When it comes to horror, one
sub-genre that tends to be overlooked is the “when animals attack” genre, mostly
because they tend to focus on one animal in particular: sharks. Ever since
Spielberg released Jaws 44 years ago and made millions of people afraid
of the water, killer sharks have been Hollywood’s go-to symbol of the ferocity
of nature and mankind’s reminder that they may not be on top of the food chain.
Crawl, the latest collaboration between producer Sam Raimi and director
Alexandre Aja, is here to remind of that sharks aren’t the only terror of the
deep out there. After all, a shark can’t follow you onto dry land.
Set in Gainesville, Florida,
our story follows Haley (Kaya Scodelario), a college swim champion who braves a
category 5 hurricane to check up on her father and former coach (Barry Pepper),
who she finds wounded in the crawlspace under his home. The culprit: a pair of
large, hungry, angry alligators who’ve made their nest there. With the water
levels rising and the territorial gators becoming more hostile, Haley and her
dad must fight their way through the swath of scaly beasts and escape the
rapidly flooding house to find help.
As far as plot goes, it really
doesn’t get much simpler and straightforward than that, and frankly, that’s
what I admire the most about it. Made on a measly $13 million budget and
clocking in at just 87 minutes, Crawl is an economical, no frills, meat
and potatoes man vs. nature survival film with no pretenses and no time to
waste. These gators aren’t treated as a metaphor for anything, they’re not
genetically engineered monstrosities, they’re not pissed off about global
warming or because someone tried to build condos on their swamp, there’s no
moment where the characters stop and go “Oh no, they’re organizing!” or
anything like that. No, it’s just a bunch of big ole gators who seize an
opportunity for a free buffet. While half the suspense is seeing our
protagonists trying to navigate this increasingly cramped space while avoiding
their line of sight, they don’t skimp on the gory details once they chomp on a
loose limb, or make mince meat out anyone else unfortunate enough to be in
their periphery.
The gators themselves are
convincingly conceived, considering they’re all CGI. They move and act like
real creatures, fast, strong and cunning, but not too fast, strong or cunning. Crawl
may be made on a small budget, but you know exactly where that money is going. The
characters make mistakes, but none of them are dumb decisions, having to walk
off gruesome injuries while navigating a shifting obstacle course of unpredictable
waters and floating debris in order to escape the beasts. The last act
especially is when everything that can go wrong does and the intensity is
cranked up to high gear.
Despite being trapped in a
hurricane, everyone has a reason to be there, even those who inevitably become
gator chow, mainly a pair of cops looking for survivors and a group of looters
trying to ransack a gas station across the street. (Ask any Floridian and they’ll
probably tell you they know at least one person from this movie.) The emotional
crux of the story is between Haley and her father, which is admittedly bog standard,
and by far the movie’s weakest element. There is some regret from the father
for pushing the Haley too far, with Haley blaming herself for her parents’
divorce due to her dad spending so much time coaching her, but it serves little
purpose other than to give the audience a reason to care beyond not wanting to
see two innocent people drown or get eaten alive. There’s also a bit of a “Daddies
are what make little girls strong and they’re tough on you because they love
you” subtext that I know might turn some people off, but if that kind of thing
isn’t a deal breaker for you, it shouldn’t be much of a distraction.
Bottom line, Crawl is a
gnarly little number. Essentially a two characters, one room play with the x
factor of a swarm of hungry alligators, you’re getting exactly what you see on
the tin and not much else. If you wish for something more thematically
fulfilling, there are better options out there, but if you’re fine with a
simple down and dirty suspense thriller, there are certainly worse things you
could be watching this summer.
7/10
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