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Movie Review: ‘The Crow’ reimagined is stylish and operatic, but cannot outfly 1994 original

This image released by Lionsgate shows Bill Skarsgård in “The Crow”. (Larry Horricks/Lionsgate via AP)

This image released by Lionsgate shows Bill Skarsgård, left, and FKA twigs in “The Crow”. (Larry Horricks/Lionsgate via AP)

Bill Skarsgard attends “The Crow” world premiere at the Village East by Angelika on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Rupert Sanders, from left, FKA twigs, and Bill Skarsgard attend “The Crow” world premiere at the Village East by Angelika on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

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One of the first things you see in the reimagined “The Crow” is the sight of a fallen white horse in a muddy field, bleeding badly after becoming entangled in barbed wire. It’s a metaphor, of course, and a clunky one at that — a powerful image that doesn’t really fit well and is never explained.

That’s a hint that director Rupert Sanders will have a tendency to consistently pick the stylish option over the honest one in this film. In his attempt to give new life to the cult hero of comics and film, he’s given us plenty of beauty at the expense of depth or coherence.

The filmmakers have set their tale in a modern, generic Europe and made it very clear that this movie is based on the graphic novel by James O’Barr, but the 1994 film adaptation starring Brandon Lee hovers over it like, well, a stubborn crow.

Brandon, son of legendary actor and martial artist Bruce Lee, was just 28 when he died after being shot while filming a scene for “The Crow.” History seems always to repeat: The new adaptation lands as another on-set death remains in the headlines.

Lee’s “The Crow” was finished without him and he never got to see it enter Gen X memory in all its rain-drenched, gothic glory, influencing everything from alternative fashion to “Blade” to Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy.

Bill Skarsgård seizes Lee’s role of Eric Draven, a man so in love that he returns from the dead to revenge his and his sweetheart’s slayings in what can be best called a sort of supernatural, romantic murderfest. (The tagline, “True love never dies,” clumsily rips off Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera.”)

William Schneider, who co-wrote the screenplay with Zach Baylin, has given the story a near-operatic facelift, by introducing a devil, a Faustian bargain, blood-on-blood oaths and a godlike guide who monitors the limbo between heaven and hell, which looks like a disused, weed-covered railway station. “Kill the ones who killed you and you’ll get her back,” our hero is told.

The first half drags at it sets the table for the steady beat of limbs and necks being detached at the end. Eric and his love, Shelly (played by an uneven FKA Twigs), meet in a rehab prison for wayward youth that is so well lit and appointed that it looks more like an airport lounge where the cappuccinos are $19 but the Wi-Fi is complimentary.

Eric is a gentle loner — tortured by a past the writers don’t bother filling in, who likes to sketch in a book (universal cinema code signaling a sensitive soul) and is heavily tattooed (he’s often shirtless). His apartment has rows of mannequins with their heads covered in plastic and his new love calls him “brilliantly broken.” He’s like a Blink-182 lyric come to life.

Shelly is more complex, but that’s because the writers maybe gave up on giving her a real backstory. She has a tattoo that says “Laugh now, cry later,” reads serious literature and loves dancing in her underwear. She clearly comes from wealth and has had a falling out with her mom, but has also done an unimaginably horrible thing, which viewers will learn about at the end.

Part of the trouble is that the lead couple cast off very little electricity, offering a love affair that’s more teen-like than all-consuming. And this is a story that needs a love capable of transcending death.

There are lots of cool-looking moments — mostly Skarsgård in a trench coat, stomping around the desolate concrete jungle in the rain at night — until “The Crow” builds to one of the better action sequences this year, albeit another one of those heightened showdowns at the opera.

By this time, Eric has donned the Crow’s heavy eye and cheek makeup. He adds to this ensemble a katana and an inability to die. As he closes in on his target, mowing down tuxedoed bad guys as arias soar, the group movements on stage are echoed by the furious fighting backstage. A few severed heads might be considered over the top at curtain call, but subtlety isn’t being applauded here.

If the original was plot-light but visually delicious, the new one has a better story but suffers from ideas in the films built on its predecessor, stealing a little from “The Matrix,” “Joker” and “Kill Bill.” Why not create something entirely new?

“The Crow” isn’t bad — and it gets better as it goes — but it’s an exercise in folly. It cannot escape Lee and the 1994 original even as it builds a more allegorical scaffolding for the smartphone generation. To use that very first metaphor, it’s like the trapped white horse — held down by its own painful past, never free to gallop on its own.

“The Crow,” a Lionsgate release that hits theaters Friday, is rated R for “strong bloody violence, gore, language, sexuality/nudity and drug use.” Running time: 111 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

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Leaden direction stops soulless ‘The Crow’ remake from ever taking off

An aimless rehash of the 1994 cult classic that was marked by a tragic real-life death, ‘The Crow’ can’t find its own identity and settles for mediocrity.

Bill Skarsgård in 'The Crow.' Photo Credit: Larry Horricks for Lionsgate. Copyright: © 2022 Yellow Flower LLC.

Opening in theaters August 23 is ‘ The Crow ,’ directed by Rupert Sanders and starring Bill Skarsgård , FKA Twigs , Danny Huston , Josette Simon , Laura Birn , Sami Bouajil a, and Jordan Bolger .

