Over the last few years, movies based on comic books have become a huge box office draw and this trend shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. But that wasn’t always the case. There was a time when movies based on comic books were actually a “gamble” for movie studios. So, I would like to dedicate the next couple of reviews to some of those “gambles and or forgotten movies that turned the public’s view around on the comic book phenomena. Here are some of the unsung heroes that started the global success of comic based movies.

Eric Draven a young musician and his fiancée are murdered on the eve of their Halloween wedding. Exactly one year later Eric arises from his grave with the help of a mysterious crow and searches for his killers to make them answer for their crimes.

The Crow may not have been a perfect film however it was overshadowed by the tragic unfortunate death of its lead actor, Brandon Lee. As cliché as this sounds, Brandon Lee was born to play The Crow. He was totally immersed into this character making for an entertaining watch.

The movie was based on the graphic novel by James O’Barr and was by no means a mainstream book a la Marvel/ DC. Let’s face it, making it into an R rated movie didn’t help its chances for big box office either, yet for whatever reason, the Crow, was a hit; grossing over 50 million domestically.

Without the success of The Crow, films like Sin City or the Dark Knight trilogy may have never seen the light of day. This film may have started the terms “anti-hero” and “dark” which have now become the modern day staples in many superhero films of today.

In my opinion, The Crow deserves an honourable mention as one the films that began the wave of comic books being turned into movies. Bringing us to the phenomenon we are experiencing today.