WEBVTT 1 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:23.600 Sid Girl, dasy scart sleep Si, No, I don't have 2 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:27.480 to do. 3 00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:33.920 Don't the shadows braining with them? 4 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:43.920 I got speak six spades, got me a ship seling. 5 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:57.439 Bad sail side, most shoes chist. 6 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:02.880 Welcome back, midnight viewers to Father Malone's a weekly round up. 7 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:06.560 I'm Father Malone and beside me in white face paint. 8 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:08.879 That's right. In order to go goth, a black pug 9 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:13.879 needs the Krylon White liberally applied. This tiny goth sitting 10 00:01:13.879 --> 00:01:16.079 next to me is ripley. Say hi to the folks. 11 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:16.359 Rip. 12 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:19.719 That's the great thing about that song. It'll never not 13 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:24.680 be true. Bello Legosi is dead, she's gothed up. I'm 14 00:01:24.760 --> 00:01:28.239 quoting Bauhaus. Could it be Oh god, no, it's a 15 00:01:28.280 --> 00:01:34.120 themed episode. Run or stick around? Or actually you should 16 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:38.840 perch on a tombstone, on a power line, on a 17 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:42.840 muscly shoulder. That's right. You've been chosen to be a crow. 18 00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:47.000 The satellite of Love needs you. No, not that crow. 19 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:49.480 We're talking about the comic. We're talking about the nineteen 20 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:53.000 ninety four flick, and we're talking about the newly released remake, 21 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:57.599 reimagining adaptation that's in theaters now. It's got penny Wise 22 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:01.040 horror Fiends. This is a series of films and its 23 00:02:01.079 --> 00:02:05.920 inspiration that are positively drenched in tragedy. The Crow started 24 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:09.240 out as a comic series on the Caliber label. They 25 00:02:09.240 --> 00:02:12.159 were all written and drawn by the excellently named James O. 26 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:12.520 Bar. 27 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:17.199 Not so excellent was the inspiration. The Crow was born 28 00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:21.000 out of Obar's grief and rage following his fiance's death 29 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:24.960 by a drunk driver. But he didn't take that misery 30 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:28.840 and paint sunflowers like van go Van Goch then Goff. 31 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:32.400 I don't know anyway. He didn't do that. He created 32 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:36.960 an undead avenger and a psychopomp who guides him. Now, look, 33 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:40.199 we all love the Brandon Lee film. There's something wrong 34 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:42.319 with you if you don't like that film, and we'll 35 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:44.680 get there. But as a comic book reader, let's take 36 00:02:44.680 --> 00:02:47.479 a look at the source material. I find little things 37 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:50.680 like antecedents to be important, especially when there seems to 38 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:53.159 be a whole fan base who've decided anything other than 39 00:02:53.159 --> 00:02:56.719 that Brandon Lee movie simply will not do when it 40 00:02:56.759 --> 00:02:59.800 comes to interpreting these comics. And we're going to get 41 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:02.680 there too. The comic was a four issue series came 42 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:05.759 out in nineteen eighty nine, and it is about an 43 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:10.080 auto mechanic, not a musician, named Eric, no last name. 44 00:03:10.520 --> 00:03:13.639 He returns from the dead a year later, we're told, 45 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:16.719 and he immediately sets out hunting down criminals, pumping them 46 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:20.280 for information and then dispatching them in brutal and not 47 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:21.439 really outlandish at all. 48 00:03:21.479 --> 00:03:21.840 Ways. 49 00:03:22.639 --> 00:03:25.400 It's the plot of every iteration of the Crow, even 50 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:28.000 in the movies and in the comic books. But the 51 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:30.879 differences between the ninety four film in the first comic series. 52 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:34.360 While the plot's the same, it's Detroit. The villains are 53 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:37.240 the same, although they've swapped top Dollar and t Bird 54 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:40.719 in the film. But these are street thugs. They are 55 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:43.919 barely above a gang. There's nothing brand going on in here. 56 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:46.599 There's no plot to evict tenants that make Eric and 57 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:49.199 Shelley at target. There's no club where they don't have 58 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:52.080 to take you away. No, they don't have to take 59 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:56.199 you away. All breaks two cops. Sarah the little girl 60 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:59.560 who narrates the film. She's in one scene in the comic. 