Related Article: ‘The Crow’: First Images of Bill Skarsgård and FKA Twigs in the Remake

Initial thoughts.

Here’s a little secret: this writer has never been a huge fan of the original 1994 movie ‘ The Crow. ’ At the time, it seemed dreary, gratuitous, and largely a case of style over substance, with simplistic characters and a reactionary, nihilistic narrative. But the death of lead actor Brandon Lee -- who was accidentally shot on the set and died later from his injuries, just a few days before the end of filming -- cast an unmistakably somber pall over the film that one would have to be a robot not to feel. Lee is great despite the movie around him, but there is also a ghostly aura around his presence onscreen that permeates the entire movie and lifts an otherwise ho-hum revenge thriller into a different light that has since made it a cult classic.

Fairly or not, taking the mystique and legend of Lee out of the equation, as the new remake of ‘The Crow’ does, leaves you with nothing but the ho-hum revenge thriller. Despite the best efforts of star Bill Skarsgård (who’s cornering the market on movie monsters with his past portrayal of Pennywise the Dancing Clown in ‘ It ’ and his upcoming title turn in ‘ Nosferatu ’) and a few inspired moments, this long-in-development reboot from director Rupert Sanders (‘ Snow White and the Huntsman ’) is dull, derivative, and predictable, lacking in energy both from its direction, its style, and even its cast.

Story and Direction

(L to R) Bill Skarsgård and FKA twigs in 'The Crow.' Photo Credit: Larry Horricks for Lionsgate.

The new ‘Crow,’ written by Zach Baylin and William Schneider , keeps the bones of the story (based on the original 1989 graphic novel by James O’Barr) but adds a convoluted new set-up to get us to the main plot. Skarsgård’s Eric Draven is in a rehab facility in a rather vague location (it appears to be out in relatively sunny countryside, while the unnamed city where the primary action takes place is perpetually dark and rainy) for rather vague reasons (a flashback reveals he watched a treasured animal die as a child) when he meets fellow resident Shelly (FKA Twigs), a musician who allowed herself to get arrested for possession of drugs and sent to the facility to avoid an even darker fate.

This is where ‘The Crow’ 2024 diverges sharply from the 1994 film: whereas the villains in that movie were local Detroit thugs (yes, that movie was set in Detroit; the new one is supposed to be set in an American city but was shot in Germany and Prague) who were looking to take over the apartment building where Eric and Shelly make their home, the antagonist here is Vincent Roag (a bored Danny Huston), who is apparently immortal thanks to a deal he made with the Devil ages ago. That deal involves using a demonic voice to whisper in people’s ears and make them either kill themselves or someone nearby, thus corrupting their soul and sending them to hell. Shelly has been used in this fashion by Roag to murder someone, thus damning her, but she has the whole thing on videotape (although how it’s going to bring him down remains frustratingly unclear).

It's a needlessly complicated back story that diminishes the power of Eric himself becoming a supernatural being. Which, of course, is what eventually happens. He and Shelly rather easily escape rehab just ahead of Roag’s goon squad (led by ‘ Foundation ’ star Laura Birn, who deserves better) and enjoy an inexplicably idle montage of hanging out at a lake with their friends or making sweet love and/or music together (the timeline in this film is really murky). But Roeg’s minions catch up with them again at Eric’s apartment, suffocating both of them in a harrowing sequence as they watch each other die.

Eric is sent to a gray CG afterlife that looks like the outside of an abandoned railyard, where ghostly mentor Kronos (Sami Bouajila) provides the necessary exposition for the film to move forward. Eric is dead, but he can return to the land of the living and avenge Shelly’s death, or “put the wrong things right.” His physical body can heal from any wound, as long as his love for Shelly remains “pure.” And he can save her damned soul as well – but at a much higher cost.

From there, it becomes a rather standard stalk-and-kill scenario, albeit with copious amounts of CG blood (God, how we miss karo syrup sometimes) and some enjoyably bonkers deaths, particularly in one extended battle in an opera house that leaves Eric standing amidst a pile of severed limbs and heads (two of which he dispatches in unintentionally hilarious fashion). But while Eric faced distinctive villains like Michael Wincott ’s Top Dollar and his moll Myca ( Bai Ling ) back in 1994, his enemies here are just a bunch of the usual burly, vaguely Eastern European-looking security guys in nice suits, whom Roag seems to have in endless supply. The title bird, a sort of spirit guide in the first film, just kind of tags along in this one.

There’s an overall lack of suspense, energy, or tension in the proceedings, as everyone seems to know that they’re going through some predictable paces. The eventual confrontation between Eric and Roag, after just about everyone else has been killed, is as disappointingly flat as everything else on display here. The Goth aesthetic and alternative/metal soundtrack of the original film have been replaced with a generalized gray-brown murk and actually some pretty good songs from the likes of Foals, Enya , and Traitrs. But the overall style that made the first film such a cultural touchpoint of its time simply cannot be channeled in the same way.

We very much enjoyed Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the ‘It’ movies, as well as his turns in films like ‘ John Wick: Chapter 4 ’ and ‘ Barbarian .’ And while it’s unfair to judge him against Brandon Lee, the latter is such an integral part of the ‘Crow’ legacy and a dominant presence in the original film. It’s not possible to disregard the fact that while Lee was able to transcend the material, Skarsgård can’t. He gives it his best shot, but the emotional undercurrents simply aren’t there, while his patchwork look of random tattoos, choppy hair, and disheveled clothing doesn’t do anything to build his character.

