Crawl is what I like to call a "Lazy Sunday Movie." It's a simple premise about humans vs. nature starring two talented actors playing characters whos circumstances thematically linking their personal life drama and inner demons which they must now confront and resolve to survive a life-threatening situation greater than themselves. It's quick, simple, to the point, well crafted, and entertaining throughout its ninety-minute runtime. Beyond that, there's really not much else I can say about the movie other than it's an excellent film to play on a lazy Sunday when there's not much to do or while you're killing time waiting for the Lazaniga to cook. That's not to say that the movie is terrible, just too simple. If nothing else, it's a great way to fill in the time for hardcore horror fans while they wait for Doctor Sleep to come out.
Taking place in Florida amid a massive hurricane, the story follows a young competitive swimmer named Haley (Kaya Scodelario) who is unable to reach her father Dave (Barry Pepper) and is concerned at the possibility that he hasn't evacuated from the upcoming flood. So she drives to her old childhood house in search of her dad only to find him wounded and unconscious in the basement. As she attempts to drag her dad back out to the car, she is suddenly confronted by a massive Alligator and is unable to escape. Making matters worse is once her father wakes up, she learns of his broken leg. On top of that, the water is getting higher flooding the basement, and even if they do find a way out, there's a whole family of Alligators just swimming around the neighborhood. Now, Haley must face the elements to save both herself and her dad, and in doing so, reconnect with her father and her true self.
Setting aside the one major issue with the movie, namely that most houses in Florida don't have basements since the area is either at or under sea level, this is a solid film. It does an excellent job at maintaining tension, raising the steaks, and providing a straightforward yet compelling narrative with sympathetic characters. Jump-scares are few and far in between and utilized in the best way possible.
What makes a movie like this work is the cast. The two leads are talented and capable actors who succeed in selling every moment. Kaya Scodelario especially delivers a compelling performance on par with the likes of Daisy Ridley, and I look forward to seeing her again in future films.
The film gets a ton of bonus points for merely being a story set in water. Anyone who has ever worked on a movie set with tons of water can tell you that it is not an easy thing to accomplish. While general things like cast & crew comfort and safety as well as the equipment security are typical aspects of filmmaking, when putting together a movie in water, it is all made ten times more challenging. When you consider all that has to be done to prevent things like the cast getting hypothermia from being wet all day, keeping the equipment from getting wet and damaged and the hundreds of thousands of gallons of water required to flood the whole set, it becomes an ordeal just to get through a single day of shooting. Every person involved in this film gets all the bonus points for taking on this challenge, and they deserve a medal.
While Crawl may not be the next greatest blockbuster this summer as the marketing would have you believe, it is still a decent flick that is sure to please both horror fans and anyone else looking for proper use of free time. If nothing else, it is undoubtedly a better option than seeing a complete retread of an animated classic but with a fresh coat of photo-realistic paint.
*COUGH* The Lion King *COUGH*
Is this movie worth seeing?
Maybe.
Is it worth seeing in theaters?
Maybe.
Why?
While it is decently entertaining, and the overall production value is admirable, I would not say that it's completely worthy of full theater price. See it at a matinee or wait for the video.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm, thank you all for reading.
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