‘The Crow’ (2024) 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review – Bill Skarsgård Is A Bright Spot In This Inconsistent Adaptation

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 Shelly (FKA twigs) are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Eric sets out to seek merciless revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right.

For in-depth thoughts on The Crow (2024), please see my colleague Gaius Bolling’s review from its original theatrical release here. 

Video Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of The Crow offers a stellar presentation in 2160p/Dolby Vision which offers a subtle yet noticeable improvement over the already formidable accompanying Blu-Ray. There is a terrific amount of detail present in nearly every shot. From the gritty production design to the costumes and makeup, you are delighting in so much refined texture that allows the feature to feel more tactile. The locations are a standout feature, and every location is crisp and filled with aspects you want to explore. Skin tones appear natural with facial detail apparent like the increasing presence of grime and blood.

The star of the disc is the Dolby Vision which finds more nuances within the hues and contrast. You need perfect black levels in a world such as this one, and the results are exceptional here as they stay deep and inky with great detail in the shadows. Highlights are more delineated with light sources strong and balanced with no blooming to be found. Elements in all situations are vivid and distinctly defined. This 4K UHD presentation delivers an ideal presentation on all fronts including depth, clarity, color, and detail. Lionsgate typically delivers a worthwhile experience. 

Audio Quality

This 4K UHD Blu-Ray unleashes a Dolby Atmos presentation that brings this soundscape to life exactly as you would wish. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by the soundtrack or any sound effects. The experience is all-encompassing with numerous environmental flourishes flowing out of your side, rear, and height channels. The height channels rarely take on the full weight of any moment but always add some serious expansion overhead. Each sound is meticulously placed with exceptional spatial awareness. This is a pretty active film that gets lively during confrontations with clarity and robust depth. Every incident is given the amount of heft the scenario necessitates. The low end breaks through when the situation demands it. Lionsgate has delivered a great audio experience on this outing. Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles are provided. 

Special Features

• True Love Never Dies – Making The Crow: A terrific 66-minute documentary that delves into the creation of the film from the decision to adapt the original material to the casting and creative development and beyond. 

• • The Emotional Engine: Origins (8:53)

• • Body & Soul: The Cast (11:48)

• • Modern Gothic: Character/Costume/Production Design (15:17)

• • Between Two Worlds: On Location (8:59)

• • Vengeance Incarnate: Action & Stunts (12:45)

• • Sacrifice – Final Thoughts (8:12)

• Dark Romance – The Score: A nearly 12-minute exploration of the creation of the score for the film. 

• Reborn Through Revenge – Main Title Sequence: A two-minute peek into how the title sequence came to be. 

• Every Film Is A Miracle – A Tribute To Edward R. Pressman: An 11-minute piece on the legendary producer and his many contributions to cinema. 

• Deleted Scenes: There are four unused scenes totaling six minutes provided here. 

• Theatrical Trailer: The three-minute trailer is provided here.  

Final Thoughts

The Crow is the type of film you hear about and immediately reject due to any number of factors that sound misguided at best. And you would be right to do so, as this is far from a remake that improves upon previous adaptations. Nevertheless, It shouldn’t be written off completely due to the committed performance from Bill Skarsgård. The film has some decent action set pieces and plenty of bloody goodness, it just suffers from the burden of the original movie. If you are attached to the original film, you probably won’t like this much, but otherwise, you may appreciate things within this outing. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray that sports a fantastic A/V presentation and a robust selection of supplemental features. 

The Crow is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital. The film also has 4K UHD SteelBooks available exclusively at Wal-Mart and Amazon.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.