There is also no chemistry between him and FKA Twigs, who gives a dead-eyed, monotone performance in a crucial role. Some of the scenes between Twigs and Skarsgård simply lapse into silence, as if they have nothing more to say to each other, and Twigs is not a strong enough actor to flesh Shelly out. A subplot involving her relationship with her mother (Josette Simon) goes largely unexplored and mostly forgotten, but based on this we’re not sure Twigs can handle anything too complex anyway. In a movie already existing on a purely surface level, an actor needs all the tools they can muster, and Twigs falls short.

Danny Huston mostly phones in his villainous role as Roag, a character whose own back story and methodology is confusing to say the least. Is he a vampire? A demon? Both? It’s never quite clear. Laura Birn remains a striking presence (her work as the android Demerzel on ‘Foundation’ is one of that series’ strong points) but is underused, while the rest of the cast doesn’t get enough to do to stand out here.

Final Thoughts

Bill Skarsgård in 'The Crow.' Photo Credit: Larry Horricks for Lionsgate.

This is IP mining at best, an attempt to cash in on a brand name that still has some resonance 30 years later (a string of poor sequels kept it in public view for a while as well), and sheer exploitation at worst. But above all, it’s mediocre: too much of ‘The Crow’ has the kind of bland feel that one gets from watching direct-to-video thrillers. Whatever aura Brandon Lee brought to the original is no longer there, and even the love story at the heart of the movie pales in comparison.

The original 1994 ‘The Crow’ remains a testament to a promising actor and career tragically lost far too soon, as well as a snapshot of a particular moment in youth culture. Lacking either of those aspects, 2024’s ‘The Crow’ is a testament to what happens when story material is resurrected and rebooted without wondering if it should be in the first place.

‘The Crow’ receives 3 out of 10 stars.

Bill Skarsgård takes on the iconic role of THE CROW in this modern reimagining of the original graphic novel by James O’Barr. Soulmates Eric (Skarsgård) and... Read the Plot

What is the plot of ‘The Crow’?

Damaged souls Eric (Bill Skarsgård) and Shelly (FKA Twigs) fall deeply in love, only for Shelly’s dark past and demonic benefactor to catch up with her. After the couple are brutally murdered, Eric is sent back from the realm of the dead to “put the wrong things right” – even if it means it will cost him the one thing he wants most of all.

Who is in the cast of ‘The Crow’?

• Bill Skarsgård as Eric
• FKA Twigs as Shelly
• Danny Huston as Vincent Roeg
• Josette Simon as Sophia
• Laura Birn as Marian
• Sami Bouajila as Kronos
• Isabella Wei as Zadie
• Jordan Bolger as Chance

Other Movies and TV Shows in 'The Crow' Franchise:

• ' The Crow ' (1994)
• ' The Crow: City of Angels ' (1996)
• ' The Crow: Stairway to Heaven ' (1998 - 1999)
• ' The Crow: Salvation ' (2000)
• ' The Crow Wicked Prayer ' (2005)

Buy 'The Crow' Movie on Amazon

Don Kaye has been reading, watching, and collecting horror and sci-fi books, comics, and movies since he was 7 years old. He has been writing about film for more than two decades and has interviewed everyone from Steven Spielberg to Christopher Nolan to Kevin Feige, while also covering events like Comic-Con and visiting the sets of films like The Dark Knight Rises, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Ragnarok, and others. Beginning his career as a music journalist and syndicated radio producer, he broke into film journalism with the legendary horror magazine Fangoria and has since been a contributor to Den Of Geek, Looper, Syfy, MSN, Moviefone, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and many more.

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The dirty secret of urban hellscape movies drenched in rain and blood is that when it comes down to it, they don’t so much trigger worries about future blight as they do tourism fantasies. (When are theme parks going to figure out that “The Blade Runner Experience” would surely break attendance records?)

Alex Proyas’ 1994 fever dream “The Crow,” adapted from James O’Barr’s graphic novel, understood that appeal implicitly, serving up tactile gothic vengeance in a dashed Detroit with the panache of a circus grotesque. But in our current glut of movie dystopias, we’ve gotten away from that kind of immersive showmanship. Case in point, the dreary, pedestrian and ho-hum retelling of O’Barr’s story, also called “The Crow,” this time directed by Rupert Sanders. It’s like an anti-entertainment protest.

This time around, the wraithlike Bill Skarsgård is our back-from-the-dead avenger. But before he gets to ring his eyes with black paint for a slaydate with crow-powered destiny, he’s given an interminable amount of screen time to be broken, glum Eric, a loner still depressed about the death of his childhood horse (seriously) and whiling away his days in a remote rehab institution where the regulation clothing color is, for some reason, pastel pink. There, he meets musician Shelly (FKA twigs), who’s going through some things herself, namely the fact that some people are trying to kill her. Appealing to his angsty sensitivity, she breaks through his tattooed shell and Eric, smitten and protective, returns the favor by breaking them both out of the facility.

