Let’s be real for a second. Most people don’t even know there was a fourth Crow movie. Those who do usually wish they didn't. Released in 2005, The Crow: Wicked Prayer basically drove the final nail into the coffin of the original franchise before the 2024 reboot tried to dig it back up. But if you look at the cast of The Crow: Wicked Prayer, something doesn't add up. It’s actually kind of insane how much talent was packed into this low-budget, direct-to-video disaster. You’ve got an Emmy winner, a future Marvel villain, a 90s scream queen, and literal Hollywood royalty.
How did this happen?
Usually, when a sequel hits the "four" mark, the cast is made up of people you’ve never seen before and will never see again. This wasn't that. This was a group of actors who, on paper, should have made something iconic. Instead, they ended up in a film where the CGI ravens look like they were rendered on a toaster.
Edward Furlong as Jimmy Cuervo
Edward Furlong was the "it" kid. After Terminator 2: Judgment Day and American History X, he was the poster boy for grunge-era angst. Casting him as Jimmy Cuervo—the resurrected hero out for revenge—actually made a lot of sense back then. Jimmy is a convict living in a mining town, trying to start over with his girlfriend, Lily. They get murdered by a biker gang (standard Crow stuff), and he comes back to settle the score.
Furlong brings a specific kind of twitchy, vulnerable energy to the role. He’s not the physical powerhouse that Brandon Lee was. He’s smaller. He looks tired. Honestly, he looks like a guy who has actually had a rough life, which fits the character. But the script does him zero favors. There’s a scene where he’s doing a ritual dance that feels less like a supernatural transformation and more like someone who’s had one too many drinks at a goth club. It’s a tragedy, really, because Furlong has the acting chops to carry a dark, emotional story, but here he’s buried under a weirdly fitting leather jacket and some of the least intimidating face paint in cinematic history.
David Boreanaz and the Biker Cult
If Furlong was the emotional core, David Boreanaz was the ham-fisted energy. Fresh off the success of Angel, Boreanaz played Luc "Death" Crash. He’s the leader of a Satanic biker gang called the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Boreanaz is clearly having the time of his life. He’s chewing every piece of scenery he can find. He wants to become the Antichrist. That is his actual goal in the movie. While the original movie was a gothic noir and the second was a neon-drenched fever dream, Boreanaz turns this one into a campy villain showcase. It’s jarring. You have Furlong playing it super grounded and depressed, while Boreanaz is walking around like he’s in a high-budget school play about the devil.
✨ Don't miss: Elaine Cassidy Movies and TV Shows: Why This Irish Icon Is Still Everywhere
The gang he leads is equally bizarre.
- Marcus Chong (Tank from The Matrix) plays War.
- Tito Ortiz (the UFC legend) plays Famine.
- Yuji Okumoto (Chozen from The Karate Kid Part II) plays Pestilence.
It is such a random assortment of mid-2000s icons. Seeing Tank from The Matrix and a UFC Hall of Famer in the same biker gang is the kind of fever dream only 2005 could produce. They don’t have much to do other than look mean and die in various ways, but the sheer "Wait, is that...?" factor is high.
Tara Reid and the Female Perspective
Then there’s Tara Reid. This was right around the peak of her tabloid fame. She plays Lola Byrne, Luc’s girlfriend and a high priestess of sorts. She’s the one pushing the occult agenda.
Reid’s performance is... interesting. She’s trying to be a femme fatale, a dark manipulator. But the movie doesn't seem to know if it wants her to be a legitimate threat or just eye candy. There’s a lack of chemistry between her and Boreanaz that makes their "world-ending romance" feel more like two people who met at a party five minutes ago. Still, her presence in the cast of The Crow: Wicked Prayer is what helped give the movie a weird bit of star power that it probably didn't deserve given the budget.
The Supporting Legends: Hopper and Trejo
This is where the movie gets legitimately confusing. How do you get Dennis Hopper and Danny Trejo in the same movie and still end up with a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes?
Dennis Hopper plays El Niño. He’s a sort of priest/pimp/cult leader who performs the wedding ceremony for the villains. Hopper is a legend. He’s Blue Velvet. He’s Easy Rider. Here, he’s wearing a bright blue suit and rambling about the apocalypse. He looks like he showed up for one day, filmed all his scenes in a single room, and went home with a paycheck. And honestly? Good for him. He’s the most charismatic thing on screen.
