Crawlspace (I) (2012) User Reviews

Quite good (and also quite bad)

[bowmanblue · 6/10 · 27 July 2014]

Many a time the problem with a movie (and 'horror' movies in particular) is that you don't care about the characters. As 'Cabin in the Woods' pointed out, the 'stars' of such films are little more than: 'Generic Blonde A,' the 'Jock, the Slut' and 'the Best Friend.' So, for a start, they're not particularly entertaining and, secondly, you don't really care about them when they meet their grisly end.

However, in 'The Attic,' the characters are actually quite well-written. The main cast are all a family, who have just moved into a nice suburban house in America. And, they're actually quite likable. They're likable, largely because they behave like a real family, i.e. they bicker and get at each other, plus no one has been written as a deliberate 'comic element.' So, in a cheap B-movie, I found myself actually wanting to watch more and really enjoying the film. Unfortunately, although the writers can definitely do 'characters' and dialogue, they're not too good at story or plausibility.

The family move into their new home, only to discover that the previous occupant is still living in the attic (and he doesn't take too kindly to newcomers in 'his' house). And that's where the story falls down. You may guess that a certain amount of murders follow and no one seems to notice. People just disappear from the property and no one really bothers to look into it. Plus the badguy himself is pretty lame and not particularly threatening.

The death-scenes are at least inventive on the low budget and some of the kills are clever (if possibly a little unrealistic). And special mention to the youngest member of the family. He's not in it that much, so he doesn't have a lot to do, but his 'one-liners' are quite amusing.

All in all, I really enjoyed the dialogue and family interaction. It was just the plot and lack of realism that spoiled it. I'd quite like to see the same family in a different (horror) situation, as they were definitely the film's high point.

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It's fine for what it is

[DarleneHamilton · 4/10 · 3 August 2014]

This movie us weirdly retro, it has a Stepford Kids/Stepfather/people Across the Lake feel to it, I had to double check it was 2013 as it feels so dated! I'm not saying that as a negative btw.) It's far from the worst film I've ever seen. It was reasonably well acted, script was quite cringeworthy, mildly gory, there was some sex, (one with no boobs and one with boobs) usual highly implausible execution but it's a budget horror movie so I'll let it go. Usual horror flick rules apply, eg- don't over analyse the plot or ask how this can possibly be going on. How can people go missing and no - one notices.

Standard home invasion, enjoyable and disposable. Corny and charming.

4.5/10

Good Concept - Flawed Execution

[ikeybabe · 4/10 · 16 June 2014]

Hmmmm...this wasn't a great movie. It was average in everything - average story, average acting ability, average cast. And some things didn't make any sense other than to be a point of spookiness - like the old lady neighbor. *SPOILER ALERT* So the dude in the attic is nuts and starts killing those who get in his way. Let's be real, there's not that much saran wrap in a single roll, OK?! And how is it no one could hear him above creeping around. Wood floors creek. I kept watching though and tried to enjoy the concept. I have heard of an incident or two where unbeknownst to homeowners there's someone living in the crawlspace. The concept is extremely scary, but the execution here was very flawed. Good try though.

By the Book Slasher/Horror Competent but Lacking

[LeonLouisRicci · 5/10 · 20 January 2015]

An Uncredited Remake of "Hider in the House" (1989) Starring Gary Busey, and with the Same Title of the Klaus Kinski Horror from 1986, this is a By the Book Slasher/Home Invasion Horror Throwback with Genre Trope Kills that will Seem Familiar.

A Good Deal of Emphasis is Placed on the Family Unit with Many Scenes of Brother-Sister Banter and Bonding and Parent-Child Relationships and Responsibilities. It is This Focus that Gives the B-Movie a Bit of Gravity but Not Enough to Make this Rise Above Average at Best.

It is Formula for Most of its Short Running Time and Might be Worth a Watch for Horror Completists and B-Movie Slummers, but Others can Skip this Styleless Movie Without Missing Anything New.

A woefully bad example of a horror thriller that's only worth watching for Steven Weber.

