The Crow (2024) with Spoilers!

The Crow (2024) focuses on the story about Eric (Bill Skarsgard) and Shelly (FKA twigs) and their budding romance.  I’d argue that the deeper message is more about Eric than the romance itself, but either way they are both principal to the plot.  In contract, the original 1994 movie has more of a gothic, music video style, unworldly, fantasy element to it that focuses on revenge, rather than Eric and Shelly’s romance and it never explores how Eric came to be the crow.  Either way, there can be no comparison to the original movie, nor should there be.  Despite the mindset of the haters, these two movies/stories can co-exist, and this one does not “ruin” the original and it does not “disgrace” Brandon Lee’s “legacy.”  I quote these words specifically, because they’re other people’s words, not mine.  It actually, subtly, but respectfully, pays tribute and homage to the original movie, without copying it or trying to redo it. (One example: Many of Eric’s tattoos are symbols and references to the 1994 movie and the graphic novel)

The Crow (2024) begins with a dream sequence or dare I say, nightmare, that is narrated by Eric (Bill Skarsgard).  The use of the white horse and barbed wire politely references the graphic novel.  From here the tone of the movie is set.  Eric’s difficult past, which is implied during his dream, proves to be our first glimpse of the living nightmare he's entangled in and faces every day.  The score that plays during, the clever and artistic opening scene of Eric drenched in and emerging from a literal blood bath, continues to echo throughout the story and navigates right back to the opening dream and narration.  The simple addition of these haunting sounds serves as a reminder to the viewer where we came from and where we are headed with Eric’s story. 

As we advance to the first act, we are introduced to Shelly.  We are presented with glimpses of something wicked from her past that has come her way once again.  This leads Shelly to quick decision making in an effort to evade the consequences of a situation that she most certainly did not ask to be part of.  That backstory comes full circle later in the movie. Shelly also has two friends that are involved in this dark past and one of them made a foolish decision to attempt using a video as blackmail to escape the evil ring that they’ve become entangled in.   As expected, the ringleader discovers what has happened with the video and the friends must try to escape before it's too late.  The video is sent via text message by Shelly’s friend, Zadie, and instantly triggers a palpable fear because of the impending danger that she knows will result from its existence.  Shelly attempts to go to Zadie’s for more answers, but as she proceeds to her friend’s place, she realizes she is being followed.  She has to think fast and decides to make an abrupt move to garner attention from the police by purposely bumping into and dropping her purse filled with illegal substances.  It was a risky move, but by that point, she had no other option.  One of her friends doesn’t get so lucky and that’s how we are introduced to and get our first brief stare into the eyes of the evil mastermind Vincent Roeg (Danny Huston).  

This is a slower paced part of the story, but the details of these circumstances are necessary to propel this story and not only prove to be an escape route, but it gives us context of the vehicle that will bring a later aspect of the story to a screeching halt.  The significance of Shelly’s quick decision to resort to minimally involving the police has been called "contrived" but she very well couldn't tell law enforcement about the video.  Unlike her friends, she knows that is not an option and is a guaranteed death sentence (or worse).  A little later, the theme of trust becomes a crucial element to the story and helps us understand why some of these decisions are made.  Drugs and drug use play a very minimal role in this movie, but at this point in the story you see how it was necessarily incorporated in order for Eric and Shelly to meet.  

They both end up n the same recovery/rehab facility because of Shelly’s run-in with the police.  Eric is already admitted as a patient at the recovery center, which is nestled along the countryside.  He was admitted as result of presumed self-harm, possibly resulting from the PTSD inflicted from his traumatic childhood and upbringing.  One of the first moments in the facility that we see Eric is when he is being bullied by several other male patients.  This is another example of how the tone is so different than the 1994 movie and more like the graphic novel, this scene exemplifies Eric’s timid, reclusive nature and how non-confrontational he is.  Eric's inner pain and emptiness was brilliantly conveyed through Skarsgard’s insatiable talent.  The bullying and Eric's nature/demeanor might not seem important to the plot, but it is the foundation that later crumbles as Eric succumbs to further self-destruction and you watch as a non-aggressive, reclusive, unsociable, seemingly kindhearted young man as he metamorphosizes into something totally unfamiliar to what we knew of him at this point.  It was painful for me to watch and is an example of how trauma can completely and irrevocably change us.  His transition into the crow is hard to watch and it was very hard on my soul.  As painful as it was to watch at that moment, the end of the movie makes those scenes of more tragic, because even through all of that, he never gives up.  

