The Crow

Alex Proyas, USA 1994, 100 minutes

"People used to think that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes... only sometimes, the crow brings that soul back to set the wrong things right."

No matter how good The Crow is, it will always be overshadowed by the death during filming of its young and promising star Brandon Lee. Lee (son of seventies kung-fu icon Bruce, who also died young) was accidentally killed in a gun accident in a scene that does not appear in the film. However, having shot most of the action scenes, the producers decided to complete the film using computer imaging and body doubles. To say the least, the joins are seamless and the death does lend the film an undeniably fascinating, macabre atmosphere.

The tragically ironic storyline sees a young rock star Eric Draven (Lee) returning from the dead a year after his and his fiancee's murder. It's the eve of Devil's Night (Halloween) and Draven, guided by the mystical crow of the title, embarks on a mission of revenge, bringing death and destruction to his five murderers and their occult gang overlord Top Dollar (Michael Wincott).

The film owes a large part of its success to never actually settling down to one particular genre. The plot has a fairly straightforward `revenge' storyline, while the cinematography captures the gothic intensity of a dark, unnamed city.This and the progressively more gruesome deaths lend a grittily horrific edge to it all. First time director Alex Proyas uses skills gained from directing pop videos for the likes of INXS and adverts for Nike, to inject the action scenes with proper pace and excitement.

The collection of truly sympathetic, or, vehemently evil supporting characters like Ernie Hudson's kindly beat cop, Albrecht, or bullying chief henchman, T-bird keep the interest going. Mention should also be given of Sarah, the young girl whose experiences form the basis of the plot, as her character often seems to be the only shaft of light in an otherwise exceptionally dark film. Sarah also provides the narration at the start and end of The Crow which, along with a haunting musical score by Graeme Revell, elevate the tone from `dark fantasy' to `gothic fairy-tale'.

So, where at first it would seem The Crow has a fairly restricted target audience of Goths and Heavy Metal freaks with its industrial rock soundtrack, it actually reaches out beyond this. It appeals to action fans, romantics or supernaturalists, just so long as you can stomach the sheer darkness of the thing.

Review by Gordon Johnston
Taken from EUFS Programme 1997-98