PplI consider myself a fan of horror films finding the action, suspense, and brutality entertaining in its ability to shock audiences and bring us out of reality to imagine the improbable. Crown Heights, despite being a true story about a young man’s fight for justice in being wrongfully convicted of a crime hit me more as a horror story. It brought fear into my heart and mind due to the reality of the circumstances Colin Warner (Keith Stanfield, Get Out).
Crown Heights captures an injustice that resulted in a young West-Indian man in being convicted of murder. Unlike many true crime or justice films, this film hits at how we, as a society, throw people away because we can’t identify with their circumstances or believe in their guilt just because of how they look. We deem them guilty without looking at the evidence. We permit them to become victims of the Justice System and court of public opinion. The film is well-choreographed in telling Colin’s story and how his life and those around him are continuously disrupted by a web of lies and corruption.
Unlike many films that demonstrate how a long fight for justice is achieved, this film leaves you wondering about how many other men and women are denied justice and will never regain a sense of normalcy due to someone prejudice, ineptitude, or apathy. Crown Heights becomes a horror story in revealing the ugly side of society and how others to become victim to a system designed to consume the weakest under the guise of law and order.
