Crawl: Review

An intense thrill-ride, providing quality entertainment and a character-first, emotionally fulfilling story without the clichés, giving a tired genre the bite it needed

Kaya Scodelario and her snappy friend in 'Crawl' (CREDIT: Paramount Pictures)

by Jack Linsdell

In the marketing for Alexandre Aja's survivalist, alligator-thriller Crawl, the tagline "Crawl does for gators, what Jaws did for sharks" was supposed to connect this 2019 nail-bitter to Steven Spielberg's classic for mass audiences. I believe it's more than just a cheap marketing line though, rather that it's more indicative (intentionally or not) of Crawl's ground-breaking quality, especially considering it's budget and being from a genre starting to feel worn, tired and riddled with cliché. Upon it's release in 1975, Jaws defined a new survivalist genre (successfully combining elements of horror, thriller and an antagonistic animal/natural weather event) amongst many other milestones. 44 years later, and Crawl's biggest compliment is that it redefines the genre. And, it seems the marketing team and I are not alone, as the filmmakers also made the connection by planting a lovely Easter Egg/homage to Spielberg's classic shark-tale in the form of a little Jaws statue on Haley's car dashboard. And, apart from Crawl's immense entertainment value, it's most applaudable for being a well-made, original genre movie. 

From the first frame, we find aspiring University of Florida swimmer Haley Keller (Kaya Scodelario) on the block, eyeing up her opponent, keen to win her next race. Two minutes later, and she's lost by the finest of margins. Brooding in her disappointment in the locker room, she receives warning that a Category 5 Hurricane is about to hit their stretch of coastline, and a concerned phone call from her sister whose worried by their father's lack of communication to say he's safely evacuated. After making her way into the eye of the storm to check on her Dad (Barry Pepper), she eventually finds him badly injured in the cellar of his house, with some snappy, red-eyed Alligators for company. As the storm intensifies, the water rises and the gators increase in numbers, father and daughter are left trapped with the fight of their lives on their hands. 

The screenplay, penned by brothers Michael and Shawn Rasmussen, is a fine example of excellent genre writing. It's taught and lean, coming in at a solid 87 minutes, which allows the maximum amount of tension to be applied, and then to progressively build, without exhausting or over-staying it's audience. At the mid-act climax, we have what we believe to be our final showdown and rescue, only for the Hurricane to throw it's worst at our characters and put them in further peril. This is why the script is well-judged and so refreshing for the genre, as it made it impossible to predict when, if ever, these two (and the Dog) would be rescued, so when the ending actually came it was a genuine surprise and treat. Added to that, the eventual outcome of Haley, her Dad, and the Dog is a welcome treat for this genre too, considering that characters and pets are so often dispensable in the survivalist thriller. Instead of being actual victims, all three are just there to raise the stakes, which is clever and original writing, as it makes the story as nail-biting as possible (they knew they had us on a leash when they introduced the Dog...dammit!) but still gives us the upbeat ending. 

Talking of good storytelling, and their script also benefits hugely from some fantastic emotional subtext running through it's subplot, exploring the issues Haley and her Dad have with one another (namely abandonment, family love/bonds and regret) in between the running from the gators scenes. It becomes as much about the two being forced to help one another survive, and therefore talk about, and deal with, their past issues with one another, as it is about their battles with the snappy creatures. Much like Bumblebee late last year, this one sees our protagonist's swimming skills put into test, in a poignant way and the right moments, without becoming too sentimental or overstated. The final shot of the movie (whether that be the writer's or Aja's credit), is so incredibly moving, as it gives us the conclusion to the domestic conflict running throughout, namely her father's encouragement that although she's lost over 200 swimming races in the last few years, she can win this race against the gators and come out with their lives. Performance wise, this subtext is conveyed brilliantly by our leading actors. Kaya Scodelario's Haley is played with a great measure of heroism, bravery, yet fear and trepidation, giving her the truest onscreen representation for a female character (what regular readers know I call the "strong but vulnerable" approach). She's neither a full out badass or a timid damsel. She's brave when needed, but emotional when hurt. And, Scodelario elegantly switches between the two seamlessly. Barry Pepper is also on top form as her Dad, the two playing off one another with excellent and believable chemistry, and he really sells the whole "you can achieve if you believe" moral message of the movie as well. Not the mention, acting with prop alligators is difficult, as is tank work, so the two did outstandingly well.

And, in the director's chair, horror filmmaker Alexandre Aja (whose responsible for some truly intense thrillers like The Hills Have Eyes and Piranha 3D) successfully brings to life their nail-biting script in a deeply thrilling and engrossing way. Considering this movie was dirt cheap ($13 million), Aja does a lot with very little, and it appears the creation of a whole street set allowed him maximise the hurricane conditions to really put his characters (and actors, I'm sure) through hell. It pays off. The film has a very eerie, grey and isolated look/feel, and Aja's decision to get into the water, so to speak, with our characters is really immersive. Therefore, when a gator attacks our characters, we jump and feel it too, which brings out the best of the horror, without becoming cliched and bland. He shot this one in a really simplistic way, which actually sells the tension and story in more fulfilling way because we're not blinded by pointless edits or jarring camerawork, and shows that good storytelling is a little done well. This, along with Greta this year, is another fine example where "trapped in one place" films can be the most entertaining, purely because there is nowhere to run or hide. And, I'm sure that's also why these films can be budgeted so cheaply too. Except every penny was put onto the screen, and it doesn't feel cheap at all. Aja's direction, coupled with an outstanding score that compliments the action/story brilliantly, allows a genre movie like this to ignore the tropes and be a breath of fresh air. Also, the movie's violence is brutal, yet never excessively gory, which gives it a realism and again, unique quality considering its place in a genre like this one. 

Many critics have debated why Paramount refused to screen this one for the critics, which they argued harmed it's box office potentional because it was better than everyone was expecting (still $70 million on that $13 million budget is pretty good). I don't believe that. What I do know is that the movie's immense entertainment value and sheer refreshing quality was given justice by the fact that critics were pleasantly surprised. It created a media narrative and critical consensus that depicted Crawl for the vastly enjoyable and well-made movie it is, which is worth it's weight in gold. 

For those genre lovers after some Friday night popcorn thrills and entertainment, Crawl most certainly provides. From script to performance, it's tense, taught and terrific and quite the thrill ride. But, for those after a little more, including well-sketched characters, standout performances and emotional subtext, then (much like Angel Has Fallen) this provides that too. Crawl's most notable feature is that it's avoided becoming another tired genre flick, saying see you later Alligator to the cliché and in a while Crocodile to a new era of genre movies that follow in it's footsteps.

5/5 STARS