Later in his room, Eric hears the footsteps and chatter of people approaching the walkway on his floor.  As he looks out his window, he observes a staff member escorting a newly admitted Shelly to her room.  Before she passes Eric’s door, the two make eye contact and catch a brief glimpse of one another.   That’s just it, too.  Energy and connection can happen so quickly and randomly.  Trauma bonding is a very real thing, no doubt, but beyond all of that, two individuals can still develop a deep and genuine love.  So, just like that, albeit two entirely different reasons, Eric and Shelly connect with that tiny glance. That’s truly all it takes is “just one look.”  Just like the bullying previously mentioned, this scene, too, becomes inherently more painful in the aftermath.  

During another encounter with Eric, Shelly discovers that he is being bullied and abused at the facility.  This is where she learns that underneath his quiet and shielded demeanor that he is actually quite a gifted writer and artist.  The original movie used spoken poetry and comic style dialogue, whereas Sander’s chose to use the poetry in a more relatable and realistic way – through Eric’s artistic creations.  Shelly suggests his work would make beautiful song sets and this conversation sparks even more of a connection.  Shelly manages to open Eric up a bit and penetrate the outer shell and he suggests to her that maybe they can make music together one day.  Shelly, being fairly guarded, tells him its possible, but they will have to see how they get along.  Their story managed to draw me in with every scene.  Watching Eric experience happiness for the first time was remarkably triggering for me, though.  I, too, was a child of trauma and abandonment, it was as though I could channel Eric's experiencing and feeling love for the very first time.  When Shelly placed her hand on Eric's scars, I believe their hearts synced.

Romantic moment between Eric and Shelly feels like a premonition of what's to come.

With slightly under a 2-hour runtime, we obviously only get snippets of their days/weeks together, but Sander’s did invest the first half of the movie allowing us to get to know them and it helps develop a convincing chemistry between these two.  Eric fell hard for Shelly and for someone who had never felt those things before, it was akin to a fresh new start for him.  He finally had something to hold on to and look forward to; he had hope.  The newfound hope makes Eric’s story so much more heartbreaking, because his happiness proves to be extremely short lived.  In the end, what is even more heartbreaking is watching helplessly as he keeps his promise to Shelly to love her harder when it becomes difficult to love her.  Just when things were getting really good for Eric, Shelly’s friend Dom shows up to tell her the news about Zadie and insists that they leave because it is not safe.  Eric's face goes back to a familiar form of confusion as he watches from across the room.  From here the descension back into a place of darkness begins and it makes the moment that Eric and Shelly shared on the bridge right before this, even more chilling. I get goosebumps thinking about it.   At this point in the story, I believe Shelly was going to share everything with Eric, but Vincent Roeg makes sure their fate doesn’t allow that conversation to happen.

The transitions in this movie are representative of the conflict Eric is facing in both his heart and mind.  The story evolves very slowly from one of love and hope to that of pain and despair.  It is dark.  Very dark.   We sense pretty early on what is inevitably coming, but you can’t help but hold on to the hope that Eric was going to be able to redirect his path and lay the tracks to the path that would defy all odd and save them. Instead, we watch the aftermath of a tragedy and follow the path of a young man as he is once again trapped in a state of confusion and loneliness. After losing the one person he was finally able to love and be loved by, Eric soon discovers that he has the ability to traverse between the living and the afterlife.  His soul is trapped, and he is given the gift of the crow which will allow him to go back to the living to make the wrong things right.  It takes a few tries, because he doesn't adapt to these changes too easily, but watching his metamorphosis was powerful.  By the time he fully transforms, nothing can stop him because he has one goal: He’s going to KILL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. A man is only as good as his word; he delivers. 