61 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:02.039 You know how a movie is usually like a strip 62 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:04.479 to the bone version of a novel. The comic is 63 00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:06.759 like a strip to the bone version of the movie. 64 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:10.759 And it's told in this maddening flashback structure where it 65 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:14.000 isn't revealed until the end that Eric in Shelley's car 66 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:17.920 breaks down and there happened upon by T Bird's gang. 67 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:21.879 It's all totally random. Also, the Crow in the comic 68 00:04:21.959 --> 00:04:24.439 is not the source of his power. It's nothing but 69 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:27.680 a guide. It in fact speaks to him, something none 70 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:30.639 of the films have ever attempted, which is weird because 71 00:04:30.680 --> 00:04:33.399 every film ends up employing a narrator or some sort 72 00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:36.079 of audience proxy so we can find our way through 73 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:40.000 that universe if only the original comic had a solution 74 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:43.000 to that. But which character in the Crow could be 75 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:46.560 counted on for that sort of thing? Oh yeah, And 76 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:48.920 in the comic, the Crow, like I said, he can 77 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:51.959 talk to Eric, and he's kind of a dick. He's 78 00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:55.600 constantly chiding him that he's wasting time with his memories 79 00:04:55.639 --> 00:04:58.800 of Shelley. Oh, it's a fun relationship. And oh at 80 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:02.040 the end, there's no fancy supernatural twist when it comes 81 00:05:02.040 --> 00:05:05.360 to dispatching T Bird. Eric doesn't pour the pain that 82 00:05:05.399 --> 00:05:08.279 Shelley endured for thirty six hours in intensive care into 83 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:11.160 the villain. In the book, Shelley dies on the scene, 84 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:13.519 and it's Eric who clings to life before dying and 85 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:18.000 joining her here. The finale is t Bird crashes his 86 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:21.759 car trying to elude Eric, and then Eric walks up 87 00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:24.000 with a hammer and bashes his skull in. It's that 88 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:27.399 kind of comic. It is a less nuanced punisher. If 89 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:29.600 I'm being totally honest about the comic books, it's the 90 00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:32.680 later stuff than I found interesting. That's when the Crow 91 00:05:32.759 --> 00:05:36.040 would assume many different forms. It's not just Eric, it's 92 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:39.600 different figures through history, like there's a cowboy who is 93 00:05:39.639 --> 00:05:42.360 resurrected after one hundred years to settle up with the 94 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:45.279 descendants of his murderers. That one's actually a favorite. But 95 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:49.439 the entire series is hamstrung by its premise because it's 96 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:52.879 always revenge. It's always the Crow leads somebody back to 97 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:55.879 murder the people who murdered him. Basically, though, I will 98 00:05:55.879 --> 00:05:58.279 say o Bar became a lot more adapt with his 99 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:01.480 artwork as the comic continued. I loved how grubby the 100 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:03.319 first run of it was when I read it, but 101 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:07.519 I'm glad he's improved. It is an angry book, and 102 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:10.399 I hope it helped mister Obar exercise some of his demons. 103 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:14.639 Me I loved those books, as did a cyberpunk author 104 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:18.800 John Shirley and producer Jeff Most, who were the once 105 00:06:18.839 --> 00:06:22.120 who wrote the initial drafts of the script for The 106 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:25.040 Crow together, though only Shirley is credited due to a 107 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:28.879 WGA rule against producers taking a credit. That's a pre 108 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:31.560 nineteen ninety five rule. No producer could take a writing 109 00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:35.680 credit where their script would be rewritten by splatterpunk author 110 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:38.839 David Scow, who brought the supernatural more to the forefront 111 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:41.560 and sharpened a lot of the dialogue. And that pretty 112 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:45.240 much brings us to nineteen ninety four starring Brandon Lee. 113 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:46.279 The Crow. 114 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:50.920 People once believed that when a soul can't rest, a 115 00:06:51.079 --> 00:06:54.160 crow can carry it back from the dead to seek 116 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:55.959 justice and put. 117 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:57.000 The wrong things right. 