Crawl (2019)

A young woman, while attempting to save her father during a category 5 hurricane, finds herself trapped in a flooding house and must fight for her life against alligators.

Director:

Alexandre Aja

Writers:

Michael Rasmussen, Shawn Rasmussen

Stars:

Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper, Morfydd Clark

5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Kaya Scodelario	...	Haley
Barry Pepper	...	Dave
Morfydd Clark	...	Beth
Ross Anderson	...	Wayne
Jose Palma	...	Pete
George Somner	...	Marv
Anson Boon	...	Stan
Ami Metcalf	...	Lee
Tina Pribicevic	...	Young Haley
Srna Vasiljevic	...	Louie
Cso-Cso	...	Sugar
Colin McFarlane	...	Governor
Annamaria Serda	...	Emma
Savannah Steyn	...	Lisa

Storyline

Against all logic, the competitive swimmer, Haley, drives into the mouth of a furiously destructive Category 5 hurricane on a collision course with her hometown of Florida, to check in on her estranged father, Dave. There, in their weather-beaten house amid a rapidly sinking and alligator-infested town, Haley and her father find themselves trapped in the labyrinthine mess of their flooded crawl space, where a merciless pair of six-metre predators is silently stalking them. Now--as Haley and Dave are gasping for air in the claustrophobic basement--only their will to survive can help them stand a chance against the scaly adversaries' powerful jaws. Can they escape without getting eaten alive?

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Plot Keywords:

storm | trapped | trapped in a house | hurricane | father daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

They Were Here First

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for bloody creature violence, and brief language

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Haley walks into the house, looking for her father, a tree crashes through the window and the dog runs throughout the house, the scene was filmed in different parts. The set was built inside a large water tank and consisted of a house. The entire house was inside the water tank and as the days progressed the water levels will rose. Before shooting commenced the trainers rehearsed with the dog in the corridor and going through the dog flap, rewarding her with sausage each time he came through.

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Goofs

When Haley's father tells her to swim to the boat, he tells her that she can "Swim faster" than the many Alligators in the water nearby. However this would be highly unlikely as the average adult Alligator swims at speeds up to 20 mph, While 23 time Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps topped out at about 6 mph.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dave: Don't cry. Don't let 'em see you cry, Haley. You will get them next time. All right? 'Cause what are you? Huh? What are you?
Young Haley: The apex predator.
Dave: Yeah, you are. Apex predator. All day.

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Connections

References Apocalypse Now (1979)

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Soundtracks

Ready To Move
Written by Terence C. McManus
Performed by Joy
Courtesy of Trend Records
By arrangement with Fervor Records

User Reviews

Simple yet Entertaining Monster Movie

In the ilk of "Jaws" homages (and rip offs), "Crawl" stands as one of the more palatable entrees.

There's nothing spectacular or groundbreaking about this fun summer riff, but that doesn't mean it offers no value. At the very least, we can celebrate the successful effort to make a non-sequel or movie based on preexisting IP. Granted, the threatening water predator vs. humans rose in the wake of the classic shark film, but this gator flick has enough original juice to stand firmly on its own.

Part of success comes from simple premise of "Crawl." In the opening phase of a Category 5 storm, a young woman, Haley, receives a call from her sister. Sis has been calling their dad and hasn't yet heard from him. She's worried, as he resides in the area slated to take the worst of the storm. Haley opts to brave the weather, make the two-hour trek and check on dear old dad.

When she arrives at his place, she finds her severely injured father and something even more concerning. Then she quickly understands why he hasn't picked up the phone.

Queue the giant alligators and ensuing chases that take place as Haley and her dad attempt to escape the flooded basement. Fortunately, Haley is a swimmer at the University of Florida, yes, the school with the gator mascot. Her speed and resilience make her a worthy adversary to the collection of gators, and she manages to narrowly avoid death in a string of riveting action scenes.

A few meandering moments explore family drama but don't do much more than fill time. These moments feel entirely forced and only serve to hinder the story's momentum.

The movie is at its best when it leans into the raw and truly frightening action sequences. Kaya Scoldelario displays a knack for playing a strong woman in peril. The movie doesn't work as well if she isn't so solid in the role of Haley.

The movie has no more depth than the shallow basement waters inhabited by the gators, but it's entertaining enough for cursory viewing experience, especially given the brisk 87-minute run time.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site [Japan]

Country:

USA Serbia Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 July 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

Crawl

Filming Locations:

Belgrade, Serbia

Box Office

Budget:

$13,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,005,210, 14 July 2019

Gross USA:

$39,014,193

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$91,542,097

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Raimi Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1