Crawl Review
R: Bloody creature violence, and brief language
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Run time: 1 hr and 27 Minutes
Director: Alexandre Aja | Screenwriters: Michael Rasmussen, Shawn Rasmussen
Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper
When a massive hurricane hits her Florida hometown, Haley (Kaya Scodelario) ignores evacuation orders to search for her missing father (Barry Pepper). Finding him gravely injured in the crawl space of their family home, the two become trapped by quickly encroaching floodwaters. As time runs out to escape the strengthening storm, Haley and her father discover that the rising water level is the least of their fears.
In this episode of Man vs. Wild, we find British actress Kaya Scodelario portraying a Floridian swimming athlete up against Mother Nature and blood thirsty gators in the swamps of Florida. That’s the set up for director Alexandre Aja’s latest horror feature, Crawl. Considering how crazy the stories that originate from Florida are, I’m surprised this isn’t based on a true story.
All jokes aside, I am relieved just by the mere existence of this movie. In a time where everything is either a Disney release, a hollow reboot, a crappy sequel, or a bad indie movie (which there have been a lot of this summer), it’s nice to have just a regular original movie. Familiarity be damned. I just want to have a good time watching a mainstream non-franchise, non-Disney movie. And I had a good time with Crawl.
For an 87-minute movie, the film has a quick and straightforward setup where you get a sense of who Haley is, and her abilities, making it believable that she’s able to survive in this situation for so long. Kaya Scodelario is a talented actress, but this is a role where she truly flaunts her stuff and shines as this badass who just wants to save her dad and his dog and get the hell out of Florida.
The way how this is filmed reminds me of two PS4 video games, one being Metal Gear Solid because of how it handles stealthiness, and the other being Tomb Raider where the tactical resourcefulness of the lead helps her advance and survive the dire situation at hand.
A ton of recent horror films (including Midsommar), have played on having a light and comedic tone, which is usually incorporated in order for the movie to move at a fast pace. One of the things I enjoyed about Crawl is that it manages to take itself seriously and still move at a fast pace. As a horror, the film is not particularly scary. It has jump scares and a good amount of gore, but it mostly plays as a straightforward thriller that keeps you tense.
When the gators arrive, it’s done naturally where their tails are presented in an overhead shot, or from their POV when they’re about to devour their next victim. While it does attempt at a few jump scares (and often fails at it), the horror elements are wildly effective where the practical effects of the injuries Haley and her father face at the hands — well, claws — of the creepy crawlies are brutal and unsettling that it makes you even more anxious about whether they are going to survive or not. Also, I love Aja’s direction and camerawork throughout the film, for it primarily takes place in one setting but he works around with that titular compressed interior and plays with your claustrophobia, aquaphobia, and herpetophobia. And if you didn’t have either one of those phobias before, you might develop them after this movie. As I said, this is truly a Man vs. Wild episode where the antagonists are the gators AND a fucking hurricane. Or… it’s just good tourism promo for Florida.
When the movie does get stupid and silly, I can’t ever fault it because… well, it’s Florida. Stupid shit happens there all the time. You can ask my copy editor Myan who is a Floridian and she would agree with me.
(this is the part where Myan agrees with me)
Myan: (I agrizzle)
There is a moment in the film that gets overly silly. It involves an incident which takes place near the area where Haley is trapped and, while it briefly shifts the tone to a campier area and doesn’t match the seriousness, it works because it’s authentic to the setting of Florida.
The film is simple and short but it boasts so much of a fun time. Yeah, it’s cheesy and it takes itself way too seriously but it manages to keep you on your toes for a long time.
For a movie that ironically feature characters who drown, Crawl is a breath of fresh air in modern cinema that I definitely recommend. It’s not one of those “you need to see it” kind of movies, but with the variety of garbage that’s currently out right now, this is one of your better bets.
Rating: 3.5/5 | 76%