118 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:06.319 In the thirteen, It's a good day to be a 119 00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:13.360 bad guy, raged Lee, the Crow rigguedar. 120 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:18.959 Now the name that screams to mind when talking about 121 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:22.120 The Crow is Brandon Lee, which is only appropriate. His 122 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:26.800 death was a preventable tragedy that seems somehow to keep happening. Nevertheless, 123 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:30.160 this is his film. But I would argue there are 124 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:32.959 a couple of other names you ought to be considering 125 00:07:33.399 --> 00:07:39.040 Alex Proyus, Alex McDowell, Ariann Phillips, and Jolene Cherry, because 126 00:07:39.160 --> 00:07:41.600 those four look a lot of other people worked on 127 00:07:41.639 --> 00:07:43.519 the movie. No film is made in a vacuum. But 128 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:47.680 those four are responsible not only for your continued love 129 00:07:47.720 --> 00:07:50.079 of the Crow, but I dare say that the current 130 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:53.680 state of goth culture begins with these four. I know 131 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:56.560 Lydia Deeds and Tim Burton are obviously huge accomplices in 132 00:07:56.600 --> 00:08:00.680 the subcultural explosion. But Alex Proyus, the director, al McDowell, 133 00:08:00.759 --> 00:08:04.920 the production designer, Arian Phillips costume designer, and Joelne Cherry 134 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:10.519 the music supervisor. These four, those sets, those models, those outfits, 135 00:08:10.680 --> 00:08:14.800 that look, those sounds. Troyes turns this film into a 136 00:08:14.839 --> 00:08:18.759 comic book in ways the comic book couldn't. Detroit and 137 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:21.879 the Crow is a dream world. It's burned out architecture, 138 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:26.680 burning architecture, every street is wet, every shadow is everything 139 00:08:26.759 --> 00:08:32.279 is big, outsized. The crimes, the criminals, oh and such criminals. 140 00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:34.360 I knew I was gonna like this movie once a 141 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:37.480 Caesar cutted cigar chomp and David Patrick Kelly showed up. 142 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:39.519 But I knew I was gonna love the movie. When 143 00:08:39.559 --> 00:08:43.240 Michael Wincott in a Crystal Gale wig arrived, Good Lord. 144 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:45.399 They say, your hero is only as good as your villains. 145 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:49.679 Our hero ought to be fucking awesome, and he is. 146 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:52.440 In the comic Eric is just unable to die. He 147 00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:56.240 has no special skill beyond that. Eric Draven is a 148 00:08:56.320 --> 00:09:00.279 martial art zombie. And watching Brandon Lee decimate room full 149 00:09:00.279 --> 00:09:04.600 of goons is breathtaking. Brandon Lee jumping from rooftop to 150 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:08.240 rooftop is breathtaking. Hell, Brandon Lee laying in a dumpster 151 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:12.759 in the rain is breathtaking. It's a goddamn shame, but 152 00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:17.159 goddamn it, the performance and this film continue to live on. 153 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:19.840 In nineteen ninety four, when this movie came out, I 154 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:22.600 was living in Los Angeles. I saw it opening night 155 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:26.639 in Westwood, California, at the Man National. They tore that 156 00:09:26.679 --> 00:09:29.320 theater down in two thousand and eight, which is a drag. 157 00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:33.399 It was a massive, one screen with eleven hundred seats. Beautiful. 158 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:38.240 I saw Bram Stoker's Dracula their opening day first show. Anyway, 159 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:41.600 I'm waiting in the queue and there's a protester moving 160 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:45.320 down the line of moviegoers, handing out flyers telling us 161 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:48.559 how horrible we were for supporting the murderers of Brandon Lee. 162 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:51.159 And I said to the guy, I've seen interviews with 163 00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:54.480 Brandon Lee about this film, and he was fucking stoked, 164 00:09:55.279 --> 00:09:58.759 and you'd prefer no one ever to see it. This film. 165 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:02.200 He literally died making this testament. I shouldn't go in 166 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:06.120 there and honor him. He just moved away. I wonder 167 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:08.919 sometimes if that was the right thing to say, or 168 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:11.559 if I was complicit in supporting an industry that is 169 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:16.679 too cavalier with its workers' safety. I don't know. My 170 