A trailer for a remake of “The Crow” dropped recently and opinions are not looking too favorably, with someone stating, “I love how Hollywood always gives us something we don’t want or need,” and another adding, “The only thing this trailer accomplished was making me want to watch the original.”
The trailer shows exactly how the original played out. Rock star Eric Draven is brought back from the dead by a crow, becomes invincible, and goes on a killing spree to kill the gang that murdered him and his girlfriend, Julie, on October 30, ‘Mischief Night.’
If you have seen the original, you know exactly where the movie is going.
However, I liked how it started with Eric and Julie. The audience sees them spending time together, embracing one another, and asking when they first knew they liked each other. It gives the impression the movie will focus more on their relationship, which could make Julie’s death feel more tragic.
In the original, we didn’t see much of Eric and Julie together. Their romance fell into the typical “girl in the fridge” trope, where a lover is murdered for the sake of plot progression. I hope this remake fixes that.
Besides that, the city looks like every generic city. “The Crow” story, both the comic, the original 1994 film, and the remake, takes place in Detroit. In this new trailer, it looks less like Detroit and more like Ireland or France, with lots of cathedrals, stone streets and smaller communities.
It lacks that Gothic edge the original story had.
The new Eric Draven, played by Bill Skargsgard, looks like the filmmakers were trying too hard to be edgy. He has face and full body tattoos and black makeup.
Part of what made Eric Draven’s Crow design so iconic was how simple it was. Long dark hair, white face paint, a black smile and eyes and a black bodysuit with a trench coat.
I understand not wanting to copy the original and doing something new, but that begs the question: why even do a remake at all?
When people think of “The Crow,” everyone immediately thinks of Brandon Lee’s tragic performance. He was the first to dawn the character, and he has become synonymous with it.
When the first movie got sequels and other actors played Eric Draven, everyone only remembered Brandon Lee.
The original was a time capsule. It was a product of the ‘90s and that’s part of what made it work. This trailer simply feels too modern. They could be going the Baz Luhrmann “Romeo & Juliet” route and modernizing a story with outdated tropes and dialogue, but that’s just speculation.
I feel like had this movie centered around someone else becoming the Crow and following a similar but different path, it would fare better.
However, this is supposed to be Eric Draven and a retelling of his story. No matter how good Bill Skarsgard does, or how interesting the remake is, it will always be compared to the original.
Besides the very beginning of the trailer, I’m sadly not impressed. The trailer didn’t feel like “The Crow.” It felt like professional wrestler Darby Allin on the set of “John Wick.”
I’m interested to see how it will do, but I already feel like it will ultimately be just another cash-grab remake.
