MovieChat Forums > The Wraith (1986) Discussion > Did The Crow rip this movie off?

Did The Crow rip this movie off?

posted 14 years ago by FalkensMaze
23 replies | jump to latest

I saw The Wraith as a kid and have liked The Crow ever since seeing it at the theater, but I never linked these two movies together until seeing The Wraith again recently. I know that The Crow was based on a graphic novel but I can't help but think that maybe it heavily borrowed from this movie.

Some similarities:

-The plot obviously: guy comes back from the dead to avenge his/girlfriend's death (except here the gf is still alive)
-Very similar repeating flashbacks (including red lens filters) to the rape/attack/murder
-Both films feature a violent and sadistic gang with a scary amoral leader (Nick Cassavettes and Micheal WIncott also bear a passing resemblance) who frequently abuses and intimidates his own gang members
-Both have a "scientist" type in the gang (Tony Todd and Clint Howard)
-Both films have a duo of twitchy tweaker drug addicts one of whom is named "Skank" and one who seems to have a speech impediment or is mildly retarded
-Both have supernatural talisman that gives them their power (a crow/a magical Dodge supercar)
-Both characters wear disguises (facepaint/helmet/Charlie Sheen) and are unrecognized initially by those who knew them
-Both feature a kidnapping by the badguy at the end of the film of the female lead (Sherilynn Fenn in the Wraith/Little girl in The Crow)
-Both films are preoccupied with eyes being gouged/burned out
-The main villian is in the same death pose when killed at the end
-Both have a surly cop who comes to understand the nature of the hero but is believed by no one else - the cop also lets the hero go in both films
-Heavy rock music soundtrack
-Both films had a cast/crew member die during filming (obviously not planned, but still a creepy coincidence

So does anyone know what the story is here - was Alex Proyas just a really huge fan? Did the writer of The Wraith read James O' Barr's graphic novel before it got published? Why are these movies so similar?

[–] wallacesawyer 14 years ago

Think THE CROW was created in 1989, so maybe the creators did get some ideas. Wouldn't be the first time a lesser known film inspired something bigger.

For DEMONIC TOYS and updates on Full Moon Films:
www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/

[–] greatwareagle 13 years ago

while these films do have a bit in common, I wouldn't rush to judge a rip-off. Theses common themes and elements they share aren't really outlandish ideas.

But I will add another common element they share (which does not add to a rip-off scenario). The lead actors of both films have famous actor fathers.

[–] Rick_Bman 13 years ago

I would say that The Wraith is much closer to High Plains Drifter then it is The Crow. All three of them have some similar plot elements though.

The whole time I was watching this, all I could think about was High Plains Drifter though. It just felt like someone watched it and said "ya know, this movie is good... but with teenagers and fast cars it would be completely awesome."

------------
Read my blog or the apes win: http://www.stopthepota.com/

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Ryo7 13 years ago

Who was killed on the set of the Wraith? Did I miss something? Tried to google it and nothing came up.

"Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the Gun" - Army of Darkness - Ash (Bruce Campbell)

[–] allfornot 13 years ago

Bruce Ingrahm was a camera crew member killed on the set. He died while they were shooting a race scene on a mountain. Several people were injured, the movie was dedicated to him.

[–] mooreo 13 years ago

I would say this film takes more from high planes drifter than the crow does from it.

There Can Be Only One!

[–] FSKessler 13 years ago

James O'Barr originally wrote and illustrated The Crow in 1981. It wasn't published until almost 10 years later, so no it's a coincidence.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] FalkensMaze 13 years ago

Ha, this made me laugh. I'm a boy not a girl, and I'm not schizophrenic, just a movie buff.

[–] MadRotaryOne_DDCgod 12 years ago

nomads, the lost boys????? wth are you taking about, those movie have nothing
in common to the plot of the wraith

http://www.facebook.com/mike.d.keith?ref=profile

[–] fadaazul21 12 years ago

THANK YOU!! I have been saying this for ever but I haven't met anyone who's actually seen The Wraith before. They are basically the same movie premise with minor changes in detail. They are bothe good except The Crow as a larger cult following.

[–] worms-4 11 years ago

I agree that there are huge similarities just like Dark City and the Matrix. One thing is when O'Barr wrote the Crow, he was dealing with his wife (or girlfriend's) death due to a drunk driver which is why both Eric and Shelley die. Weird coincidence with the Skank character, they both speak funny, are the weakest in the gang, go out second to last. This movie is as fun as hell. Eighties metal. Sherilynn Fenn. Muscle/Performance cars. Sherilynn Fenn. Sober (possibly) Charlie Sheen. Sherilynn Fenn. By the way, we all know why Jake's brother works at the burger joint. Sherilynn Fenn.

[–] mikebourkefan 11 years ago

with all your mentions of Sherilyn Fenn now im going to rewatch the Wraith. very underrated movie

Rob Zombie is one of the greatest directors today

[–] Scrap_Iron 11 years ago

It certainly does look like the Crow film took some inspiration from the Wraith.

Here's a few more similarities I noticed:

In the Crow film, the hero apparently enjoyed turning the villains' evil specialty against them--for example, he kills the knife expert Tin Tin with his own knives, ODs the junkie Funboy with his drug of choice, blows up T-Bird in his Thunderbird (more on that later) with his own demolitions, murders the gang's sidekick Skank after cutting through a whole other gang of bad guys the villain is hiding behind, and finally kills the main villain, Top Dollar, by literally inflicting him with the same misery his hordes inflicted on the hero's girlfriend via some psychic connection.

Compare this with the Wraith where Jamie turns Packard's gang own evil against them by challenging them to a race to the death.

I should also note that the Crow villains weren't this unique in the original source material. With the possible exception of Funboy, they were all pretty much your garden variety street trash--the kind you might encounter in any bad neighborhood. The movie turned them into virtual super-villains, each with his own unique specialty and trait. Ironic how the Crow movie is more comic bookish than the actual comic it's based on, but I digress...

T-Bird's Thunderbird in the comic was just an ordinary 70's model Thunderbird. In the movie, however, it's this supped-up hot rod with a supercharger (Like Minty's Pontiac in the Wraith) and LED Underglow. This thing looks like something that would fit right in with Packard's motor gang.

The character Skank did appear in the original Crow comics, but he wasn't one of the guys who originally attacked Eric. He was a friend of one of the attackers (a guy named Tom Tom who didn't appear in the film), he was also black, and was nothing like the comic relief movie Skank. He was portrayed as pretty damn sadistic--he actually gets off on murdering a retarded boy before Eric shows up and cuts him down. Interesting how the film version becomes a goofball sidekick for T-Bird and his crew--much in the same fashion as Skank and his buddy Gutterboy were in the Wraith.

[–] goitwin 11 years ago

It's not a rip off as James O'Barr's The Crow has been written following the death of James lover Bettany. Killed by the car of a drunk driver. The Crow is the way James choose to express what he couldn't do in real life.

[–] gatorstang23 9 years ago

Correct. James started his Crow comic in 1981. The book is fairly different from the movie and only the revenge aspect is the same. But the book was written when James was in a deep depression following Bettany's death. Many characters were typical for the 80's, hence the similarity