Creature features have the tendency to appear cheesy and corny but with the right story, the right characters, the right setting and as long as the featured creature isn’t bad CGI, these films can be enjoyable as well.
“CRAWL” falls under “creature features done right”. Kaya Scodelaria is Hayley Keller, a student athlete (swimming – yehey!) who is on the verge of losing her scholarship from the Varsity team and with self doubt plaguing her she definitely needs a win. Unfortunately Mother Nature has other plans as a hurricane which eventually turns into a Category 5 storm hits her town in Florida.
After much pleasing from her older sister, Hayley checks on her estranged father, Dave Keller, played by Barry Pepper, only to discover that he is trapped in their old family home’s crawl space with an alligator!
The rains are pouring nonstop and the flood is quickly rising and they are trapped! It will take nerves of steel and incredible luck to get them (and their dog Sugar) out of this death trap.
Not only is the film a thrilling ride but it also focuses on the relationship between Hayley and her father who have parted ways after her parents divorce.
There are some gruesome kills and injuries that will make you wince in pain and I love that the film is not two hours long. It’s all uphill suspence all the way!
Directed by Alexander Aja, “CRAWL” is an enjoyable B-movie, which successfully combines disaster movies (terrible rains and flood, the kind that you see on TV) and a creature feature (the kind that will make you swear off crocodile farms) for a man-versus-nature Flick that can be a bit over the top with the CGI and the stunts but is just so good in the scares and suspense that you’ll spend half the time screaming. 8.5/10