The Crow (1994)

 "Abashed the Devil stood, and felt how awful goodness is."

 I'm not religious, personally, but I certainly worship John Milton's Paradise Lost. If you haven't read it, go away and get drunk on its gloriousness before you continue reading this. I'll wait.

 It's rather embarrasing that I, being seventeen in 1994, have never seen this film before. And it needs saying, at the start, that the death of Brandon Lee through unprofessional carelessness is unforgiveable. Alex Proyas may be a talentless director but, given what happened here, it is unconscionable that he ever worked again. Shame on him.

Still, one cannot deny that this film is incredible. On the surface, it's a very simple revenge thriller with a gothic tinge. It's very '90s in style, in the best possible way, and the way this defines the direction has as much of an effect on the ausience as anything to do with the plot or performances. This has the best soundtrack of pretty much any film ever, including The Cure, Jesus and Mary Chain, the Rollins Band, and Pantera. Stone Temple Pilots are heard too but, in the circumstances, we can probably forgive that lapse.

Brandon Lee is captivating. Ernie Hudson, given a criminally rare chance to really shine, does so. Michael Wincott is a superb villain, chewing the scenery in a masterful and genuinely brilliant way; it's a shame his career seems not go havr exploded aferwards, jealous thoiugh I am that he can apparently grow his hair even longer than my own manly locks.

This is a simple yet ingenious film. It's style over substance, yes, but in the possible way. It's a directorial triumph which overcomes a very simple concept. I love it.