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Rating: 4.25 out of 5
I grew up in the Lowcountry in South Carolina. If you don’t know about the low country, it is marshlands, and the one thing you have to watch out for is gators. Growing up, they would hang out in the marshes and pond areas. One time, my brother and I were throwing a ball around, and I threw it too high for him to catch, and it landed in one of the marshy ponds. As we were debating on the best way to retrieve our ball, we saw a gator swimming across the pond in the distance. My brother and I said NOPE right then and there and left the ball.
I want to say that after watching Crawl, it will make your skin crawl with fear. I love watching some Swamp People and seeing large gators walk across golf courses, but seeing them in the water is a no-go for me. Crawl is that nice little horror movie that plays on the fears of getting attacked by alligators. Actually, Crawl is a film that surprised me with the story and how intense it could be. Is it on the level of Jaws? Nope, but it is better than Anaconda and most other natural disaster films where the heroine has to battle an animal.
Directed by Alexandre Aja from a screenplay written by brothers Michael and Shawn Rasmussen, the plot follows a daughter and father who, along with their dog, are hunted by alligators after being trapped in their home during a Category 5 hurricane in Florida. Crawl begins with aspiring college swimmer Haley Keller (Scodelario) receives a call from her sister Beth, who informs her that Category 5 Hurricane Wendy is on its way to Florida and advises her to get out of the state. Against this advice, Haley decides to go check on her estranged father, Dave (Pepper). She arrives at the family home as the storm really picks up as the water quickly rises around. While searching for her father, she finds him face down in the basement. Haley soon learns very quickly that her dad was attacked by a gator and that there is more than one in the house. Soon the pair must find a way to escape from the powerful jaws of the mighty creatures that lurk in the water.
I love this movie because it keeps the intensity high, and the story makes sense. It’s one thing to fight against a giant gator like in Lake Placid, but it is another thing to be trapped in a house, and there are gators everywhere and a hurricane about to destroy everything. That is what makes this movie so well done is that once Haley is in the house, shit goes down as her dad had been attacked, and there seems no way to escape. The intensity and pace are non-stop. When you think Haley and her dad are safe, NOPE, another gator pops out to attack. You almost wonder where all these gators are coming from and who builds a house next to a gator place?
Let’s talk about some scenes that I loved and kept the intensity high. There are so many scenes that just make you scared of them damn gators. When Haley swims out of the pipe after killing one gator, she sees that there are gators everywhere. As she swims to the service, she catches the eye of a big mama gator, and that gives a chase. I was like, “Swim, white girl, swim!” Another scene that made me go, “Oh Damn!” was when Haley, her dad, and the dog were walking to the boat to escape. It is pouring down rain, and then suddenly it stops because they are in the eye of the storm. You are like okay. Aja does a perfect job with this scene because he does an overhead shot, and you see all the gators swimming around them with their big ass shadows as they swim towards them. I would’ve pissed on myself. When Haley swims her ass to the boat to pick up her dad and dog, shit got real when the levees broke, and they end up right back in their house.
Another scene that will make you jump is the dad and his dog. Dave manages to save his dog and put him on the steps. As he does, all of a sudden, this big ass gator grabs his arm and snatches off like it was nothing. That shit was crazy. Finally, the last scene I’ll discuss is when Haley tries to signal a helicopter from inside the house. As she is waving, a gator smashes through the window like the freakin’ Kool-Aid Man. Shit was unreal.
Let’s give a shout-out to Kaya Scodelario as Haley Keller. Homegirl did the damn thing when she wanted to. When that gator bit her shoulder, I was like she is gone, but she managed to get away, and then the whole bathroom scene was top-notch. I give it to her; she was a strong girl who whipped gator ass!
I highly recommend Crawl to anyone who likes those animal attack, disaster films. The plot is straightforward to understand, and the intensity is what makes this movie really fun to watch. You never know where a gator will attack from. The way people get plucked from underneath is fun to watch because it happens so suddenly. Give Crawl a chance and stay away from the Florida or Louisiana waters. These are the type of gators Swamp People go for.
