KSL Movie Show review: ‘The Crow’ is a dark story of revenge

Editor’s note: This is an editorial piece. An editorial, like a news article, is based on fact but also shares opinions. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and are not associated with our newsroom.

SALT LAKE CITY — It’s been thirty years since the original THE CROW hit theaters – reluctantly.  This was the film that took Brandon Lee’s life when a prop gun was not properly checked, Lee was struck in the abdomen and tragically died.

The real irony is that James O’Barr wrote the original comic book series as a coping mechanism after his own fiancée was killed by a drunk driver.  And now with Brandon dead, he says he wishes he had never written it. He felt horrible, as did everyone involved.

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So the original studio, Paramount declined to release the film, but Miramax Films stepped in, carefully worked around the tragedy and since Lee had already filmed most of his scenes, they respectfully released the movie, dedicating it to his memory.  The gamble paid off.  “The Crow” was a success and eventually became a cult classic.

Over the years, a few awful sequels were attempted, shockingly none did well.

Which brings us to the present.

The first question many are asking is — why and how do you remake such a film?  The only possible way this doesn’t go badly is if they create a whole new and different storyline and not try to compete with the tragic past. 

So this is what they came up with.

We first see young Eric Draven trying to save his beloved horse that has gotten seriously tangled in a barb wire fence.  Eric tries desperately to free the animal, but suffers severe cuts on his hands.  His mother is passed out drunk in their mobile home.  Eric (Bill Skarsgård) is so traumatized, that years later, he ends up in an rehab center for troubled youth, which is where he eventually meets the love of his life, Shelly (FKA twigs). 

Shelly is hiding from some really bad people, namely a Mr. Roeg (Danny Huston) who apparently is Satan’s agent in recruiting souls. All he has to do is whisper some creepy stuff in someone’s ear and they will either kill anybody around or themselves if necessary.  

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Turns out, somebody made a video recording of one such incident, forcing Roeg and his hench-people to eliminate all witnesses – including Shelly and her partying friends. 

Fortunately, Eric and Shelly manage to escape the rehab center, go on the run and have a falling-deeply-in-love montage that will bind them together for eternity – ahhh. Unfortunately, the baddies find Eric and Shelly, kill them both and here’s where the story should end, but not in a version of “The Crow.”

You see, love conquers all. So dead Eric wakes up in a swampy train depot swarming with crows, where some dude tells him he can go back and save his true-love girlfriend, if he’s willing to kill all the bad people that caused her death and as an added bonus, the crows will lead the way and oh yeah, he can’t be killed himself.

In reflection, I don’t remember the original “The Crow” being nearly as brutally violent as this new edition. Cranky Eric’s grand tour through an opera house, leaves bodies, parts of bodies and random heads flying everywhere.  It’s quite the gruesome spectacle, but in a super dark comedic sort of way. My biggest nag is that Eric’s rate of recovery varied pretty dramatically before, during and after those bloody opera scenes – but I could be nitpicking.

I will give props to Bill Skarsgård for giving it all he had as he was shot dozens of times, stabbed repeatedly and run over by a big truck. Ouch.  

So if I haven’t scared you off by now, you might be good to go. But perhaps just that lingering thought that this might be a bit disrespectful to Brandon Lee’s memory, will likely keep some of you away.    

THE CROW (B-) Rated R for strong bloody violence, gore, language, sexuality/nudity and drug use. Starring Bill Skarsgård, FKA twigs, Danny Huston, Laura Born and Josette Simon. Directed by Rupert Sanders (“Snow White and the Huntsman” “Ghost in the Shell”) filmed in Prague. Running time: 111 minutes.

The KSL Movie Show with Andy Farnsworth and Steve Salles airs Fridays on KSL NewsRadio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Follow the show on Facebook, and join The KSL Movie Show Club for exclusive perks by texting MOVIE to 57500. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to cancel. Message frequency varies.