This article contains light spoilers for “The Crow”.

It’s logical why a consensus of opinion is so desired. Our lives in this world are limited and free time is a luxury in a capitalist society, so most people don’t want to waste their time on books, music, TV, or movies, which most people generally seem to hate. However, there’s simply no better drug-free high for a film addict than trying a movie whose reputation is in the trash and then getting back to spending a decent amount of time watching it. These movies don’t have to be really good, they don’t have to be hidden gems or unsung masterpieces (although some of them certainly can be!); they just can’t be trash. Yes, that can happen with re-evaluations when they fall into the rose-tinted realm of nostalgia, but it can also happen when you break free from the tyranny of consensus and form your own opinion.

Right now, a lot of people on the internet are dumping Al Gore’s The Crow (2024) for a variety of reasons. Whether they’re fans of the 1994 film, have casually followed the reboot’s decades-long journey through development hell, are laughing at Bill Skarsgård’s Machine Gun Kelly-meets-Jared Leto’s Joker outfit, or are rolling their eyes at the attempt to revive a direct-to-video franchise in theaters, there are numerous reasons the film has become an online punching bag. Here’s more fuel to the fire: In its themes and structure, The Crow is very similar to another comic book action horror film turned punching bag: Spawn (1997). But if you can turn down the peanut gallery and give these films a chance, you might find they’re still fun.

It wasn’t all that long ago that horror was a dirty word in respectable cinephile circles, as it’s only in the last few decades that the genre’s popularity has risen to the point where it can’t be dismissed so easily. The combination of action and horror, as opposed to comedy and horror, is relatively new. It still confuses some people who can’t get into a movie that has fights, explosions, demons and blood. Perhaps that’s because it’s easier for those people to understand films that either start out as one and then morph into the other — “Predator” and “From Dusk Till Dawn,” for example — or that seem to favor one element over the other, like “Aliens” or “Army of Darkness.”

The original The Crow was one of the first films where no genre prevailed: equal parts comic, action, film noir, horror, and gothic romance. This genre mashup became hugely influential, giving rise to similar works like Blade and Underworld, as well as new cultural milestones like The Matrix. Spawn is one of those earlier examples, a clear descendant of The Crow in its aesthetic goals, which, along with the comic it was adapted from and the animated series it also spawned (sorry), contributed to the Blade films and other action-horror flicks. Unlike other action horror films about zombies or vampires that can downplay their horror nature, Spawn is all horror, featuring a title character (played by Michael Jai White) who looks like a cross between Freddy Krueger and a Romero zombie, despite flying around wearing a cape made of creatures (a kind of necroplasm armor, thank you very much), shooting guns, and being skilled in martial arts.

The concept of a man brought back from the dead who not only resists mortality but also has new physical combat abilities is a central aspect of both The Crow (1994) and 2024. In both cases, it’s the empowering wish fulfillment seen in comic book superhero stories, mixed with the poetic justice and vengeance aspect of Gothic literature, as seen in many of Universal’s classic monster characters. Action and horror are probably too commonly viewed as standalone, lowbrow genres, so combining them is not surprisingly frowned upon. Yet if you get into it, each genre only enhances the other in fantastic ways.

Both Spawn and 2024’s The Crow build their gun-fu, demonic gore scenes, and other genre elements around the same riveting classic of German literature: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust. Goethe’s story about a man who makes a pact with the devil to have the closest experience of transcendence on earth (which, in his case, means falling deeply in love with a woman named Gretchen) is a building block of both the gothic and horror genres. As such, the story’s elements appear in one form or another in numerous places, most commonly reduced to the idea of ​​a person committing a horrific act in the name of lust and/or love. In Spawn, the Faust references are pretty much 1:1, as Al Simmons, aka Spawn, is hit on after his untimely demise by a demon from Hell named Malebolgia (played by Frank Welker and some of the shadier CGI effects the ’90s had to offer). Malebolgia offers Spawn a Faustian pact whereby he can return to the real world, see his widowed wife Wanda (Teresa Randle), and get revenge on his killers if he just agrees to become the demon’s servant and lead his armies for all eternity. As is typical of this type of arrangement (as popularized by Christopher Marlowe’s play Doctor Faustus), Spawn soon discovers that this pact is not as great as it is touted, and eventually breaks his pact and fights Malebolgia and his demonic servants.

