Horror films are a common Hollywood staple genre, and more to the point, horror films involving different fish or reptiles have been around, but moreover are bigger today than ever. The list simply grows: the "Godzilla" films, "Jaws" '75, "Piranha 3D" '10, "The Shallows" '16, "47 Meters Down" '17, "The Meg" '18, and even the up coming "47 Meters Down: Uncaged". So, certainly when "Crawl" was being advertised, Hollywood just couldn't resist in cashing in on, yet another 'fish and reptile' tale.
When a category 5 hurricane hits her Florida town, young Haley (Kaya Scodelario) ignores the evacuation orders to search for her seemingly missing father, Dave (Barry Pepper). After finding him gravely injured in their family home, the two of them become trapped by the rapidly encroaching floodwaters. With the storm strengthening, Haley and Dave discover an even greater threat than the rising water level--a relentless attack from a pack of gigantic alligators. So, what starts out to be a relative rescue mission, ends up a severe 'cat and mouse' game with the alligators as the tenacious opposition. Will Haley and Dave make it out alive, or will they end up succumbing to the wrath of these alligators?
Others to round out the cast are Morfydd Clark as Beth, Haley's sister, Ross Anderson as Wayne, Jose Palma as Pete, George Somner as Marv, Anson Boon as Stan, Ami Metcalf as Lee and Cso-Cso as Sugar, the dog.
This was creepily directed by Alexandre Aja ("Furia" '99, "High Tension" '03, "The Hills Have Eyes" '06, "Mirrors" '08, "Piranha 3D" '10, "Horns" '13, "The 9th Life of Louis Drax" '16) plus shorts. Certainly, by his very resume, this filmmaker is in familiar territory. Although it would be intriguing to see him branch out and attempt something different, familiar territory definitely allows him to give us well delineated characters in how effective they can be in showcasing the terror and desperation considering the predicament they're in. The audience could definitely feel the pain of these characters as they were dragged through that proverbial keyhole. If you like this brand of directing, his "Space Adventure Cobra" is in pre-production. It was creatively written by Michael Rasmussen and Shawn Rasmussen ("Long Distance" '05, "The Ward" '10, "Dark Feed" '13, "The Inhabitants" '15). Considering that this running time was only 90 minutes long, the storyline cut right to the chase. These writers, a writing team, know what it takes to create an horrific yarn and what it takes to keep their audience on the edge of their seats, and making the running time short gives it that one, two punch. Other than a couple of places of small inconsistencies, this script soared. Then add in that Sam Raimi being one of the producers, and this film had to an effective one. I'm not sure if these alligators were CGI or animatronic or real or a combination thereof and edited in in post production, but the visual effects were simply amazing.
If horror, and more specifically. horror laced with reptiles galore, is your thrill, this is the film for you. I was all over my seat--totally in suspense. This puts the 'I' in intensity, and when you walk into the multiplex, you'll definitely walk out--knees wobbling, when you leave just from the pure adrenaline pumping in your body. It's a gripper!
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: R 88mins.
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