Every once in a while, that one single remake, reboot, or sequel entry of a successful, beloved movie gets released, which absolutely destroys the legacy of the original by becoming a failure of such proportions that it becomes hard to even comprehend what the thought process was behind coming up with something so ludicrous. The Crow (2024), starring Bill Skarsgård, a remake of the late Brandon Lee starring cult classic The Crow (1994), is such a movie, which is so bad we are having a tough time finding any silver lining whatsoever. The buzz surrounding the movie was rather negative from the very beginning, but nothing could have prepared us for the dumpster fire of a movie this one turned out to be. There is no sense of coherence in the plot, no effort put into making the characters likable, or even relatable, stylization gone down the drain, and the less we talk about the creative decisions, the better. Fans of the original movie will definitely consider it strange how the creator of the original comic series, James O’Barr, approved of this adaptation, which ultimately stained the appeal of his creation forever.
Spoilers Ahead
Why were Shelly and Eric Killed?
The basic premise of any and every adaptation of The Crow is pretty simple: a dying person witnesses the death of their loved one, brought about through some tragic, horrible act of injustice, and the ancient spirit of the Crow brings them back to life to help them seek justice and put their soul to rest before passing to the afterlife. The latest entry in the franchise fails to even adhere to this basic narrative structure.
The movie opens with a young Eric witnessing the unfortunate, brutal death of a horse outside their family home. Eric had a rough childhood thanks to his addict mother, and after meeting death up close at a young age, his psyche went into a downward spiral. Taking up the vices of his mother, a grown-up Eric has turned out to be an addict as well—and at present, is spending his days in a rehabilitation center. The narrative focus shifts to Shelly, an up-and-coming musician, who receives a video from her friend, Zadie, which reveals Shelly’s patron, a kingpin named Vincent Roeg, committing something sinister enough (not shown just yet) to get him detained. Zadie gets captured by Marion, Roeg’s chief enforcer, who uncovers Shelly’s involvement as well. Realizing what could have happened with Zadie, Shelly fears for her life and decides to flee, only to realize she is already being pursued. Out of options, Shelly makes a desperate move and gets herself arrested for drug possession.
Zadie is brought to Roeg, who is revealed to have the power to command others through his voice. Roeg had made a deal with the Devil and gained such ability in exchange for sending souls to hell, something he has been doing for over two centuries. Following Roeg’s command, Zadie takes her own life, and Roeg asks Marion to track down Shelly, whom he wishes to subject to a similar fate. Meanwhile, Shelly gets sent to the rehab center, where Eric is admitted. After getting acquainted with each other, the duo find common ground in their troubled past, and as Shelly gets frightened seeing Marion arriving at the rehab searching for her, Eric decides to help her escape the facility. Fleeing from the rehab, the duo quickly hit it off, fall in mad love, and start spending a hedonistic life together, being inexplicably unmindful of the danger that awaits them. Shelly occasionally tries to bring up her past wounds, but Eric is too smitten with her to care about that. Eventually, Marion and Roeg’s other henchmen track down Shelly and kill her right in front of a dying Eric, who was killed by Roeg’s henchmen as well.
How Did Eric Return to Life?
Following his death, Eric arrives at a limbo space— somewhere between life and death, fashioned like an abandoned rail yard. There, he meets with a strange guide, Kronos, who reveals to him the legend of the Crow—that those who get wronged at the moment of their passing and cannot pass over due to their soul never finding much needed solace are guided by the spirit of the Crow to attain justice. Kronos states that, likewise, Eric will be guided by the spirit, but caught in disbelief, Eric refuses to accept his words and gets sent back to the physical realm as he is resurrected. Getting attacked by a corrupt cop on Roeg’s payroll, Eric finds out that he now possesses the ability to heal himself, and after killing the cop in self-defense, Eric manages to return to the limbo by falling into water. This time, Kronos reveals to him that Shelly has been sent to hell, and Eric can get her back if he manages to kill Roeg, who is responsible for their tragic fate. Kronos further mentions that Eric will retain his powers for as long as the purity of his love for Shelly remains untainted. Eric prepares himself to exact vengeance upon the ones responsible for Shelly’s death, and Kronos sends him back to the mortal plane.
Eric meets with Sophia, Shelly’s socialite mother, whom he had noticed arriving at the rehab center along with Marion, and in order to get intel about Roeg and his lackeys, Eric questions her about her involvement in the affair. Too fearful about Roeg’s influence and traumatized by the death of her daughter, Sophia is unable to help Eric, and he goes off on his own to investigate Shelly’s past. Eventually, Eric kills a couple of Roeg’s henchmen, which brings Roeg to Sophia, and it is revealed that Sophia had bargained an affluent lifestyle from Roeg in exchange for her daughter’s soul. Roeg interrogates Sophia about Eric, and upon finding nothing substantial in her answers, uses his power to command Sophia to kill herself.
Did Eric Finally Reunite With Sophia?
While looking for clues about the main culprit in Shelly’s belongings, Eric finds a video on her phone that reveals that Roeg had used his powers to make Shelly kill someone. Being unaware about Roeg’s powers, Eric becomes wary of Shelly’s past, and doubt starts to creep into his mind. Roeg’s thugs track him down and manage to kill him again, as Eric has lost his powers after his love for Shelly is put into question. Eric returns to limbo, and Kronos asks him to accept his fate as he passes over, while Shelly’s soul remains in hell. Desperate to get a second chance to save her, Eric pleads with Kronos to trade his soul for Shelly’s and send him back to life. Kronos agrees to this proposal, and imbuing the strength of the spirit of the Crow in him, sends Eric back to life.
During the ending of The Crow 2024, Eric begins his quest for vengeance and slaughters Roeg’s henchmen, who had killed him a second time. Fashioning himself in an edgy, neo-gothic outlook, Eric sets out to nab the head honcho and tracks down Marion and the rest of Roeg’s crew at an opera. With vengeful fury, Eric butchers all of them and learns about Roeg’s present location from Marion before decapitating her. As Eric tracks down Roeg at his residence, the kingpin tries to take his powers by making a blood pact, only for Eric to bring him to the limbo, where demonic monstrosities entrap Roeg and take him to hell.
With Roeg gone, Shelly’s soul returns from hell and reunites with Eric’s spirit. However, she gets disheartened after learning that their reunion is brief, as according to the deal Eric made with Kronos about the trade of souls, Eric has to linger in hell while Shelly gets to return to her life once again. Proving his love for Shelly, Eric bids her farewell as Shelly returns to the mortal plane—back to the moment when she had died in the first place. A distraught Shelly sees a lifeless Eric lying beside her, and Kronos, in the form of a medic, reassures her. In the limbo, Eric remains hopeful about meeting with Shelly once again; until then, the memories of the time spent with her will sustain his troubled spirit. Although seemingly there were plans to make a sequel to this reboot entry, we are fairly positive from the reception of this movie that they have been scrapped with haste.
