20 Best Quotes From The Film

Whether it’s Eric Draven’s dry wit or the chilling Top Dollar turning death into a casual matter, The Crow quotes show why the movie adaptation of a horror comic gained its status as a cult classic. The 1994 movie featured Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts icon Bruce Lee, and was based on the James O’Barr graphic novel of the same name. The movie features Lee as Eric Draven, a man brutally murdered along with his fiancé by a gang sent by a ruthless crime lord. However, Draven returns from the grave with supernatural powers seeking vengeance on the people responsible for his death.

Between Draven, a young girl named Sarah, and the villainous Top Dollar, The Crow remains highly quotable. The film gained a cult following for its dark and brooding storyline of revenge and lost love, although the passing of Brandon Lee while shooting the movie overshadowed much of its reputation. The film delivers hard-hitting and chilling lines after Eric Draven is resurrected, as well as the occasional sarcastic one-liners. While the sequels never matched up to the original, there is another Crow movie in the works, but the first remains a beloved comic book adaptation.

Related: 20 Crazy Details Behind The Making Of The Crow

20 “People Once Believed That When Someone Dies, A Crow Carries Their Soul To The Land Of The Dead.”

Sarah Mohr Teases The Unique Lore Of The Crow

The Crow opens with a voiceover from Eric’s young friend Sarah (Rochelle Davis), explaining the mythology of the film easily and succinctly with an ancient legend about death and the afterlife, though it doesn’t always work that way for the departed. “But sometimes, something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can’t rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong things right.”

This quote from The Crow explains to most people the mythos and allows the movie to officially introduce the resurrected Eric Draven to start his path of vengeance — especially since Sarah Mohr is a character who didn’t even exist in The Crow comics.

19 “Fire It Up! Fire It Up! Fire It Up!”

Skank, T-Bird & Tin Tin Introduce Audiences To The Ritualistic Gangs Of Detroit

The Crow featured a dark cast of characters that included the gang that was responsible for the death of Eric Draven and Shelly Webster, which consisted of members like Tin-Tin (Laurence Mason), Skank (Angel David), Funboy (Michael Massee), and T-Bird (David Patrick Kelly). The gang worked for Top Dollar (Michael Wincott) and were routinely tasked with setting annual fires on Devil’s Night to throw the city of Detroit into chaos.

This inspired their ritualistic chant of “Fire it up!” that they used to celebrate and pump themselves up, which also highlighted the general atmosphere of the film’s criminal element. It even included a funny moment when Skank started yelling it after all his friends were dead.

18 “Stop Me If You Heard This One: Jesus Christ Walks Into A Hotel.”

Eric Draven Shows He’s Got Jokes

Eric Draven comes back from the dead to exact vengeance on the men who sexually assaulted and killed his fiancé after killing him. However, one thing that The Crow does is add a little humor to the overwhelming sense of dread permeating throughout the movie. This is mostly done through the many The Crow quotes that are funny one-liners surprisingly delivered by Eric himself. When he finds one of the men who killed him in a hotel, he mocks the man’s surprised exclamation of “Jesus Christ” with the start of what sounds to be a mockingly sacrilegious joke. Eric never loses his humor, despite his pain.

17 “You Heard Me Rapping, Right?”

Eric Draven Channels Edgar Allen Poe

Eric Draven used his new status as a reborn angel of vengeance to create an intimidating character to take his revenge with, using face paint and a dark but poetic attitude, which he displays perfectly when dealing with a pawn store owner who was associated with Tin-Tin. Draven first knocks on the door and then breaks into the pawnshop, reciting lines from Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” to the store owner and creating one of the best entrances in the film. The Poe quotes are clearly fitting for a movie like The Crow, and their inclusion helps cement Draven’s unique identity as a hero.

16 “Are We Having Fun Or What?”

Top Dollar Exposes The Depths Of His Madness

Top Dollar is getting his gang and other gang leaders fired up about the upcoming Devil’s Night. For years, they lit the city of Detroit on fire and reveled in the fear cast across its citizens. However, this year he has bigger plans, telling everyone that the next Devil’s Night will be one for the history books. He gets everyone worked up by saying he wants a fire so big “The gods’ll notice us again.” He then sees everyone is on the same page and delivers this one line, which he wants to hear everyone say as they watch the city burn. It is part of what makes Top Dollar one of the most underrated villains in movies.

15 “Tell Them Eric Draven Sends His Regards.”

Eric Draven Makes Himself Known To Detroit’s Criminal Element

While Eric Draven is brought back supernaturally on a mission for revenge by his crow, he doesn’t just want to take out the men who were responsible for killing him and the woman he loved. It is also important to him that they know why. With each of his attacks on the gang members responsible, he makes sure they are well aware of why he is after them. When he interrogates the pawn store owner for information on the gang following the murder of Tin-Tin, he makes sure he leaves a message for his prey — “Death is coming for them. Tonight.”

