Bill Skarsgård's ‘The Crow’ Gets a Bloody Good Rating

The Big Picture

The Crow
is a dark action thriller staying true to its R rating with strong bloody violence, gore, and dark themes.
Bill Skarsgård’s Eric Draven seeks vengeance against his killers alongside FKA Twigs in this modern adaptation.
Director Rupert Sanders brings new elements to captivate audiences while honoring the legacy of the original
Crow
film.

It won’t come as much of a surprise for audiences to find out that Rupert Sanders’ upcoming dark action thriller, The Crow, has flapped its wings into an R rating. From the very first image released which saw the film’s leading man, Bill Skarsgård, dressed in all black and covered in tattoos and dark makeup, it was clear that Sanders was going to stay in line with the character first introduced in James O’Barr’s comic series – all while taking his own liberties and updating Eric Draven for a more modern telling. Along with the tortured look, another piece of the story is sticking to its source material, as The Crow will be dripping with blood and violence. According to FilmRatings.com, the action feature nabbed the adults-only rating due to “strong bloody violence, gore, language, sexuality/nudity, and drug use.” Yep, that all checks out.

After Eric Draven (Skarsgård) and his fiancée, Shelly (FKA twigs), are murdered by a gang of ruthless thugs, Eric finds himself mysteriously back in the land of the living. He then learns about the legend of the crow, which gives the gift of vengeance to a deserving party so that he may come back and repay the debts owed to him. There’s just one hangup – despite Eric crossing back over, that doesn’t mean the same fate will befall Shelly, who will continue to wait for him on the other side. Eager to accept this shot at righting the wrongs and destroying the men who took his life away from him, Eric sets out on a quest for destruction, prepared to pulverize anyone who stands in his way.

Filling out the movie’s ensemble cast will be Danny Huston (American Horror Story: Coven), who plays the main villain giving Skarsgård’s Eric Draven a run for his money, as well as Laura Birn (Foundation), Sami Bouajila (Ganglands), Jordan Bolger (The Woman King), and Isabella Wei (1899). This will be the second time that The Crow has taken flight on the big screen with the original 1994 production under the vision of Alexander Proyas. Soaring with the story three decades later is Sanders, who marks his third feature-length project with the dark thriller. The filmmaker made his grand debut with Snow White and the Huntsman, which he followed up with Ghost in the Shell. The Crow reimagining has faced some tough criticism from the comic and original film’s fanbase, including from Proyas himself, who wished that Hollywood would have left well enough alone following the cult classic.

‘The Crow’s Legacy

The reason behind the harsh words coming from Proyas and others is largely due to the work that the late Brandon Lee poured into 1994’s The Crow. The actor, who played the titular character, tragically died while filming after a prop gun fired a live round. Since then, the production has become just as famous as the movie itself, with many wishing to honor the memory of Lee and therefore shunning any reimaginings or reboots.

Still, even with a curse and years upon years of starts and stops, Sanders completed his take on the story of Eric Draven and The Crow will soar into a cinema near you on August 23.