“Crawl Will Make Your Nerves Run!”

By: Adam Cook

Today is officially the first day of Hurricane Season in the United States with Barry making landfall in Louisiana. Coincidentally, a new movie that takes place during a hurricane was released to the viewing public yesterday. The movie is titled Crawl. It’s an homage to the b movie monster films of past and present. Not to mention that this is a movie that could possibly happen in real life (although unlikely). I checked it out yesterday morning to see if this movie is a runaway hit or would it drown in mediocrity.

The plot of Crawl is about a college girl named Haley, played by Kaya Scodelario who is a swimmer at the University of Florida whose on the verge of losing her scholarship due to not making the cut. She gets a call from her sister in Boston saying she hasn’t been able to get a hold of their father. Despite a category 5 hurricane coming in the area, Haley searches for her father. Her search leads her to the house she grew up in that is being sold. After thoroughly searching, she finds her father Dave, played by Barry Pepper in the cellar. As she tries to help him escape, they are intercepted by a giant alligator that’s made its home inside. With time not on their side they need to escape from the cellar and get to safety before the hurricane gets worst.

Crawl is not so much a horror movie although it has elements of being one. I found it to be more of a survival suspense film with nail biting tension and moments that make you feel like you are the one gasping for air. Director Alexandre Aja does a great job of showing the audience every possible scenario for the victims in the movie and how to go about getting out of the cellar alive. Just when you think they’re going to make it, another obstruction gets in the way. At times I felt like I was in the shoes of the characters thinking in my head what would I do in this situation considering there could be a time in my life where I would have to make choices.

The film has a very tiny cast which the majority of the screen time focusing on Scodelario and Pepper. They played off their fear, anger and hope like a ping pong game, each of them giving direction and ways to get out. Their quick thinking is what keeps them afloat. It was great to see Barry Pepper on screen and he was my favorite performance as the lonely father who motivates his daughter during times where she doubts if she would survive.

For all you horror fans that love blood and gore there is an ample amount of it. There’s not much of a body count, but it does pile up fast during the middle of the film. The alligators themselves were made using CGI (obviously). While I prefer animatronics, these computerized gators are passable. There’s a few times where it felt silly what they were doing, but you’ve got to expect that in a movie of this caliber.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Crawl. This could easily be the sleeper hit of the summer. It’s an 85 minute roller coaster that doesn’t slow down. It wouldn’t surprise me if people in states that have hurricanes would watch this movie as a guide in how to survive the storms that will come during the season, but that would be just wishful thinking.