2024’s The Crow adds a few clever twists to the Faustian legend, a choice that speaks to its thematic interest in exploring the dark morality of its story. In 1994’s The Crow (and every Crow sequel before this latest film), the Crow is almost automatically brought back from the afterlife because he had been wronged so badly. So he is endowed with supernatural powers and rules, the most important of which is to limit himself to hunting down his killers and not to get involved with other crimes or criminals. In Rupert Sanders’ 2024 “Crow,” Eric (Bill Skarsgård) is given the choice by an otherworldly spirit named Kronos (Sami Bouajila) to return to the world of the living to fight for the lost soul of his love Shelly (FKA twigs), breaking the pact between Hell and the evil Vincent (Danny Huston), who sends innocent souls to Hell as part of his own demonic deal. At first, Eric is told that if he completes his mission and his love remains pure, he and Shelly can return to life. When Eric begins to doubt his love for Shelly, he offers Kronos one final deal: his soul for Shelly’s, meaning he will be a servant of the afterlife forever. It’s a pact that’s not only Faustian, but also reminiscent of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. All of this thematic material helps give “Spawn” and “The Crow” additional emotional power and momentum, making the films’ respective outrageous action sequences and bloodshed easier to believe.

It would be too generous to call either “Spawn” or “The Crow” flawless, as both films have their own problem spots that lead to their less-than-stellar reputations. However, it feels disingenuous to dismiss the notion that each film also has something entertaining to offer. While reaching a consensus on what those good spots are is a matter of taste, it’s safe to say that both films have fantastic soundtracks. While the concept of a hit soundtrack is a bit rarer these days (especially the accompanying soundtrack album), one cannot underestimate its power to make a flawed film entertaining. Would “Flash Gordon” or “Highlander” have as much cult status as they do without the majestic work of Queen? What would “Tron Legacy” be without the beloved Daft Punk music? Solve this riddle for me: Which is more popular, “Batman Forever” or its soundtrack album?

In the case of Spawn, the soundtrack album is known for being one of three “mash-up” albums produced by Happy Walters. Following Judgment Night and preceding Blade II, the Spawn album showcases collaborations between electronic music acts and heavy metal/alternative bands: The Crystal Method and Filter, Korn and the Dust Brothers, and The Prodigy and Tom Morello, to name a few. Not only does this give the album and the film itself a unique and distinctive sound, but it also feels like a part of the film’s aesthetic. With its loud, hard edginess combined with emotional songwriting, the music underscores the story and characters that might have otherwise been missing.

Spawn’s score is by Graeme Revell, who also composed the moody music for the original The Crow, itself known for its soundtrack album full of gothic and industrial bands. The album was so influential that a Crow soundtrack became a series staple, and while 2024’s The Crow doesn’t have its own companion album at the time of this writing, it puts its score and needle drops front and center in a similar way. Joy Division’s Disorder and Gary Numan’s ME give the film its gothic qualities, and combined with newer tracks (including one from co-star FKA twigs) and Volker Bertelmann’s moody, electronic-tinged score, the film’s music gives it a mood that propels the film through its slower moments. While 2024’s The Crow is more of a reimagining than a direct remake of the 1994 film, the fact that it shares all of these similarities with Spawn (one of the cinematic children of the original Crow) is clear evidence that it exists on the same spectrum. With both films, you may end up agreeing with the consensus and they may not be to your taste, but you’ll never know unless you give them a chance.

“The Crow” is playing in theaters everywhere.