I’m somewhat bewildered over how outraged people have been over the latest version of The Crow (don’t call it a remake!). Many are calling it a stain on the legacy of the late, great Brandon Lee, who infamously was killed in an on-set tragedy, but by examining the franchise as a whole, it’s clear that as far as these things go, the franchise has been exploited to death. There have been no less than five Crow movies at this point, and guess what? We’re going to rank them all! That said, as far as our Crow movies ranked list goes, they’re all varying degrees of bad outside the first movie and the new version, which isn’t half bad.
Dishonourable Mention – The Crow: Stairway to Heaven
- Ranking Position: Dishonourable Mention
- Primary Strength: Mark Dacascos brings physical charisma to Eric Draven
- Biggest Weakness: Low-budget television production values dilute the gothic atmosphere
- Standout Element: The attempt to expand The Crow mythology into serialized storytelling
- Why It Works: Dacascos captures some of the tragic romanticism associated with the character
- Why It Doesn’t: The format strips away the visual intensity and melancholy style that defined the original film
- Franchise Impact: A short-lived attempt to turn The Crow into a franchise-friendly TV property
- Cult Reputation: Curiosity piece for diehard fans
Yes, ladies and germs, they once made a TV version of The Crow, and it was abysmal. You can find out everything you need to know about the show in the video embedded above, but suffice it to say virtually every successful genre movie got a bad TV version made in Canada in the nineties. There was Poltergeist: The Series, F/X: The Series, Highlander: The Series (actually, that one wasn’t so bad) and The Crow: Stairway to Heaven. Despite starring the great Mark Dacascos and earning surprisingly OK reviews, this show only lasted a single season of twenty-two episodes before the version of Eric Draven was allowed to rest in peace.
The Crow: Wicked Prayer
- Ranking Position: #5
- Primary Strength: David Boreanaz’s wildly over-the-top villain performance
- Biggest Weakness: Tonal inconsistency and an unconvincing lead transformation
- Standout Element: The bizarre pseudo-spaghetti western atmosphere
- Why It Works: The movie occasionally embraces comic-book absurdity in entertaining ways
- Why It Doesn’t: Edward Furlong never feels physically or emotionally believable as The Crow
- Visual Style: Desert-gothic exploitation aesthetic
- Franchise Impact: Often viewed as the franchise’s creative low point
- Cult Reputation: “So bad it’s fascinating” sequel territory
Some of you may be scratching your heads over this title, as the fourth Crow sequel barely got any release before being dumped to video. But, in 2005, The Weinstein Brothers resurrected the series through their Dimension Films label, basing the new movie on a graphic novel by Norman Partridge. With cult director Lance Mungia of Six String Samurai at the helm, the hope might have been that this scrappy sequel would win back fans of the original, but it was not meant to be. While star Edward Furlong does a fine job in the early scenes of Wicked Prayer, once he rises from the dead and becomes The Crow, he comes off as slight and laughable, and Mungia’s pseudo-spaghetti western tone feels less like Sergio Leone and more like a (bad) Robert Rodriguez riff. At least David Boreanaz is around to have a whale of a time as the movie’s villain, Luc Crash (his lover, played by Tara Reid, is named Byrne – get it – Crash & Burn?), and Dennis Hopper plays a satanic priest named – and I’m not making this up – El Niño.
The Crow: Salvation
- Ranking Position: #4
- Primary Strength: Eric Mabius gives the antihero a more mischievous personality
- Biggest Weakness: Dated filmmaking trends and uneven execution
- Standout Element: The darker, prankster-like interpretation of Eric Draven
- Why It Works: The movie tries to move away from simple imitation and explore a slightly different tone
- Why It Doesn’t: Early-2000s stylistic clichés and direct-to-video energy undermine the atmosphere
- Visual Style: Post-Matrix industrial gothic
- Franchise Impact: Marked the point where the franchise fully shifted into DTV territory
- Cult Reputation: Mildly appreciated by some fans for trying new ideas
Unlike Wicked Prayer, this was always intended to be a major theatrical release. But, in this era, The Weinstein Bros had a habit of shelving movies indefinitely or releasing them direct-to-video if test screenings weren’t good. This went the DTV route, and the director, Bharat Nalluri, didn’t direct another movie for eight years, later reinventing himself as a director of prestige fare such as Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day and The Man Who Invented Christmas. As such, this is a pretty bad entry into the franchise, with some laughably dated aspects, such as a bad riff on The Matrix’s bullet time, which was all the rage in 2000. But Eric Mabius delivers a decent take on the titular character, with him more of a demonic prankster than a heroic avenger. Plus, there’s Kirsten Dunst in an early role I’m sure she’d love to forget.