[Foreverisacastironmess123 · 5/10 · 4 August 2013]

Where to begin with what's wrong with this movie.. Well the word cliché comes to mind, there wasn't exactly anything here that I hadn't seen done better about a 1000 times before. The 'family' were just terrible. They had no chemistry together whatsoever, and I never bought them as a family for a minute. The actors playing the parents were especially bad. I found the bumbling, ineffectual chipmunk-cheeked joke of a father plain annoying to look at and listen to, and I don't know if the gal who played the mother had had any facial-work done on her at any point, but her face and expressions just did not move, like at all throughout the whole thing! The other three playing the kids were alright enough, but to me they were just a horribly mismatched group of people. And some of the stuff that they expected the viewer to swallow in this was outrageous! It's one thing for a man to be living in someone's attic without them knowing about it, but to also have that man walking around the house at night, standing in doorways and over people while they're sleeping? *NO*, you bad, intelligence-insulting film you! The direction was weak, and just didn't capture what should have been the classic horror thrills and fun of the story. Some of it was very vaguely OK, I mean I don't know, I think kids'll enjoy it, people with low expectations for a movie! It was basically entertaining enough while I was watching it that I didn't wanna jump off a cliff or anything.. You've got to suspend your disbelief-a lot! The only thing that I definitely did enjoy was Steven Weber as the deranged killer. I thought he was overqualified and frankly too good to be in such completely forgettable garbage. I thought he was really funny when he'd give the camera little mischievous knowing grins at certain hectic moments. Ha, in the final-frame he is messed up! I actually was rooting for him, as pretty much everyone else in the cast was so boring and stupid. There wasn't much at all to like, but I did enjoy the outrageousness of the bit where the horndog son pays the babysitter to sleep with him and she actually does! And I liked the performance of the actress who played the nosy old neighbour until she popped her clogs. She reminded me a lot of the swamp hag from Pumpkinhead. Her death was quite nasty, although a little gore sure wouldn't have hurt none-she had a freaking vacuum cleaner rammed down her throat! All the kills were fair well done and didn't skimp on the violence. Not that I watch a horror movie exclusively for that stuff but in dire straits such as this, it can be a very minor plus! Something that I found pretty cool was how they showed the classic creepy surreal Fleischer cartoon "Minnie the Moocher" a lot to sinister effect. So lame! In my opinion just a mildly enjoyable but ultimately bad flick. Only view it for Weber's performance if you absolutely have to at all. Bye, now.

Crawlspace

[Scarecrow-88 · 4/10 · 11 January 2015]

Steven Weber is an unstable "lodger" who lives in the attic of his old home, foreclosed on him after the loss of his children to drowning in the backyard pool led to his inability to return to work or move on with his life so he could continue to make payments to the bank. The family that owns the house he once lived could very well be in danger as he seems on the verge of going on a homicidal rampage at any time. Jonathan Silverman (Weekend at Bernie's), Lori Loughlin (Full House), Raleigh Holmes (final girl?), Sterling Beaumon (the foul-mouthed prankster), Xander Stolberg (the little brother that reminds Weber of his child), Paul James (as Raleigh's boyfriend, Derek), Shannon Welles (as the creepy old woman neighbor who sees too much and gets it with a vacuum by Weber), Nikki Moore (as the hot babysitter who earns Weber's ire when she leaves Xander unattended to have sex with Sterling for some of his stolen mom's cash) and Leila Leigh (as Weber's ex-wife who is a victim of learning that the house her former husband lived is now owned by some other family, unable to escape when he believes she will ruin his current domicile situation) make up the rest of the cast. Weber is stone cold psycho here, and instead of reeling us into his plight we just always see him as some nutjob willing to kill anyone at anytime, only occasionally revealing the trauma and pain of what he endured which led to his derangement. The film does an okay job of pointing out how unnerving it could be to have a creep living up in the attic of your home without your knowledge of his existence. What Weber does to his wife doesn't exactly ingratiate him to us…in fact; it makes little sense considering he wanted her back so he could return to a normal state of mind. "Crawlspace" is formula slasher all the way. It is kind of ludicrous that when the police are called after it is proved Weber was in the house that the attic wasn't inspected due to the threat he could cause them. Of course, the film wouldn't have the "fight for the survival" close these movies are known for. The violence by Weber is rather shocking (the neck snap in the car door window in particular) as a curling iron and vacuum are buried into the mouths of victims. A little nudity thanks to the hot babysitter is included. Silverman's revelation that he could have helped Weber and chose to let him lose the house certainly establishes some empathy for the killer, but there's only so much mileage you can get from that when he's offing folks with little guilt. The twist ending the film is preposterous as multiple bullet wounds and an exploding paint can would leave little chance of Weber surviving (and even if he did, he would not be spending any time outside a prison cell). This is Weber's "psycho killer" role...most veteran actors of his talent usually check mark this off their list at some point. Nothing about this film will probably remain with you after it is over...it is that forgettable.