🔗 Read more: Ebonie Smith Movies and TV Shows: The Child Star Who Actually Made It Out Okay
Danny Trejo plays Harold, the father of the murdered girl. Trejo is always great. He does the "grieving, tough father" thing perfectly. He even does a ritualistic dance that somehow feels more authentic than Furlong’s. When you have Hopper and Trejo, you have the ingredients for a cult classic. But the editing and the pacing are so choppy that their scenes feel disconnected from the rest of the movie. It’s like they’re in a much better film that’s happening in the building next door.
Why the Chemistry Failed
Movies aren't just a list of names. They’re about how those names interact.
In the original 1994 film, every character felt like they belonged in a rain-soaked, decaying Detroit. In Wicked Prayer, nobody seems to be in the same movie. You have Emmanuelle Chriqui (later of Entourage fame) playing Lily. She’s great. She’s sweet, she’s likable. But she feels like she wandered in from a Nicholas Sparks adaptation. Then you have Boreanaz playing a cartoon villain. Then you have Furlong playing a gritty indie drama.
The tonal whiplash is enough to give you a headache.
Lance Anderson handled the makeup, and while he’s a legend (working on The Serpent and the Rainbow and Ghostbusters), the look of the Crow here just feels off. It’s too clean. It lacks the DIY, "I just crawled out of a grave" desperation of the first three films. When the cast doesn't look like they belong in their own skin, the audience struggles to buy into the world.
The Production Mess
Directed by Lance Mungia, who did the cult hit Six-String Samurai, there was hope for this. Six-String Samurai was stylish and weird. People expected that same flair.
💡 You might also like: Eazy-E: The Business Genius and Street Legend Most People Get Wrong
But Wicked Prayer was filmed in Utah on a shoestring budget. It was based on a novel by Norman Partridge, which is actually quite good. The book has a desert-noir, Natural Born Killers vibe that the movie tries—and fails—to mimic. The production was plagued by issues, and the move to a direct-to-video release meant the post-production was rushed. You can see it in the lighting. You can hear it in the ADR (automated dialogue replacement) where the voices don't quite match the lip movements.
Is it Worth a Rewatch?
Honestly? Yes. But only for the "what if" factor.
Looking at the cast of The Crow: Wicked Prayer today is like looking at a time capsule. It’s a reminder of a period where mid-budget movies were dying, and actors were taking whatever roles they could to stay relevant. There is a version of this movie—maybe one directed by Robert Rodriguez in his prime—that could have been amazing.
If you go into it expecting a masterpiece, you’ll be miserable. If you go into it to see David Boreanaz try to become the Antichrist while Danny Trejo does a ceremonial dance, you might actually have a decent time. It’s a fascinatng failure. It’s a movie that has more talent in front of the camera than behind it, and that’s a rare thing to see in such a spectacular fashion.
How to Appreciate This Movie Today
If you’re going to dive back into this 2005 relic, don't just put it on in the background. Pay attention to these specific elements to get the most out of the experience:
- Watch for the Cameos: Beyond the main cast, look for Macy Gray. Yes, the singer. She’s in this. It’s that kind of movie.
- Contrast the Acting Styles: Notice how Dennis Hopper is essentially playing a different genre than Edward Furlong. It’s a masterclass in why "tone" matters more than "talent" sometimes.
- Check the Source Material: If the movie frustrates you, read the Norman Partridge novel. It explains the "Four Horsemen" concept much better and makes the story feel like a legitimate part of the Crow mythos.
- Look at the Soundtrack: The Crow franchise was always known for its music. This one features tracks from HIM and The Ubiquity Soul, trying hard to maintain that "goth" aesthetic even as the visuals fail.
The best way to handle The Crow: Wicked Prayer is to treat it as an experimental piece of mid-2000s kitsch. It represents the end of an era for the franchise, a final gasp of the original continuity before the world moved on to bigger, shinier reboots. Turn off the "critic" part of your brain and just enjoy the weirdness of seeing these specific actors together in a desert wasteland.