‘The Crow’ original soundtrack sketched a musical alternative in time

With a new remake of the cult classic out soon, creators of the original movie starring Brandon Lee look back at the music that helped make the film iconic.

Aug. 16, 2024

Their holed-up bliss — it’s like some insufferable audition for “Euphoria” — is halted when the henchmen of Shelly’s supernaturally evil benefactor Mr. Roeg ( Danny Huston , who else?) catch up to the lovers, killing them both. Eric emerges, though, in an abandoned-rail yard netherworld teeming with crows, a dismal space where a middle-aged guide (Sami Bouajila) informs Eric he can rescue Shelly from Hell if he goes back and gets his fury on. Big plus for our boy: can’t be killed. Big minus for us: zero stakes, plus it’ll be more than an hour before any retaliation begins.

By then, when the flat gray murk of Steve Annis’ cinematography and Robin Brown’s production design have dulled your senses, you’ll be hungry for stunts and what a samurai sword can do. For the carnage queens out there, the film’s opera-house set piece probably won’t disappoint (it won’t transcend, either), but the part where invincible Eric is nonetheless supposed to feel pain — something the late Brandon Lee made so palpably human — is an afterthought.

The love story supposedly generating all this ultraviolence is hardly captivating, and the motive behind Shelly’s killing even less so. For all we know, Eric’s payback may be as much about that horse as Shelly, a thinly realized character who will ultimately neither help nor harm twigs’ brand as an entrancing art polymath. Huston’s ready-made villainy won’t suffer either, although I’m pretty sure a shot of him closing his eyes — ostensibly in monstrous reverie — is really just an attempt to remember better gigs.

The one who should worry is Skarsgård, a talented actor with a commanding physicality and haunted eyes, but who’s still trapped in the star-tryout phase of his post- “It” breakout success. With a weak, unimaginative script by Zach Baylin and William Schneider doing him no favors, Skarsgård looks as lost as the pre-reborn Eric, never mustering enough mythic power. Despite the high body count, consider this a murder of “The Crow.”

'The Crow'

Rating: R, for strong bloody violence, gore, language, sexuality/nudity, and drug use Running time: 1 hour, 51 minutes Playing: In wide release Friday, Aug. 23

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‘Footage’ movie review: Manju Warrier, Saiju Sreedharan’s found footage film lacks the writing to complement its experimentation

In his debut directorial, film editor saiju sreedharan leans heavily on the experimental element to take forward the narrative, which is not helped much by the sparse screenplay and thin material.

Updated - August 24, 2024 12:56 pm IST

Published - August 23, 2024 05:06 pm IST

A still from ‘Footage’

Barring some glorious exceptions, an utter pointlessness marks a good number of the zillion vlogs that get uploaded online every day. Often documented for the viewing pleasure of the public are the mundane details from the daily lives of the vloggers. But, some of them do spring surprises for those patient enough to sit through the uneventful visuals.

In his debut directorial, film editor Saiju Sreedharan uses the found footage of a vlogger couple (Vishak Nair and Gayathri Ashok) to tell a story which if told in the conventional form might not have much of a novelty. This being the format, the film has its share of inconsequential sequences from their daily lives, but it at the same time gives one the feel of being a part of the risky adventures they embark on.

Right from the beginning, the film gives us a clue about their habit of prying on the lives of others. The couple also compulsively documents their intimate moments, quite a few of which does not have much to do with the narrative. While the first half of the film is made up of visuals from the man’s camera, the latter half takes us through the same scenarios using visuals from the woman’s camera, filling in the many gaps in her partner’s visuals. The duo, with their cameras running, follows a mysterious woman (Manju Warrier) living in their apartment complex, inevitably landing in trouble.

Saiju, who has edited some of the best known films of the past decade including Maheshinte Prathikaaram, Kumbalangi Nights and Virus , leans heavily on the experimental element to take forward the narrative, which is not helped much by the sparse screenplay and thin material. With the central characters never letting go of the camera, even when they are in danger, there are a lot of visuals which convey the immediacy of the danger they are facing.

There are, of course, several visuals with the shaky cameras pointed at running feet, sequences in weirdly tilted angles and immersive experiences inside dark forests in wind and rain. Some of the standout sequences include a close encounter with wild elephants and those inside a rusty old boat in the middle of the forest. The intricate sound design adds to the effect of these scenes; the songs from post-rock band Aswekeepsearching makes some pointless scenes worthwhile.

Manju Warrier, who is introduced as a mysterious woman, remains so even in the end, because her character is quite under-written. She does not have a line of dialogue in the film, but we are not even sure whether she is mute or whether she chooses to communicate with handwritten notes. The revenge drama at the centre is plainly run-of-the mill, and would not have stood on its own.

With some better writing to complement its experimentation, Footage, one of the first feature films in the found footage genre in Malayalam, might have left a lasting impression.

Footage is currently running in theatres

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Malayalam cinema / reviews

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Three movie genres of the 1930s--boxing films, World War I aviation dramas, and backstage Broadway musicals--are satirized using the same cast. Three movie genres of the 1930s--boxing films, World War I aviation dramas, and backstage Broadway musicals--are satirized using the same cast. Three movie genres of the 1930s--boxing films, World War I aviation dramas, and backstage Broadway musicals--are satirized using the same cast.