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:20.080 other brush with the Crow involved this soundtrack. I'm not 171 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:23.919 talking about that phenomenal fucking mixtape that became everyone's soundtrack 172 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:26.600 the summer of nineteen ninety four. No, I'm talking about 173 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:30.240 the score by Graham Ravel. My friend Ramone was a 174 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:32.759 sound engineer and it was his jump to burn the 175 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:35.360 final master for the CD score for the film. It 176 00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:39.000 came in these chlorophylled discs, the CDs that were all 177 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:41.399 green from chlorophyll, and you have to watch the laser 178 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:43.799 burn it and it was amazing. Actually, in order to 179 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:46.759 do this mastering, whatever the hell they were doing, you'd 180 00:10:46.759 --> 00:10:49.639 have to actually sit and listen to the tracks in 181 00:10:49.720 --> 00:10:53.240 real time. He invited me to go listen, and god damn, 182 00:10:53.240 --> 00:10:56.159 what an experience. That score has some high melodrama in spots, 183 00:10:56.240 --> 00:11:00.360 but the Middle Eastern strings and percussion are sweet, and 184 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:04.320 the darker portions of it are pretty remarkable. Speaking of remarkable, 185 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:07.480 I mentioned the cast. There's a lot of great performances here, 186 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:10.559 but I'm gonna mention him again, David Patrick Kelly. He 187 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:13.639 plays t Bird in the movie. I'm talking about him 188 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:16.720 again because there are simply not enough performances by this 189 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:17.879 man here. He is in the. 190 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:19.840 Film What what are you talking about? 191 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:21.360 No? No, no, no, no. 192 00:11:21.559 --> 00:11:24.720 You mean that place downtown? Yeah, I remember her. We 193 00:11:24.759 --> 00:11:26.759 needed to put some fear into that little lady. She 194 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:30.320 wasn't going along with our tenant relocation program. The Idiot 195 00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:33.559 Boyfriend shows turns a simple sweep and clear into a 196 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:35.080 total cluster fuck. 197 00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:36.360 Who gives a shit? 198 00:11:36.679 --> 00:11:39.679 Agent history? Why what do you watch? 199 00:11:40.039 --> 00:11:42.960 What is it? What? Sweet to me speak? 200 00:11:43.159 --> 00:11:47.000 The keen eyed viewers will recognize him from the Warriors. 201 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:51.919 Come to Play? 202 00:11:52.679 --> 00:11:53.480 How about Commando? 203 00:11:53.799 --> 00:11:54.399 Remember Sally? 204 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:56.440 When I promised to kill your last That's what. 205 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:00.200 I lie. 206 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:04.039 He's also my favorite part of Twin Peaks and Twin 207 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:08.200 Peaks the return. Go get your own clip. Anyway, I 208 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:10.679 just wanted to say, David Patrick Kelly is awesome. I 209 00:12:10.679 --> 00:12:13.159 also wanted to remind you that your kids are all 210 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:16.679 goths because of The Crow. Those are two different thoughts, 211 00:12:16.679 --> 00:12:19.080 but they're both true. Are you ready to move on? 212 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:20.080 Oh? 213 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:22.360 Fuck, yeah, that's right. The other thing I wanted to 214 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:25.159 mention was the model work in The Crow. It is 215 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:28.720 practical and it is spectacular. There is an entire car 216 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:31.799 chase in this film that I'll say is eighty five 217 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:35.919 percent models. It's amazing. Less so are all the dodgy 218 00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:38.919 composite shots. So I'm not even talking about the wildly 219 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:42.919 sketchy and wildly unnecessary shots of Brandon Lee that they've 220 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:47.279 inserted into the loft scene when he's returning from the opening. 