Like Rupert Sanders The Crow The fact that the update suffers the fate that befalls so many remakes doesn’t come as too much of a surprise to at least one person.
Alex Proyas, who directed the original 1994 film based on James O’Barr’s graphic novel, seems to be taking pleasure in the negative reviews the $50 million Lionsgate remake received after the film flopped at the box office last weekend with a gross of $4.6 million.
Director: Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman, Ghost in the Shell), the film follows Eric Draven (Bill Skarsgård) and Shelly Webster (FKA Twigs), who fall in love in a rehabilitation facility and run away together. But when demons from their past catch up with them and murder the lovers, Eric comes back to life to seek revenge.
Before the film’s premiere on August 23, Proyas posted a monocle emoji on Facebook with a screenshot of a review of the “unbelievably terrible gothic remake.”
“Wow. The reviews are brutal,” Proyas wrote in a post, adding: “I thought the remake was a cynical rip-off. It seems like there’s not much money to be made.”
The director also shared a Facebook meme with the text: “Marked safe from viewing crow 2024 today.”
Proyas also shared a message he sent to composer Michael Lira – the composer of his upcoming science fiction satire RURwhich begins filming on October 21 in Sydney, Australia – about why indie filmmaking is “the best kind of filmmaking.”
“It’s so much fun making this movie…” Proyas writes in the message. “Right now the studio would call us and say they don’t like opera and we should make a hip hop song out of it! Oh, that’s right – THERE IS NO FUCKING STUDIO!!!”
With the publication of the “review we’ve all been waiting for,” which he posted on Tuesday, Proyas seemed to have ended his attack. “It’s a bit like beating a dead horse now, so I think I’ll stop after this… until something fun comes along again!” he wrote.
Bill Skarsgård and FKA twigs in The Crow.
Lions Gate Films/Everett Collection
Proyas had already written an impassioned plea against the remake on Facebook in March after the trailer was released, paying tribute to actor Brandon Lee, who previously died at the age of 28 when he was hit by a live bullet from a real revolver that was used as a prop weapon in a scene in the original film.
“I really don’t enjoy hearing negativity about another filmmaker’s work. And I’m sure the cast and crew really only had good intentions, as we all do with any film. So it pains me to say more on this topic, but I think the fan reaction speaks volumes. The Crow is not just a movie. Brandon Lee died during the filming, and the film was completed as a testament to his lost genius and tragic loss. It is his legacy. And that is how it should stay.”