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• Trivia In the original theatrical release, "Dynamite Hands" which was filmed in color, was printed in black and white. The home video version uses the original color footage. Contrary to rumors, the video version was not colorized.
• Goofs Assuming Baxter's Beauties of 1933 had actually been shot in 1933, it would have used two-strip Technicolor, also known as Red Technicolor because it is particularly good at photographing the red spectrum. This is shot in the three-strip process, or Blue Technicolor, which would not be introduced until 1935. Additionally, most musicals would not be shot completely in color until the 1940s.

Joey Popchik : When a man says what's right, what's good, what's real, and what's true, then his mouth is ten feet tall.

• Crazy credits The cast list in the closing credits is divided into two sections with headings Dynamite Hands and Baxter's Beauties of 1933.
• Alternate versions In the theatrical and pay-tv release, the first half of "Movie, Movie" is in black and white, while both halves are often shown in color in commercial TV.
• Connections Featured in Sneak Previews: Ice Castles/Same Time, Next Year/Caravans/American Graffiti/Movie Movie/Beyond and Back/The Late Great Planet Earth (1979)
• Soundtracks Overture to Baxter's Beauties of 1933 Music by Ralph Burns and Buster Davis Performed by Ralph Burns and the Orchestra

User reviews 19

• Jul 2, 2018
• How long is Movie Movie? Powered by Alexa
• List: Wacky boxing
• January 4, 1979 (Argentina)
• United States
• United Kingdom
• Double Feature
• 56th Street and Park Avenue. Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $6,000,000 (estimated)

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 45 minutes
• Black and White

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Screen Rant

Hell hole review: a gleefully grisly body horror throwback to john carpenter's the thing.

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• Hell Hole offers the craziest body horror since John Carpenter's The Thing with uniquely themed storytelling.
• The practical effects in the horror film are gleefully disgusting, while CGI effects range from subtle to low-budget.
• The directorial style also proves to be both visually stunning yet tonally jumbled, creating a mix of tension and energy.

The body horror subgenre is one of the more fascinating and wide-ranging of the larger genre's history, with everything from alien doppelgängers in Invasion of the Body Snatchers to the slow transformation into an insect-human hybrid in The Fly . With Hell Hole (2024) , the creative team known as The Adams Family — comprised of directors/writers/stars John Adams, Terry Poser and writer Lulu Adams — look to recapture the same chills and thrills of John Carpenter's The Thing . Though this results in some gleefully shocking visuals and a fast-paced story, there are a few missteps along the way.

Hell Hole (2024)

Hell Hole centers on Emily, John and Teddy, an American fracking team trapped in the middle of the Serbian wilderness as the roads leading away from the site are deeply flooded. As they grapple with the isolation from the world and pressure from government-assigned environmental advisors, they are surprised by the discovery of a French soldier from the Napoleonic army buried deep in the Earth and harboring a dormant parasitic monster. While they try to determine the nature of the creature, they find themselves becoming its target as it searches for the perfect new host.

Hell Hole's Story Is A Fresh Approach To The Creature Body Horror Subgenre

Taking a page out of Carpenter's Thing playbook , the Adams Family take an initially basic approach to setting up Hell Hole 's story, albeit with a few unique twists. The focus on an American-led group of frackers in a foreign country invites some fitting discussions of its effect on the planet and environment, particularly as they're doing it in the middle of the Serbian wilderness, where the environmental advisors explain there to be a number of region-specific species. While some of these concerns are shaken off a little too easily by the characters, it establishes the tension to come between them.

This, in turn, also leads to one of Hell Hole 's more intriguing story aspects in that the creature will only target men rather than women in the hopes of reproducing.

Once the creature is discovered is where Hell Hole starts to nicely forge its own original path. Rarely has body horror seen those infected or possessed by the movie's entity still largely in control of their actions and behavior, and yet everyone from the unearthed French soldier to the creature's subsequent victims actually show a sense of agency in the hopes of keeping those around them safe, save for killing themselves, as the creature won't allow them to do so.

This, in turn, leads to one of Hell Hole 's more intriguing story aspects: The creature will only target men rather than women in the hopes of reproducing. Where many of the characters seek to take their lives to prevent the creature from spreading, the lead scientist does frequently argue for the creature to be protected by leaving whomever it inhabits alive and safe. Much of his argument for its preservation holds interesting thematic parallels with discussions surrounding abortion, making the flip to the men being the creature's host all the more of a fascinating exploration of the topic.

Hell Hole's Practical Effects Look Superb

Though the film's cgi is dodgy.

While it certainly gets some mileage with its themes and characters, Hell Hole also makes sure to stay true to delivering what we expect from its creature feature aesthetic with some gleefully disgusting practical effects. The creature's design is reminiscent of classic '50s and '60s sci-fi horror movies, including Phantasm director Don Coscarelli 's unique filmography, with an unsettling mashup of various real animals that creates a sense of shock. The Adams Family smartly never give a full-on look at the creature for most of the film, building a feeling of the unknown and unpredictability about how to defeat it.

