Infierno en la tormenta

Despite 3 or 4 irritating scenes that transpire script mediocrity with let's say 1 or 2 appalling minutes, the film manages to scare the audience with panache, at least me anyway. I was indeed gesticulating in my armchair each time an alligator grabbed and shook a protagonist. Actually, it's not really surprising: as an euphemism, in the horror / thriller genre, Alexandre Aja is definitely not a padawan. Thus, Alexandre Aja has managed an effective film that successfully fulfills his objective: to keep the audience on the edge of the seat during 90 minutes.

Crawl concerns itself with a young woman who goes looking for her missing father in the eye of a hurricane. Eventually she finds him in the basement of the family holiday home, but he is injured and in desperate need of medical attention. There is also the growing problem of this being gator central, and the rapidly rising flood waters are giving them free reign around the town. So the quest to not drown or get eaten begins...

Despite being mostly enjoyable this film didn't really push the boat out (heheh) in any way. For 90% of the film there were just 2 characters, so the film is light on deaths, and when some random no-mark would show up you knew they'd soon be a victim. The gator effects were.... decent and the plot and atmosphere servicable. If you've seen any monster movies at all ever you will know exactly what to expect, but having said that if the concept appeals it's perfectly watchable.

Right, well initially I had some reluctance about sitting down to watch the 2019 movie "Crawl" given the rather poor reviews I had been reading of the movie in local media. But still, I was given the chance to sit down and watch "Crawl", and given the fact that I love movies and believe everything deserves a chance to be seen at least once, then of course I sat down to watch it.

Turns out that I definitely does not share the opinions of the people whose reviews I had been browsing through, because I was more than genuinely entertained with "Crawl".

Sure, the movie had its fair share of cheesy and campy moments, and there were times throughout the movie where you just cringed and curled up your toes, but this is a movie after all, not real life. This is meant for entertainment. And I was entertained. Indeed, things like water suddenly rising up to the roof of a building seemed so far out there that it was painful, and the fact that an alligator wasn't able to crash through a lousy plexiglass shower stall was just downright idiotic. But it was entertaining, and that is what mattered. A movie such as "Crawl" is not meant to be realistic, not even in the least bit, because if it was then the people would not have stood a chance against all those alligators and the rampart forces of nature.

Now, there is a feeling of old school claustrophobic horror movie to "Crawl", and that worked so well in favor of the movie, especially because it often felt like you were trapped in the cellar alongside with Haley (played by Kaya Scodelario) and Dave (played by Barry Pepper).

The special effects and CGI used in "Crawl" were good, very good actually, and the alligators were quite realistic. That definitely worked well in favor of the movie and the enjoyment of the movie.

"Crawl" is by no means a movie that revolutionizes the horror genre, nor is it a movie that brings anything new to the genre. But it is definitely entertaining and enjoyable for what it turned out to be.

My rating of "Crawl" is a solid six out of ten stars.

Nice and gritty little survival game of wits as a dad and his intrepid daughter try to get through no less than a hurricane just as the floodwaters release a hungry bevy of beauteous and bodacious alligators. Doesn't feel cheap or rushed and with loads of "what's that shadow moving under the water" tension.

I cannot rate this as a 7 because this isn't a very memorable film although it is thrilling and we'll made. Once the conflict begins you are on the edge of your seat with worry for the protagonists it is when they waste screen time with unnecessary dialogue that have nothing to do with the dangers at hand the movie appears campy.

I did enjoy the performances of the small cast and of course the gators. It's a pretty fun filled movie so give it a shot.