-than-human henchmen. Tin-Tin (from whom he steals a thick black trench coat) is the first target, followed by Funboy (Michael Massee), T-Bird (David Patrick Kelly) and several more. Eventually he’ll have to confront the towering Tony Todd as Grange, and the long-haired, sword-wielding leader Top Dollar (Michael Wincott, who lands some hilariously macho lines of dialogue), who keeps his deranged Asian sister/lover (Bai Ling) always at his side (an expressionless woman who utters absolute nonsense with the utmost seriousness and has a penchant for carving out the eyeballs of her victims). Everyone is largely insane, heavily armed and doused with bizarre idiosyncrasies, but fortunately Draven is also blessed with invincibility.

Everything seems to take place at night, which keeps the morbid imagery bathed in blackness. The editing is particularly effective, producing flashbacks with rapid cuts and intense flashes of light to depict the original attack, along with seizure-inducing strobe effects, rain, and smoke during several of the action sequences. The costumes, makeup, and set decorations all possess a strongly gothic vibe, in the same vein as Edward Scissorhands while predating The Matrix, Sin City and The Dark Knight. The Crow’s look is one of the most memorable of movie characters from the ‘90s.

The hero gets to do all the shamelessly violent, excessively badass vigilantism, which makes the film a first-rate revenge fantasy and a thrilling adaptation of the comic book series on which it’s based. However, so much of the production is spent on trying to concoct visually impressive action and style that the substance of the plot and character development is noticeably lacking. While some of the dialogue is silly at best and the pacing is marginally too brooding, Draven’s lines are quotable and the acting all around is above average for the unique, considerably kooky roles. To accompany the design is a very present soundtrack, enriched with female operatic voices, orchestral music by Graeme Revell, plenty of rock ‘n’ roll (Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine), and even an original song by The Cure. And for good measure, The Crow also contains an abundance of explosions, acrobatic stunts, a Scarface-like mound of cocaine, nudity, knives, needles, hand cannons, bloody violence, slow-motion, sunglass-wearing at night, alleyway brawls, automatic weapons, and swordfights.

- Mike Massie

 

Lionsgate debuts Miramax's cult-classic, supernatural thriller The Crow on Blu-ray Disc for the first time this October. Directed by Alex Proyas (Dark City), the film, based on the comic book series and comic strip by James O'Barr, with a screenplay by David J. Schow and John Shirley, stars Brandon Lee (Rapid Fire) in his final performance. Called "A dark, lurid revenge fantasy," (The New York Times), the film also features a stellar soundtrack including The Cure, Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine and more. The high definition debut of The Crow hosts an audio commentary with producer Jeff Most and screenwriter John Shirley, a behind-the-scenes featurette, extended/deleted scenes plus storyboards and photo galleries - as well as a digital copy of the film.

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