221 00:12:47.720 --> 00:12:50.600 I'm talking about all the fire effects on Devil's Night, 222 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:54.200 Oh man, I'm talking about that horrible shot of Skang 223 00:12:54.279 --> 00:12:57.559 falling out of the club. I'd say they didn't age well, 224 00:12:57.600 --> 00:12:59.159 but I was there and I saw them on the 225 00:12:59.159 --> 00:13:04.320 big screen. They were unacceptable then, but everything else was 226 00:13:04.360 --> 00:13:08.320 so goddamn cool that you didn't care. I care now. 227 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:11.879 But the practical stuff is still so disarming. It's like 228 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:16.240 Wes Anderson's The Crow. Oh we can move on now, Okay, cool, 229 00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:21.399 So let's go ready, The Crow City of Angels. All Right, 230 00:13:21.480 --> 00:13:24.600 I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Jeez. That movie would 231 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:28.120 be acceptable if the first one didn't exist, sincerely, because 232 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:31.080 it's just the same goddamn movie, you know what. Actually, 233 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:33.279 I want to mention two things about that film. I 234 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:36.480 think it's really well directed by Tim Pope, the Cures 235 00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:39.799 longtime videographer. By that, I mean he made all of 236 00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:41.879 their music videos, not that he followed them around with 237 00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:44.960 a video camera. He made a brilliant choice in that film, 238 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:47.240 which is he made it a world without a moon. 239 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:50.840 That entire film basically takes place at night in it's 240 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:55.360 all sodium arc lamps creating artificial moonlight. I love it. 241 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:57.720 The other thing is Iggy Pop is in the film. 242 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:01.360 That's because scheduling prevented him from staring in the first Crow. 243 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:04.759 He was supposed to be fun Boy. That's the part 244 00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:08.840 Michael Massey played. It was that character's gun that fatally 245 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:13.399 wounded Brandon Lee. In another universe, Iggy Pop killed Brandon Lee. Wait, 246 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:16.720 that was two, So actually I have three three things 247 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:20.360 I want to mention. I almost laugh. I almost laughed, 248 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:22.120 like the count there, I'm not going to do that, Okay. 249 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:26.080 This film also has some fucking awesome model work, particularly 250 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:29.440 the city scape in the opening scene The Crow. It's 251 00:14:29.480 --> 00:14:32.159 the Crow's point of view. It flies past a Jesus 252 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:34.960 Save sign where a clutch of the neon letters are 253 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:38.600 burned out, so it reads save us. Look, maybe I'm 254 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:41.440 easily impressed, but I thought that was super fucking cool 255 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:45.720 to have an entire city pleading via a misappropriated religious ad. 256 00:14:45.840 --> 00:14:48.519 It foretold a level of greatness that the rest of 257 00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:50.639 the film could not live up to. But wait, you 258 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:53.519 know what, there are more sequels? No, there aren't. How 259 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:56.399 about that TV show? What the fuck are you talking about? 260 00:14:56.639 --> 00:14:59.559 To date, in my opinion, there have only been two 261 00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:03.240 other cinematic incarnations of The Crow, City of Angels and 262 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:07.159 the current remake. Once again, this is the Crow. 263 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:10.600 What's the first thing you liked about me? 264 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:17.759 I know that you are quite brilliantly broken. You tree 265 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:21.559 like my person, you feel like my pass. 266 00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:24.679 What's the worst thing you've ever done? 267 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:38.840 I saw things I shouldn't have seen. Any of it 268 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:53.840 When someone dies, a crow carry that soul. 269 00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:54.720 To the land of the dead. 270 00:15:56.320 --> 00:16:02.559 But sometimes something so bad happens that the soul cannot 271 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:12.600 rest until you put the wrong things right. You were 272 00:16:12.679 --> 00:16:20.519 given the power of a god. 273 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:20.879 But you're running out of time to save her. 274 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:30.639 I'm gonna kill have you single one of them? 275 00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:32.840 I've killed you? Yeah, you did. 276 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:36.639 We have a problem. 277 00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:37.679 He came first. 278 00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:45.080 First and pulse bar. 279 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:51.960 It's not anger, it's love. 280 00:16:57.840 --> 00:16:58.720 What you becoming? 281 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:10.359 You don't all the love problems is only patty. You 282 00:17:10.440 --> 00:17:11.000 have no idea? 283 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:12.200 Hell await, excuse. 284 00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:15.599 No, I do? 285 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:24.920 How many people I'll never be along? 