Fun slasher

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 3 May 2015]

CRAWLSPACE (aka THE ATTIC) is a remake of an obscure 1980s thriller starring Klaus Kinski as a psycho living in an attic and terrorising the residents in the home below. In this version, Steven Weber (THE SHINING miniseries) is the psycho, a guy who definitely doesn't believe in traditional family values.

You know what? This turns out to be a fun, offbeat little movie that has much in common with other remakes like that of THE STEPFATHER, but it might well be the best of the recent crop. The reason for its success is a tight, focused script which sees the running time fly by, combined with some nasty little death scenes which go for creativity throughout. If ever you wanted to watch somebody getting killed - realistically - with a vacuum cleaner, then this is the film.

The worst thing about the story is, as usual, the characters, who aside from Weber's psycho are so bland that you'll be hoping he gets on with the job of bumping them off one by one. Again, the acting is nothing to write home about, with Weber (who looks like Andrew Lincoln in THE WALKING DEAD) convincing as the bad guy and that's about it. Still, I think CRAWLSPACE is a hoot: a tight little home invasion horror with plenty of gore to recommend it.

Disaster of a slasher movie with little to like

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 3/10 · 13 June 2014]

Moving into a new house, a family's unusual encounters within the house are soon discovered to be the disgruntled former owner looking for revenge against the occupants and must try to survive his vicious attacks.

This was a huge disappointment and really didn't have a whole lot here that's really enjoyable. The main thing hurting this movie is the fact that the main villain here is one of the weakest and lamest villains in horror-film history. The central premise of why he's haunting the family, being so grief-stricken over losing his house that he moves into the attic and lives there undetected for as long as he does here makes for a pretty lazy story, especially with the multitude of murders committed on the property before anyone realizes he's there. Then comes the fact that the film tries to make him some sympathetic hero with the reasoning for the family's loss of the house and what they did to his psyche is pure fluff and has no regard in the rest of the story when the seemingly sympathetic hero embarks on such a rampage as what occurs here when he finally starts dishing out the violence. Even before he starts off, the fact that the majority of the film is spent on areas outside the stalking and killing that really drags this one down, as there's so much going on with him observing the family but not actually doing anything that there's such a long time in this before it actually starts getting interesting. Simply watching them in the attic has a creepy feel at first but does little to hold the viewer's attention as it goes along since that's the only tactic employed here throughout the whole first hour, and the fact that he undertakes this while they have no idea of how long he's been doing things around them is so lazy and lame that it makes them look all the stupider for failing to realize what's going on. Even the few times it seems like he should be found out are written off like they're nothing, and that makes even less sense in keeping the ruse alive. All told, this makes the main villain uniformly weak and uninteresting in such a boring film. The only thing that really holds up here is the final half, which has some rather fun confrontations and stalking to go along with some pretty nasty and bloody kills, but otherwise there's little to like here.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language, Brief Nudity, a mild sex scene and children-in-danger.

Very well made horror/thriller-surpassed expectations !

[rmkdec · 9/10 · 23 July 2013]

Strangely enough in the U.K I watched this on SKY Satellite as a U.K Premiere this week on The Horror Channel yet it is listed as not yet released in U.S.A ! I will be very sad if U.K audiences miss out on this as a cinema release. For me it is surprisingly well made and modern,extremely believable story and every aspect of a families daily life is written and captured beautifully by the director and a very effective cast. In short there has been an awful accident in the pool that is now drained that afflicted the previous owners who left as the house was foreclosed by the bank...and the new family are not alone in the house and soon become aware of this fact.The twists and turns that then follow I did not expect and just when you think my that must be it another twist occurs....how will this end?..Who or what is in the house and what do they want? A spooky old lady neighbour adds to the suspense and I will reveal no more.It is so scary that as a life long horror fan if I think it is good then usually its well worth a watch. I did not expect things to pan out how they did and at the end was left with an open mouth and a feeling of wow so glad I got to watch that. Another problem is a movie with the same name has been released the same year from an Australian company and this is confusing many far and wide. That is a great shame if it means this is lost in space.

Great horror well executed

[DylanMurphy97 · 10/10 · 13 February 2021]

This film is your standard formula horror film but in a good way - it delivers. Featuring great performances mainly from Steven Weber it also boasts some really creative death scenes. People who are fans of home invasion horror films should really appreciate the film. Surprised this isn't rated a lot higher. It's highly entertaining. Passed my expectations for it. Highly recommended.