10 Films That Should Never Have Become Franchises

With its trend-setting urban hell production design, cool soundtrack and terrific cast, The Crow has a real shot at being the best comic book adaptation of the 1990s. After more than 20 years, the movie stands up as an example of what can be accomplished when the demand for tie-ins doesn’t overwhelm the content.

Alas, this was as good as it got for James O’Barr’s creation and by the time The Crow: City Of Angels rolled around three years later, the series was ready for the scrapyard. It set the trend for each subsequent movie: it was the same story all over again, only without any heart or style, and the actors looked like they’d rather be appearing in another movie.

The best you can say about The Crow Salvation is that it has it has a cool soundtrack album (with The Infidels, Rob Zombie and Pitchshifter – check it out), but The Crow: Wicked Prayer (starring Edward Furlong and Tara Reid) was so listless you wondered why they bothered.

Here’s hoping the proposed remake never sees the light of day.