286 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:33.039 Remember at the start of the program when I was 287 00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:35.039 telling you all about the original comic and how the 288 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:38.599 film that we know and love differs so wildly from it. 289 00:17:38.599 --> 00:17:40.799 It's not as severe as the differences between the Thing 290 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:43.279 from another World and who goes there, the short story 291 00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:45.079 that it's based on. And I'm not saying that this 292 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:47.920 Crow remake is an analog for John Carpenter's The Thing 293 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:50.319 as far as quality. I bring the whole thing up 294 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:53.559 because I'm actually talking about fan bases. Maybe I should 295 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:55.880 just check out from social media, because fans of The 296 00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:58.960 Crow seem to be acting just like the Mad Max 297 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:02.839 fan base, like the Star Wars fan base, just like they. Well, 298 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:05.480 no one's as horrible as the Snyder fan base, so 299 00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:08.000 at least as a hierarchy to all is awful to 300 00:18:08.039 --> 00:18:11.000 see Crow fans so vocally derisve of something they haven't 301 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:14.240 seen when there's a Crow movie out there starring Edward Furlong. 302 00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:17.559 Is very disappointing and as far as remikes go, this 303 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:21.440 movie might not be the thing, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. 304 00:18:22.039 --> 00:18:24.559 There are lots of problems, but then there's also a 305 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:28.279 lot to recommend it, first and foremost being the relationship 306 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:31.960 between Eric and Shelley. For one thing, there is a 307 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:34.680 relationship between Eric and Shelley. The first act of the 308 00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:37.319 film has plenty of intrigue, but it's less interested in 309 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:40.319 the supernatural and it's more interested in these two characters 310 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:44.039 finding each other, and it's lovely. The two leads I 311 00:18:44.119 --> 00:18:48.400 mentioned Pennywise, Bill skarsguard at the as Eric and British 312 00:18:48.440 --> 00:18:52.279 singer actress Fka Twiggs is Shelley, luminous and just as 313 00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:54.920 fucked up as Eric. Oh they're not happy go lucky 314 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:57.160 kids in this one. Shelley is involved in all sorts 315 00:18:57.200 --> 00:18:59.880 of infarious dealings with some bad folk and finds her 316 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:03.119 in a co ed correctional facility where she meets Eric. 317 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:06.640 They break out and have a pretty phenomenal romance on 318 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:08.720 the run. But this is the Crow, so that ain't 319 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:11.359 gonna last. The film follows the same structure as the 320 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:14.000 comic and the original film for that matter. Eric is 321 00:19:14.039 --> 00:19:15.759 returned from the dead with a crow to guide him, 322 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:19.519 and he cannot die. That is his only power. He's 323 00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:22.960 self healing, which, by the way, it looks astonishingly good. 324 00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:26.240 The effects overall are used sparingly, but when they do, 325 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:29.440 they pack a punch. Speaking of punches, this Eric doesn't 326 00:19:29.480 --> 00:19:32.240 come back a kung fu master. He's just a guy, 327 00:19:32.759 --> 00:19:36.079 and the fights start out stumbling and awkward. They get 328 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:38.799 a little more nuanced by the end. Now actually they're 329 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:41.200 not nuanced. He becomes a better fighter by the end. 330 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:44.359 The fights do not become nuanced at all. They maintain 331 00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:47.279 a level of brutality that echoes the book in ways. 332 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:50.440 The first film only hinted at I'm serious a couple 333 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:55.240 of times. I actually looked away an aging gorehound like myself. 334 00:19:56.680 --> 00:19:58.519 You can be a gorehound, but that would have to 335 00:19:58.519 --> 00:20:01.200 be your official designation. You wouldn't a pug anymore, all right, 336 00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:03.200 we think about it, This is the Crow that New 337 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:06.519 Line Cinema would have made in nineteen ninety four. They 338 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:08.759 did try to buy it outright from James Obarr, but 339 00:20:08.759 --> 00:20:10.640 would have cut him out completely. So that's why he 340 00:20:10.680 --> 00:20:13.400 went with Jeff Most and John Shirley. And had this 341 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:15.519 been made in nineteen ninety four, we would be talking 342 00:20:15.559 --> 00:20:17.720 about it right now as if it were a classic. 