Despite the great practical effects, Hell Hole begins to falter with the use of CGI for some sequences. There are instances where the digital effects look great, namely when the creature's tentacles emerge out of its hosts. But other moments make the movie's independent budget quite apparent, whether it's the CGI version of the creature running through an open field to chase down fleeing people, or certain hosts exploding as the creature escapes their body. There's no denying the level of ambition the Adams Family are striving for in these moments, but the actual execution is a bit underwhelming.

Hell Hole's Direction & Style Are A Bit Too Much Of A Tonal Jumble

One of the other elements I ultimately found myself mixed on was Adams and Poser's directorial style. The film's opening flashback to the Napoleonic era is one of the more visually stunning of the movie, rendered nearly entirely in black and white with only some elements, like the French soldiers' blue uniforms, colored in. The directorial duo also builds unique tension by leaving the camera situated at a distance from certain characters during seemingly innocuous discussions in unsettling locations.

However, where this begins to crack is in some of the editorial decisions with certain sequences. Ranging from scenes of the discovery of the buried French soldier to a character beating up another after being insulted, the use of quick zoom-ups to indicate the force of a hit and looping footage every three seconds is a bit forced. It makes it seem like the directors are attempting to create a music video within the film. This leads to many scenes being tonally out of place from the rest of the movie, creating an energetic atmosphere rather than one of tension.

Despite these missteps, Hell Hole is a really rewarding experience for horror genre fans who have longed to see a crazy body horror outing in the vein of The Thing . Between its interesting thematic layers melded with its thoroughly bloody set pieces and interesting characters, the movie offers plenty of compelling twists to its format, which helps set it apart and overcome its lackluster elements.

Hell Hole is now available to stream on Shudder.

In the Adams Family's celebration of the classic creature-feature, an American-led fracking crew working deep in the Serbian wilderness find themselves at odds with government assigned environmental advisors. When they get approval to drill, the workers uncover the unimaginable: a dormant parasitic monster entombed deep in the frozen rock. Now awakened, it tears through the mining facility in search of the perfect host.

• The movie's creature and action offer the craziest body horror since John Carpenter's The Thing.
• The story also offers a fresh twist on the genre with interesting thematic parallels to abortion and environmental concerns.
• The practical effects are gleefully disgusting.
• The use of CGI is a mixed bag between some subtly creepy imagery to obvious low-budget effects.
• The direction is both stylish and too over-the-top, feeling like a music video rather than horror film in parts.

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The emoji movie.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 94 Reviews
• Kids Say 400 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Positive messages, but colorful adventure is mostly "meh."

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Emoji Movie is a colorful and kid-friendly -- if not particularly original -- adventure that imagines a world inside our smartphones in which each emoji is supposed to have a single expression/role. So when "meh" face Gene (voiced by T.J. Miller) breaks those expectations, chaos…

Why Age 6+?

Many real-world apps are prominently highlighted, discussed extensively, used, a

Characters in danger/peril; at one point it looks like they all might be deleted

One purposely cut-off "oh, s--t" and one unfinished "holy s--t," plus relatively

Flirting/romantic tension between emoji characters and human ones. Mel and Mary

Characters drink a fruity party drink. There's a beer emoji. A scene takes place

Any Positive Content?

Diversity is better than conformity. Nobody should have to be or do just one thi

Gene starts out desperate to fit in and do what he's "supposed" to do, but he le

Kids may learn some new emojis and app names and functions, but the film is prim

Products & Purchases

Many real-world apps are prominently highlighted, discussed extensively, used, and seen, including Dropbox, Spotify, Just Dance, YouTube, Facebook, Candy Crush, and more.

Violence & Scariness

Characters in danger/peril; at one point it looks like they all might be deleted. The bots that chase Gene and his friends can be scary; they're relentless and have laser weapons. They sometimes delete the things they catch or want to punish (a virus, a whole app, etc.). A giant bot is particularly aggressive and intimidating. Gene's mistake leads to panic and destruction of the emoji grid. Jailbreak imagines Gene exploding. Smiler uses dental tools in a way that feels creepy and threatening. A firewall is made of actual flames. Gene is zapped when he makes password errors.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

One purposely cut-off "oh, s--t" and one unfinished "holy s--t," plus relatively infrequent use of "loser," "shut up," "stupid," "weirdo," "freak," "dumb," "butt," "poop," "turd," "no. 2," "doody." A character calls another a "malfunction."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Flirting/romantic tension between emoji characters and human ones. Mel and Mary Meh declare their love for each other and kiss. Hi-5's knuckles briefly look like bare buttocks. Somewhat skimpy outfits on the main character in Just Dance.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters drink a fruity party drink. There's a beer emoji. A scene takes place at a dive bar; a broken beer bottle is seen, and "Hack Daniels" is mentioned. Hi-5 gets a sugar high.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Diversity is better than conformity. Nobody should have to be or do just one thing; learning to express yourself in many different ways -- from emotions to dancing -- is healthy. Friends should always help each other, and teamwork pays off. Telling people how you feel can be difficult, but it's important to be honest. It's rewarding to find your purpose.

Positive Role Models

Gene starts out desperate to fit in and do what he's "supposed" to do, but he learns that his ability to be many things is what makes him special -- and he can be useful by being himself. Jailbreak is smart and resourceful. She rejects the role she was given but learns that having supportive friends is better than being alone. Gene's parents love him, but at first they're also a bit embarrassed by him and his differences. They learn to love him -- and themselves -- unconditionally. Many emoji characters are, by their nature, one-dimensional, but the human teenagers are a diverse group. Princess stereotypes are mocked/dismissed; a character calls out the fact that the original emoji set offered women only two choices: princess or bride.