Through Sanders vision, he allowed us to watch Eric take baby steps to learn these otherworldly abilities and slowly begin to understand his new existence.  Sanders was able to create a visual purgatory that allows us a bird’s eye view as we watch Eric traverse between the afterlife and the land of the living.  The real beauty in these scenes is that they provide many beautiful nods and expositions to the graphic novel. This is a really cool concept born from the imagery of the trains and tracks in the graphic novel.  It's a profound concept for this purgatory to be in an old train station.  It's eerie when you think about it, because it's void of anything and the tracks lead to nowhere; There's nothing there, but here. The crows used for these scenes are captivating and this is definitely another detail Sanders didn't hold back on demonstrating his creative passion for this project. The visuals throughout this movie are remarkable, but I really love these scenes in the afterlife.  Everything was so well-done.

As Eric takes on his new form, he believes that he can rid the earth of these evil beings and reunite with his love. Afterall, that is what he was told by the man who is lingering in the afterlife and greeted him upon his arrival.  The man tells him that the only catch to being able to regain a life with Shelly is that his love must remain pure.  It isn’t until the previously unspoken details of Shelly’s past emerge that Eric begins to become doubtful of Shelly and starts having feelings of uncertainty. This doubt completely changes the trajectory of their story because after he discovers the actual truth, there is no turning back. 

Now, the full transformation into the crow begins.  Eric has a much complete understanding of the mission at hand, and this is where the movie became the most emotionally painful for me.  Beautifully orchestrated musical ensembles during two of Eric’s darkest hours pulled me even deeper into this story.  As Eric adorns his face with the makeup, I found myself sobbing to watch his once bright and shiny eyes turn dark and void of fear.  Enya Bodecea plays as he paints his face; his head and body move in a manner that is choreographed like a dark ballet. Tid bit: This is a beautiful nod to the graphic novel also. Eric engaged in ballet in the novel as implied by the illustrations.

From this moment on, the movie eloquently captures how Eric is now externalizing the internal pain he has been carrying his whole life.  This ballad of pain plays out so beautifully as he kills these evil people with his sword.  But make no mistake, the gratuitous violence is only surface level, the real satisfaction comes from Eric's determination to end Vincent's empire and save Shelly. These scenes caused me to involuntarily tense up and grit my teeth.  I could feel his intensity with each cut, stab, and swing of the blade.  The story continues to play out like a dark ballet and it’s truly a dance with the devil.  The trail and spatters of black blood Eric left behind was a nice visual touch. Before he heads to Vincent's manor, he detours to the bridge where he and Shelly shared the previously mentioned moment. Here he lays a bouquet of white lilies that he picked up before he left and is a tangible example of how the entire story connects from beginning to end.  Sanders leaves no loose ends.

In the end, once Eric is finally face to face with Vincent and he unleashes a rage filled ass whooping on Vincent driven by a lifetime of pain. The movie ends with another beautifully implemented reference to the graphic novel (the river of death).  Vincent is deservingly pulled down into the depths of The River of Death. (If you pay close attention when the camera pans out, you can see the eye of the crow in the water. I don’t know if this was intentional or not, but it is definitely there.)

In the end Eric lost everything, but somehow he still ended up having more than he started with. Love. 😭 

This story resonated so deep within my soul.  Not only is it my favorite dark romance, but it is also perched high as my favorite movie.

One day you are going to lose everything you have. Nothing will prepare you for that day. Not faith ... not religion... Nothing. When someone you love dies, you will know emptiness... you will know what it is to be completely and utterly alone. You will never forget and you will never ever forgive.