343 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:21.079 But it's thirty years later. And while I don't feel 344 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:24.240 like comparing the two films, the lingering ghosts of the 345 00:20:24.279 --> 00:20:28.200 first film's villains cannot be banished. The villains in this 346 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:31.599 film are completely serviceable. There's nothing wrong with them. They're 347 00:20:31.720 --> 00:20:35.559 very well acted, and they're perfectly suited for this very 348 00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:38.680 real world to take on the Crow. The problem is 349 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:42.079 even the comic book doesn't feature a real Detroit. That's 350 00:20:42.200 --> 00:20:45.079 fantasy Detroit, just like it was in the first film. 351 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:48.920 Just like La was a nocturnal nightmare in City of Angels, 352 00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:52.799 all three had tons of character. This film takes place 353 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:55.839 in nondescript major American city. I couldn't tell you if 354 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:59.559 there was a coast involved or mountains, prairies. I have 355 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:03.119 no idea. It shouldn't matter, but it does because, like 356 00:21:03.160 --> 00:21:07.119 I said, that first act is so endearing. I love 357 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:10.880 these two kids. I'm rooting for them. I'm shattered when 358 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:13.599 they're murdered. The rest of the film is fine. In fact, 359 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:15.880 there are elements at play here that are superior to 360 00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:19.119 any iteration of the character so far, but those would 361 00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:22.559 be spoilers, and we shall not spoil lest the Crow 362 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:26.640 showed up or the skull cowboy. That's a deep dive character, 363 00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:29.279 but insummation for that. I just want to say, fuck 364 00:21:29.319 --> 00:21:31.880 all the haters and fuck all the bad reviews. I 365 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:35.000 was dismayed by the trailers for this film, just like you. 366 00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:39.200 It's because this setting seems so contemporary. Trust me, this 367 00:21:39.319 --> 00:21:42.160 is a fucking good movie and it tells a complete story, 368 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:45.720 and I dig it. I'm not suggesting you spend any money. 369 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:48.000 No no, no, no, no no no no, don't even rush. 370 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:51.279 I'm just saying, sooner or later, there's gonna be a 371 00:21:51.319 --> 00:21:54.400 whole lot of Hey, this wasn't so bad all over 372 00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:56.039 social media. You mark my words. 373 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:56.640 The crow. 374 00:21:57.279 --> 00:22:00.599 What do you think, baby? We did it again. We 375 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:03.200 wrapped it up, We wrapped this week up in a bow, 376 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:08.279 a long dark fishnet bow, black paper with black writing. 377 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:13.160 All right, enough of the coffiness. Thank you once again, 378 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:16.559 midnight viewers for joining us here at Father Malone's weekly 379 00:22:16.920 --> 00:22:19.119 round up. You want to tune in This coming Friday, 380 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:22.279 we have Midnight Viewing the Horror Anthology podcast. We're taking 381 00:22:22.359 --> 00:22:24.720 a look at the next two episodes of Tales from 382 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:28.880 the Dark Side. Until then, where can people find you? Ripley, 383 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:32.480 don't stare at me, I'm just playing. You can find 384 00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:35.039 her here. You can find me here, and you can 385 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:38.079 find me at Weirdingwaymedia dot com. And you can also 386 00:22:38.119 --> 00:22:41.279 find us at Patreon dot com slash Father them alone. 387 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:44.000 If you want to support the show, get you episodes 388 00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:47.759 early in commercial free and some bonus episodes and such 389 00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:51.039 and such. Until next time, I'm gonna leave you with 390 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:55.039 a line from the first filmed iteration of the Crow. 391 00:22:57.400 --> 00:22:58.039 I know you. 392 00:22:58.119 --> 00:22:58.599 I knew. 393 00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:02.640 I knew you. I knew because you ain't you. 394 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:04.079 You can't be you. 395 00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:05.599 We put you through the window. 396 00:23:05.799 --> 00:23:09.160 There ain't no coming back. This is the really real work. 397 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:10.319 There ain't no coming back. 398 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:17.680 We should your dad, There ain't no, there ain't. 399 00:23:17.480 --> 00:23:20.000 No coming back, right, No coming back. 400 00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:23.440 M M 401 00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:34.119 A bass of devils and fellow awful goodness, you, fellow 402 00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:38.920 awful goodness.