Educational Value

Kids may learn some new emojis and app names and functions, but the film is primarily intended to entertain rather than educate.

Parents need to know that The Emoji Movie is a colorful and kid-friendly -- if not particularly original -- adventure that imagines a world inside our smartphones in which each emoji is supposed to have a single expression/role. So when "meh" face Gene (voiced by T.J. Miller ) breaks those expectations, chaos ensues. Expect to see some destruction, suspense, and peril; the main characters are pursued by intimidating bots bent on deleting them with their laserlike weapons. But it never gets too intense for young elementary schoolers. There's a bit of flirting, and two emoji characters kiss; there are also scenes that take place in a dive bar, where drinking is implied (and there's a beer emoji character). Language is fairly mild but includes a purposely cut-off "oh, s--t," as well as insults like "loser," "shut up," and so on. Jokes about the poop emoji involve (surprise!) potty humor. Many real-life apps are featured prominently, including Dropbox, YouTube, and Just Dance. The story emphasizes the importance of being true to yourself, as well as the value of honesty and teamwork. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (94)
• Kids say (400)

Based on 94 parent reviews

the emoji movie sucks its terrible

What's the story.

THE EMOJI MOVIE invites viewers into the world of Textopolis, a colorful city inside the phone of a teenager named Alex (voiced by Jake T. Austin ). Populated entirely by emojis, Textopolis is a town in which everyone has a single role/expression, and their job is to perform that role flawlessly when Alex needs to send a text. Chaos ensues when eager young "meh" face Gene ( T.J. Miller ) freaks out on his first day at work and exhibits many different expressions, leading Alex to think something might be wrong with his phone. Head emoji Smiler ( Maya Rudolph ) is determined to keep Textopolis perfect -- and protected -- so she labels Gene a malfunction. His only hope is to track down a hacker by the name of Jailbreak ( Anna Faris ) to see whether he can be reprogrammed to correctly fulfill his "meh" destiny. So with the help of new friend Hi-5 ( James Corden ), Gene leaves Textopolis and ventures into the other apps on Alex's phone. But does Gene really need to be "fixed"?

Is It Any Good?

It's pretty risky to center a movie around the concept of "meh," which basically means "unimpressive," if you're not going to knock it out of the park -- and this one unfortunately doesn't. The Emoji Movie isn't bad , but it isn't great, either. It's "meh." Kids will definitely enjoy the colorful characters, easy-to-follow story, and potty humor ("we're number two!" the poop emoji and his son exclaim). Young viewers are also sure to catch the movie's positive messages about teamwork, friendship, and being yourself. Plus, the voice cast is pretty good. Rudolph is gleefully manic as Smiler, and there are some standouts in the supporting cast. No one is better at doing a "meh" voice than Steven Wright (as Gene's dad, Mel Meh), and Jennifer Coolidge matches him as Mel's monotone wife, Mary. And did we mention that the aforementioned poop emoji is voiced by none other than Sir Patrick Stewart ?

But most audience members old enough to actually own phones will probably realize that much of The Emoji Movie 's plot is predictable (it feels like a mashup of Inside Out and Wreck-It Ralph , with a dash of The Wizard of Oz ) and its humor only so-so. Don't be alarmed if your mind wanders and you start asking yourself questions like: "How many kids have even heard of Dropbox?" and "Why do Gene and his parents get 'people' names, while Smiler and Hi-5 just have emoji names?" and "Would a real teenager really call someone to make a tech appointment at the phone store?" If you need something else to think about, try to figure out how you'd describe the movie's plot using just emojis. Just don't pull out your phone in the theater!

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about The Emoji Movie 's themes and messages. What does it mean when characters say, "What good is it to be number one if there aren't any other numbers"? How do the characters learn the value of teamwork ?

How does the movie portray texting and phone use among teens? Does it seem realistic? Kids: Did seeing the movie make you want to get a phone ? What are your family's rules about devices ?

At one point, a character says of someone that "none of these people know him, but they 'like' him -- and that's what matters in this life, popularity." Do you think it's true that, in the age of social media , people want fans more than friends?

Which parts of the movie were scary to you? How much scary stuff can young kids handle?

Kids: Do you like communicating using emojis ? Why or why not? Do you know what they all mean?

Movie Details

• In theaters : July 28, 2017
• On DVD or streaming : October 24, 2017
• Cast : T.J. Miller , James Corden , Patrick Stewart
• Director : Anthony Leondis
• Studio : Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Genre : Family and Kids
• Topics : Friendship
• Character Strengths : Teamwork
• Run time : 86 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : rude humor
• Last updated : August 13, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

What to watch next.

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Everything in "The Lego Movie" is, indeed, awesome.

Awesome as in imagine if " Toy Story " were spoofed by Mel Brooks after he ate magic mushrooms while reading George Orwell's 1984.

Awesome as in the sort of silly yet wily kid-appropriate PG-rated performance by Will Ferrell that you've been waiting for ever since " Elf " came out more than a decade ago.