The Crow: City of Angels
- Ranking Position: #3
- Primary Strength: Striking visual palette and ambitious atmosphere
- Biggest Weakness: Heavy studio interference damaged the narrative
- Standout Element: Tim Pope’s dreamlike yellow-and-fire visual design
- Why It Works: The movie attempts to avoid simply recreating the first film beat-for-beat
- Why It Doesn’t: The truncated theatrical cut feels incomplete and emotionally disconnected
- Visual Style: Expressionistic industrial gothic
- Franchise Impact: Became infamous for studio meddling and lost-director-cut discussions
- Cult Reputation: Frequently reassessed as an ambitious but compromised sequel
Like all the other sequels, this one went through a tortured post-production process, with Harvey “Scissorhands” Weinstein having director Tim Pope’s film cut down to a mere eighty-four minutes. Pope went on record saying that he tried to make a sequel unlike the first movie, only for the Weinstein Bros to change the approach at the eleventh hour, resulting in a disastrous theatrical version that ended a few careers. After this, star Vincent Perez gave up on a Hollywood career, returning to France, where he remained a big star. Like the other movies, though, it does have some good elements, such as the yellow-coloured visual palette, a cool performance by Iggy Pop as one of the villains, and a killer soundtrack. Maybe one day, Pope can reconstruct his original version of the film.
The Crow (2024)
- Ranking Position: #2
- Primary Strength: Bill Skarsgård and Danny Huston commit fully to the material
- Biggest Weakness: Uneven pacing and underdeveloped story structure
- Standout Element: A more brutal and emotionally damaged interpretation of Eric
- Why It Works: The reboot embraces a harsher emotional tone and avoids directly imitating Brandon Lee’s iconic performance, allowing the movie to establish its own identity
- Why It Doesn’t: The narrative occasionally struggles to balance romance, mythology, and revenge-fantasy spectacle
- Visual Style: Modern neo-gothic noir
- Franchise Impact: Revived debate over whether The Crow should continue as a franchise at all
- Cult Reputation: Divisive but more respectable than many expected
While fans have been sharpening their knives ever since Bill Skarsgard’s look as the title character was revealed, it’s really not that bad. Were it not for the terrible pacing and lacklustre story beats, I think fans would react more positively to this new take on the character, with Skarsgard and villain Danny Huston delivering memorable performances.
The Crow (1994)
- Ranking Position: #1
- Primary Strength: Brandon Lee’s iconic performance and Alex Proyas’s visual direction
- Biggest Weakness: Some supporting performances and comic-book dialogue feel dated today
- Standout Element: Brandon Lee’s emotionally raw portrayal of Eric Draven
- Why It Works: The movie combines grief, revenge, romance, industrial-goth aesthetics, and tragic mythmaking into a uniquely emotional comic-book adaptation
- Why It Doesn’t: Its highly stylized approach may feel melodramatic to viewers unfamiliar with 1990s gothic culture
- Visual Style: Rain-soaked industrial gothic noir
- Franchise Impact: Became one of the defining cult films of the 1990s
- Cult Reputation: Widely regarded as the only truly essential Crow film
Of course, the only movie on this list I’d actually say is legitimately good is Alex Proyas’s original. Fun fact: I was a goth kid many years ago, and we all wanted to look exactly like Brandon Lee in this movie. While the fact that he died is an unimaginable tragedy, his legacy lives on like someone like James Dean or Heath Ledger does, as he’ll always be frozen in time as the romantic avenger Eric Draven. Alex Proyas directed a gorgeous movie with one of the best soundtracks of all time (The Cure’s ‘Burn’ is a particular favourite), plus Michael Wincott played one of the most memorable evil villains of the ’90s, Top Dollar. If you love this movie, and I doubt you’d be reading this column if you don’t, you owe it to yourself to check out the gorgeous new 4K disc from Paramount.
FAQ
Why is The Crow (1994) considered a cult classic?
The original film blends gothic romance, revenge tragedy, comic-book stylization, and a legendary soundtrack into a visually distinctive movie anchored by Brandon Lee’s unforgettable final performance.
Why was Brandon Lee’s death so significant to the franchise?
Brandon Lee was tragically killed in an on-set accident during production of The Crow (1994), permanently shaping the movie’s legacy and making future sequels especially controversial among fans.
Is The Crow (2024) a remake?
The new film is generally described as a new adaptation of James O’Barr’s graphic novel rather than a direct remake of the 1994 movie.
Why are most Crow sequels poorly regarded?
Many of the sequels struggled with low budgets, studio interference, direct-to-video releases, or attempts to recreate the emotional impact of the original without Brandon Lee’s presence.
What makes The Crow visually unique?
The franchise is known for gothic imagery, rain-soaked urban settings, industrial-rock aesthetics, stylized violence, and themes of grief, loss, and revenge.
Which Crow sequel is most divisive?
The Crow: City of Angels has developed a strong cult following over time because many fans believe director Tim Pope’s original vision was compromised by studio editing.
Is The Crow more superhero movie or horror movie?
The series blends multiple genres, combining supernatural horror, gothic romance, revenge thriller elements, and comic-book mythology.
| Film | Tone | Visual Style | Revenge Factor | Gothic Atmosphere |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Crow (1994) | Tragic romantic revenge | Industrial gothic noir | 10/10 | 10/10 |
| The Crow (2024) | Brutal emotional revenge | Neo-gothic noir | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| The Crow: City of Angels | Dreamlike gothic tragedy | Expressionistic neon gothic | 7/10 | 9/10 |
| The Crow: Salvation | Dark revenge thriller | Post-Matrix industrial | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| The Crow: Wicked Prayer | Gothic western chaos | Desert-goth exploitation | 5/10 | 5/10 |
| Stairway to Heaven | Serialized supernatural drama | Network-TV gothic | 4/10 | 4/10 |
How would you rank The Crow movies? Let us know in the comments!
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