The Crow

Giving its brooding antihero a new set of cinematic wings, The Crow once again fails to take flight.

Indulging in genre tropes and gratuitous gore, this dreary thriller of reincarnation and revenge sprung from a coming-of-age romance is a muddled origin story content to wallow in its dark and depressing atmosphere.

This lackluster remake works best when exploring the title character’s troubled background and wounded psyche, but the story around him lacks much subtlety or suspense.

Updating the setting to the present day, it follows Eric (Bill Skarsgard), a patient at a rehabilitation facility whose heavily tattooed torso masks an emotional fragility.

He meets Shelly (FKA Twigs), a fellow angst-ridden loner seeking companionship. “If I’m ever hard to love, try to love me harder,” she says cryptically, with the type of line that probably looks better on paper than it sounds out loud.

Just as their whirlwind relationship is at its peak, Shelly’s past catches up to her in brutal fashion at the hands of henchmen for a business tycoon (Danny Huston) with possible satanic ties. He’s not fully human, anyway.

Neither is Eric after being given a second chance, with magical powers, to use his own death to possibly save Shelly. That involves a transformation into the virtually indestructible Crow, the logic of which gets only a cursory explanation. Gradually and reluctantly, he adjusts to his new abilities and develops the resilience to carry out his mission.

While their chemistry is adequate, the volatile love story between two tortured souls struggles to generate a deeper resonance in the derivative screenplay by Zach Baylin (King Richard) and newcomer William Schneider.

The film doesn’t improve upon the prior adaptation of James O’Barr’s comic-book series, released 30 years ago, which was notorious for the tragic on-set death of star Brandon Lee. At least that film took a grittier and edgier approach more befitting the source material.

This reimagining from director Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) features some visual flourishes, including a slick and stylish depiction of some nocturnal urban streetscapes. A blood-soaked showdown backstage at an opera is vivid and intense.

At least the film doesn’t overdose on effects-driven supernatural gimmicks. Yet while it’s mildly unsettling, The Crow is more familiar than frightening.

Rated R, 111 minutes.