14 “We Killed You Dead, There Ain’t No Coming Back!”

T-Bird Has An Existential Crisis

Out of all the gang members who killed Shelly, the one who seems most shaken by the arrival of Eric Draven is T-Bird. Eric gets him when he is waiting in a car and then tapes him up before sending him to his death in a fiery explosion. However, when T-Bird realizes that his assailant is Eric Draven, a man he murdered, he is shaken. He looks terrified, and he realizes that the world is far stranger than he ever believed. When he looks Eric in the eyes, he says “This is the real world. There ain’t no coming back” and repeats that over and over as his mind starts to break.

13 “Our Friend T-Bird Won’t Be Joining Us This Evening On Account Of A Slight Case Of Death”

Top Dollar Doesn’t Miss T-Bird

Eric Draven goes after T-Bird to seek revenge for his fiancé Shelly’s death, and manages to kill him in a horrific exploding car accident. Later on, when the top-level criminal Top Dollar learns of his death, he couldn’t care less. Instead, he delivers this one line to the rest of the crew. The line is memorable for its witty and sarcastic way of breaking the news of someone’s death. Top Dollar doesn’t care about anyone on his crew, and they all exist just to do his bidding. This one line shows how little he really cares about anyone but himself (and his sister).

12 “The Crow Is His Link Between The Land Of The Living And The Realm Of The Dead”

Myca

When Top Dollar first learns about Eric Draven, he doesn’t quite believe that he is invincible and brought back from the dead. His “sister” Myca (Bai Ling) is even more evil and twisted than Top Dollar, and also much more ready to accept Eric Draven’s return. She explains the symbolism that often revolves around crows. This scene also delivers another memorable line in response to the crow’s link to death and Draven’s invincibility. Top Dollar responds with, “So kill the crow and destroy the man.” Not only is Bai Ling’s delivery as the ruthless Myca chilling, but this The Crow quote exposes that Draven isn’t as immortal as it appears.

11 “That’s Him! But He Looked Different. He Was All Painted Up White.”

Skank Learns The Game Is Up

If any figure among the villains of The Crow seems like they could’ve turned out better in different circumstances, it might have been Skank. His partners in the gang are ruthless and brutal killers. However, Skank is a follower, and he seems like someone who wants to fit in, which he likely has never done before the opportunity to join Top Dollar’s gang.

Sadly for Skank, he ends up as the last person standing in his gang, and Eric Draven is coming for him all the same. Top Dollar knows about Eric by this time and when he shows Skank a picture. He admits that the returned Eric Draven is responsible, but he says he looks different because of the paint. This The Crow quote shows Skank’s vulnerability, and reveals just how much fear the very existence of Eric Draven inspires in his enemies.

10 “They’re All Dead. They Just Don’t Know It Yet”

Eric Draven Explains The Situation To Albrecht

When Sergeant Albrecht (Ernie Hudson) first encounters Eric, he hasn’t pieced together the gothic vigilante’s identity. Eric tries to help him remember the murder scene he responded to on Devil’s Night. Unable to remember, Eric asks him about Tin-Tin, and Albrecht realizes he was the one who killed the gang member. Eric corrects Albrecht with “He died a year ago when he touched her,” then delivers this memorable quote. For Eric, the people who took the love of his life away signed their death sentence from the moment they touched Shelly, and are destined to die one way or another.

9 “I Thought I’d Use Your Front Door”

Eric Draven Reminds Albrecht That He’s Human Too

One of the more down-to-earth moments is when Eric visits Albrecht at his home to have a heartfelt chat. Eric learns the brutal truth of how his fiancé died and sees her pain through Albrecht’s eyes. While Eric has been brought back from the dead, he still feels pain and a sense of humanity. He’s also not got any supernatural abilities that allow him to enter buildings or disappear after meeting people. Albrecht thinks he will vanish into thin air like a ghost, but Eric says he prefers the old-fashioned method in a sad, witty one-liner. It was a quiet moment, and shows the vulnerable side of The Crow.

8 “Safest Place In The World To Be”

Eric Draven Comforts Sarah

Sarah learns the truth about Eric’s resurrection from the dead. Draven and Shelly used to take care of Sarah as her mother fell into a spiral of addiction. Since their death, she has no one to care for her except Albrecht, who promised Shelly he would watch out for her. Having no one to go home to, Sarah wanders to the cemetery where she finds Eric. She thinks Eric will scold her, but Eric says it’s the safest place for her to be. Everyone’s already dead, and the people who loved Sarah are there. It’s a moment The Crow shows that, despite his appearance, he is most definitely a hero.