Awesome as in geeking out over the sight of a grim little Batman hitching a ride on the Millennium Falcon piloted by a smart-ass little Han Solo—with a suavely plastic Lando Calrissian in a flash of a cameo.

To be honest, my enthusiastic reaction might be slightly skewed by the fact that "Everything Is Awesome" is both the title and most insidious lyric of a catchier-than-a-Norovirus musical number whose sweeping camerawork over a Lego-ized cityscape is almost as impressive as the opening sequence of " West Side Story ". Somehow, the dastardly ditty has taken up permanent residence in my brain, snaking into the cubby hole previously occupied by the Pee-wee's Playhouse TV-show theme.

Normally, I oppose the trend of plaything-based moviemaking, especially when the results are as brain-numbingly awful as " Transformers ", "G.I. Joe" and " Battleship ". But if those uninspired efforts had featured not just Michelangelo the Teenage Mutant Ninja but also Michelangelo the ultimate Renaissance artist as they fight for the greater good of interlocking mankind, maybe they would have changed my mind, too.

Besides, with so many animation powerhouses settling for easy-money sequels lately (we mean you, Pixar, DreamWorks, Universal and 20 th Century Fox), it is exceedingly cool that a major-studio family film refuses to simply capitalize on merchandising spinoffs by offering an oppressive 100-minute commercial. Instead, "The Lego Movie" manages to be a smartly subversive satire about the drawbacks of conformity and following the rules while celebrating the power of imagination and individuality. It still might be a 100-minute commercial, but at least it's a highly entertaining and, most surprisingly, a thoughtful one with in-jokes that snap, crackle and zoom by at warp speed.

This surreal 3-D computer-animated pop-cultural cosmos overseen by directors/co-writers Phil Lord and Chris Miller , the talented team behind 2009's "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs", takes off from those countless amateur fan-produced stop-motion films found online before concluding with rather ingenious live-action interlude.

For once, an overly familiar plot is intended to be overly familiar as this action comedy lampoons nearly every fantasy-sci-fi-comic-book-pirate-cowboy movie cliché that has been in existence at least since George Lucas and Steven Spielberg turned Hollywood into a blockbuster-producing boy-toy factory.

Our unlikely hero is Emmet (earnestly and engagingly voiced by Chris Pratt of TV's "Parks and Recreation"), an unremarkable construction worker who is perfectly happy with his staid generic existence as an ordinary citizen of the metropolis of Bricksburg. As is the custom among his peers, Emmet doesn't just avoid overthinking. He barely thinks at all.

But after dawdling on a work site after hours, Emmet finds himself tumbling into an underworld where a wise Obi-Wan Kenobi-type wizard named Vitruvius ( Morgan Freeman , mocking his history of movie mentorships) mistakenly declares him to be the Special, the greatest Master Builder of them all. Unfortunately, special is exactly what Emmet isn't and he appears to be ill-equipped to battle the monstrous foe at hand. That would be Ferrell's President Business, a maniacal manipulator whose looming overlord alter-ego is a sly nod at the actor's despot in " Megamind ".

The minute that a swivel-headed henchman named Bad Cop/Good Cop starts spouting menacing threats in Liam Neeson's Irish-inflected rumble, you know that a "release the Kraken!" joke can't be far behind. And "The Lego Movie" does not disappoint, as Ferrell's control-freak villain aims to glue all the pieces of the city in place permanently—no freeform deviations allowed.

From there, Emmet and would-be love interest Wyldstyle—a tough-chick cross between " The Matrix "'s Trinity and Joan Jett blessed with Elizabeth Banks's vocal spunk—enter a surreal hodge-podge universe where Lord of the Rings-style warriors, Star Wars and Harry Potter characters, superheroes, Abraham Lincoln and even basketball star Shaquille O'Neal (a legacy of an actual 2003 NBA-sanctioned Lego set) join forces to foil President Business's nefarious plan.

It isn't fair to reveal what happens next, other than to say that it continues to be, yes, awesome despite a paucity of female characters (toothache-sweet Unikitty who presides over Cloud Cuckoo Land doesn't quite count) and maybe a bit too much crash-boom bombast.

Alas, I would be remiss if I didn't issue a heads-up to parents: "The Lego Movie"'s tie-ins include 17 new building sets and 16 new characters. To ensure that your child's college fund is safe and your bills get paid this month, I would urge you to seek out a theater in a galaxy far, far away from a toy store.

Susan Wloszczyna

Susan Wloszczyna spent much of her nearly thirty years at USA TODAY as a senior entertainment reporter. Now unchained from the grind of daily journalism, she is ready to view the world of movies with fresh eyes.

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The Lego Movie (2014)

100 minutes

Chris Pratt as Emmet (voice)

Elizabeth Banks as Wyldstyle (voice)

Channing Tatum as Superman (voice)

Morgan Freeman as Vitruvius (voice)

Will Arnett as Batman (voice)

Jonah Hill as Green Lantern (voice)

Will Ferrell as President Business (voice)

Cobie Smulders as Wonder Woman (voice)

Liam Neeson as Bad Cop/Good cop (voice)

Alison Brie as Uni-Kitty (voice)

Nick Offerman as Craggy (voice)

Charlie Day as Spaceman Benny (voice)

• Chris Miller
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