Crawl (2019)

Haley (Kaya Scodelario) goes to check on her father (Barry Pepper) during a hurricane in Florida. She finds him unconscious and injured in the crawlspace of their old house. Unfortunately, he’s not alone. Alligators have injured him and cut off any escape route. Due to an evacuation order, no one can hear their screams for help. To make matters worse, the crawlspace is starting to flood. If the pair can’t make it past the alligators to get out, they’re going to drown.

Director Alexandre Aja’s Crawl entered theaters in the summer of 2019 with little fanfare. Critics weren’t offered a screening before its release, which is usually a sign of a turkey. But. the film soon garnered good word-of-mouth as a genuinely suspenseful and fun horror outing. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see it during its theatrical run. I finally was able to set aside some time and see it. Lo and behold, the buzz was right.

The premise is simple to the extreme but yet quite effective. The claustrophobic crawlspace coupled with the double threat of rising flood waters and hungry alligators sets up a thrill-ride atmosphere. Fine performances from Scodelario and Pepper and excellent special effects helped to keep me on the edge of my seat. The script provides enough information about the characters that you care about them without wasting a lot of time on exposition. Of course, there are a few questionable decisions made by the father and daughter team but what horror movie would be complete without that? The results manage to be entertaining if not plausible.

It definitely doesn’t break any new ground in the genre and it certainly doesn’t merit any awards for originality. But Crawl is a lean and mean horror film that provides honest suspense with decent scares. If that’s what you’re looking to watch, Crawl is a winner.

3.5 out of 5.0 stars3.5
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