7 “Childhood’s Over The Moment You Know You’re Gonna Die”

Top Dollar Muses On The Cruelty Of Life

The Crow is all about grief, pain, and the conversation around death. Top Dollar has a sincere moment about who he is, and here he gives a glimpse into how he became the ruthless man driving Devil’s Night. While looking at the tombstone in the snow globe, he tells Myca that it was a gift from his father. The snow globe isn’t a happy moment, but a reminder about the cruelty of life. His father explained that your childhood is over once you realize that you’re going to die someday. This The Crow quote explains a lot about Top Dollar’s callousness and the kind of upbringing he must have had.

6 “I Feel Like A Little Worm On A Big Fu**in’ Hook”

Skank Appraises His Situation

Skank was the least useful of Top Dollar’s gang members. He mostly followed T-Bird around and did whatever they told him. However, when he ends up as the last man standing, and Top Dollar realizes Eric Draven is coming for him, he takes him into his realm and waits for Eric to show up. Skank knows his life is in great danger, and he realizes that Top Dollar just needs him to lure in Draven. He delivers this line with the greatest fear imaginable, and it only garners a laugh from Top Dollar, who just mocks him by repeating the line. It’s all true too, as Skank’s life doesn’t last much longer.

5 “Victims, Aren’t We All”

Eric Draven Couldn’t Care Less About Tin-Tin’s Pain

It is hard not to feel Eric’s pain when he seeks his revenge against Tin-Tin. Tin-Tin is the most ruthless of the gang all as he has no regard for what he did to Shelly that fateful night. Tin-Tin gives off a persona that he is invincible and no one can touch him, much less Eric. However, his knife skill proves useless as Eric gets the upper hand and says the line “Victims, aren’t we all.” The quote is memorable simply because it shows one of the deeper philosophical themes underpinning The Crow — that anybody can fall from grace, and everyone is in some way a victim of circumstance.

4 “Mother Is The Name For God On The Lips And Hearts Of All Children.”

Eric Draven Taps Into William Makepeace Thackeray

There is an impactful scene in The Crow where Eric confronts Sarah’s mother, Darla. Eric and Shelly were almost parents to Sarah, seeing as Darla never took care of her as a mother. When Eric finishes off Funboy, he makes Darla realize what she’s done to herself. Eric quotes William Makepeace Thackeray to Darla as he removes the morphine from her body. This The Crow quote is impactful, as it’s when Draven makes Darla confront her past wrongs. Darla abandoned her daughter and Sarah sought a mother figure in Shelly.

3 “Buildings Burn, People Die, But Real Love Is Forever”

Eric Draven Shows His Romantic Side

The Crow knows how to tug at the heartstrings. By the end of the film, Eric has avenged Shelly, and his soul feels at peace. Eric and Shelly had a deep love for one another and for Sarah. Eric is brought back because his soul is in anguish for the woman he loves. By the end, Eric is welcomed with open arms by Shelly and Sarah realizes it’s time for him to finally rest.

As Eric Draven passes away he says the line, “If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.” It’s a tender message that addresses yet another layer of the themes of death and loss present throughout the movie.

2 “I Have Something To Give You. I Don’t Want It Anymore. Thirty Hours Of Pain All At Once, All For You.”

Eric Draven Finally Gets Revenge On Top Dollar

When Eric finally reaches his goal and gets hold of Top Dollar, he transfers all the accumulative hurt and pain Shelly experienced over her prolonged death to the man responsible for it. He exacts the perfect revenge on his enemy while also allowing himself to finally let go and begin to grieve properly. It’s not only Eric Draven’s final act in a mission of revenge that he crawled out of the grave for, but it was also one of Brandon Lee’s most passionately delivered lines in the film, further highlighting its importance.

1 “Can’t Rain All The Time”

Eric Draven

Sarah realizes who Eric is when he says this iconic line, because it is a line from a song that Eric’s band recorded. However, it’s more than that. In the film, it always seems to be rainy and gloomy. Despite the chaos and evil that lurks all around them, Eric believes that there is always something good to hold on to, and this is a lesson he taught Sarah.

Despite the pain and suffering Eric endured, there was a light at the end of the tunnel that he would return to Shelly. This The Crow quote is one of Eric Draven’s most humanizing, and yet another moment that reminds viewers his gothic aesthetic doesn’t mean he’s an unfeeling hero.

The Crow

Release Date

May 13, 1994

Director

Alex Proyas

Cast

Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, Rochelle Davis, Bai Ling, Sofia Shinas, Anna Levine, David Patrick Kelly

Rating

R

Runtime

102 Minutes

Story By

James O’Barr

Studio(s)

Dimension Films