Movie Review--Crawl

"They didn't like it when I was banging on the pipes."
--Dave Keller, Crawl


Another solid film with the "woman vs. nature" premise of The Shallows, Crawl has some obvious similarities to other semi-recent movies, with the main distinction being the type of animal the protagonist faces.  The animal threat uniquely comes from a different species than that of many other films.  Crawl has the advantage of being one of the only horror movies to feature alligators instead of a more conventional species like sharks, and there is never is better time than hurricane season to theatrically release a film about Florida hurricane flooding accompanied by a group of alligators!


Production Values

For the majority of the movie, it falls on the realistic weather effects, alligators, and lead performances to keep the film afloat, and they are able to rise to the occasion.  The artistic execution complements the effects work (the weather truly does look real and the alligators are animated well)--in fact, even the cinematography is handled rather well.  There are only so many ways a camera can be manipulated in small spaces, and some of the best scenes are enhanced by skilled camera work that takes advantage of the confined areas of the house that many scenes occur in.

The script has legitimate urgency because of the combination of the catastrophic weather and the alligators: the rising floodwater provides the alligators access to more parts of the home.  This allows for some clever suspense that is rooted in both environmental factors that drive the characters to higher levels and the aggression of the wild animals that find themselves in new areas.  The hurricane provides a non-forced reason for the characters to have to change positions without ever being reduced to an otherwise cheap plot device.  In this regard, the weather is the main catalyst for tension.

There is more to Crawl than just effects and suspense, though.  Despite the deepest character moments being strategically placed to carry viewers through the less eventful parts of the film, the two lead characters, acted by Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper, are able to convey genuine emotion in their performances.  Periods in between the alligator attacks provide them the opportunity to reconcile and affirm their love for each other.  Crawl is not a character-driven story, even though the characters have some very personal scenes; they are still ultimately there to provide a human presence for the alligators to be drawn to.  They keep the movie afloat in the sense that their performances are strong enough to keep the movie going from one alligator attack to the next.


Story

Mild spoilers are below!

Haley, a talented swimmer, ignores warnings about an approaching hurricane and tries to find her father, who has not acknowledged any attempts by either of his daughters to reach him.  Situated in Florida, her dad's house seems vacant, although there is also seeming evidence that he has not left.  Haley finds his unconscious body in a basement area--and discovers that there are already two alligators under the house.


Intellectual Content

Though there is some degree of emotional depth in Crawl, there are no grand intellectual themes.  This is not ultimately detrimental to the film, as this kind of story does not actually need anything more than several scenes of sincere emotion to provide greater depth and stakes to the plight of the characters.


Conclusion

Crawl is a very competent film that favorably contrasts with the massive scale of many modern movies.  The small scale and focus on only two characters help set it apart from the more mainstream cinematic stories involving events that threaten the entire world, and these features are realized with genuine talent.  Crawl already stands out from other animal attack films simply for featuring alligator attacks when most movies favor other animals, but the effects and performances elevate it further.  Again, there is never a more appropriate time to release (or watch) a movie like this than the summer!


Content:
 1.  Violence:  Some of the alligator attacks and kills are fairly violent.  In one scene, an alligator is killed with a shovel.  In other scenes, an alligator is stabbed in one of its eyes, a man's arm is torn off, a woman and her boyfriend are attacked while they loot a gas station, and a man is torn apart by multiple alligators.
 2.  Profanity:  As events become increasingly dangerous, Hayley and her dad drop f-bombs and say "shit."