Crawl

A college student trapped in a crawlspace in the coastal Florida home of her injured father during a category 5 hurricane. Oh, and there's a giant alligator there too. Talk about one lousy day. But also one rollicking premise for a horror flick, one that delivers the fun and frights on all fronts and makes for a great addition to the canon of summertime creature features.

Crawl (U.S.A.)
Released: July 12, 2019
Director: Alexandre Aja
Screenplay: Michael & Sean Rasmussen

Tagline: "They were here first"

Cast:
Kaya Scodelario as Haley Keller
Barry Pepper as Dave Keller
Ross Anderson as Wayne Taylor
Moryfydd Clark as Beth Keller
Cso-Cso as Sugar

Haley Keller (Scodelario) is an accomplished swimmer at the University of Florida, though she may be losing her competitive edge. As Hurricane Wendy, a category 5 storm, bears down on the east coast, Haley learns from her sister Beth that no one can get ahold of their father, whom Haley has been slightly estranged from in the wake of their parents' divorce, and Beth is worried he won't follow the evacuation order. Haley takes it upon herself to drive into the heart of the raging storm only to discover that her father lies unconscious in the dank crawlspace beneath their old home, a giant bite mark in his shoulder and a lurking, prehistoric predator in the shadows.

The set-up for this film is thin and straightforward, and one might not think there's a ton of meat here (ba dum dum, psh!), but Aja has a gift for piling on complications and barriers that keep the plot and the tension on a steady incline for the entire brisk runtime. Haley and Dave just can NOT catch a break, but despite everything that possibly could go wrong going wrong at each turn, they dig deep, find their inner resolve, and get creative about what they can do next to maximize their chances of survival in what might be the least likely survival scenario ever. But damn if it's a blast to watch them try.

Crawl isn't overly violent by any means, but its sense of hopelessness is omnipresent, twisted into something both exhilarating and wickedly funny for the audience to watch. You can't help but bemoan "oh man!" every time Haley and Dave's initiative gets squandered by a new twist of fate, even as you cringe-smile in anticipation of what they'll do next. It's a lean film, one unconcerned with emotional baggage or extraneous subplots, and while this might be considered shoddy craftsmanship in other films, here it's exactly what Crawl needs to keep the thrill ride sensation in motion. 

Scodelario offers a magnetic and grounded performance that aids in propelling the film forward. Haley is beaten down by everything from the elements to apex predators to her own sense of self-worth; she's literally fighting on her own against the world, and what could be a more universal feeling for audiences to empathize with? The odds are stacked against her three times over, yet there's a fire and a spunkiness in her character that lets us know that hey, she just might pull this off; let's see. Like Haley, Crawl has modest ambitions, and meets them with crowd-pleasing grace. A perfect popcorn movie any way you slice it. Or should I say any way you shred it to bits?

Crawl
5 - Totally Terrifying
4 - Crazy Creepy
3 - Fairly Frightening
2 - Slightly Scary
1 - Hardly Horror