Crawl Movie Wins The Horror Jump Scare Crowd

What you need to do while watching the Crawl movie, is throw everything you know about Gators out the window, because it’s worthless here. Crawl has an Australian actress, Kaya Scodelario starring as the character of Hailey. One of the best jump scare movies for those that like that kind of thing.

I think crocodiles and alligators are amazing creatures. I’ve spent a lot of time at zoo exhibitions and, crocodile farm tours and it’s fair to say I’ve seen many films that feature them. Also, I once watched a crocodile being fed by a zookeeper, and the way the animal followed the sound of his voice was awesome and scary at the same time.

If the backdrop is compelling, I’m willing to suspend some belief in order to enjoy the general ambiance of what’s happening on screen. Disaster movies? Good. Creature features? Also good! Crawls’ ability to scare the pants off you with sudden rushes of excitement should be applauded. There are some on-point surges of adrenaline coming your way if you’re on board with seeing this film. Yes, it’s exciting and I know what you’re thinking! Who wouldn’t be happy to see big ole’ Gators smashing their way through anything in their paths? Most people who’ve seen it liked Crawl and had a great time!

That’s fine and so did I but why not just hold off on the stupid?

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The pacing and much of the cinematography are excellent. The views underwater, submerged in water, and above water are tension-filled bites of goodness. The performances are also well-honed and believable. After I had caught my breath from the first few awesome appearances from our pesky stars, the head-shaking began.

I shook my head when Hailey and her father discover they have some unwelcome house guests. Why? Because Hailey dropped her phone and needs to retrieve it. What’s so bad about that you ask? Nothing except being quiet would be smart don’t you think? Having a full-blown conversation as loudly as you can, would be considered completely dumb.

Watch the Crawl Trailer

Let’s Talk About Our Feelings Kaya Scodelario

Almost akin to when two people decide to have sex in a horror film in the middle of a life-or-death situation, these two ragamuffins, have many chit-chats about life and the ability to survive. In the crawl space under what was once the family home, Hailey does recover her phone. Instead of retreating to the safety of the small area surrounded by pipes, she calls 911 from where she picks it up. More head-shaking ensues.

My top two favorite movies with crocs would have to be Rogue and Black Water, both released in 2007. What makes them nail-bitingly good is their ability to give these robust dinosaurs their stealthy ability to wait. But that’s boring I hear some of you exclaim! They wait in the water and they’ll wait for days if they have to.

They’ll wait for any tiny indication that something is around for them to nibble on. The Gators are the characters driving the narrative in many of those stories and I like that. Here, in Crawl, we get to know Hailey and her dad. Do we care? That’s debatable. Meanwhile, these swimming monsters are literally everywhere. The death count is good and all, but it leads to the second problem; consistency.

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When the father and daughter (Kaya Scodelario) + dog— ‘team invincible,’ finally make it out of the house, they decide to make a run for a boat. With their pooch Sugar held safely in their arms and standing on the steps of the house they lovingly shared, the Gators can be seen swimming around. Hailey’s father, Dave, says convincingly;

“Gators like to swim in floodwaters to hunt. No splashing means no hunting”

Quote from Crawl horror movie

And off they go. They do such a good job of being very very quiet, a Gator swims right past them.

Crawl 2019, See You Later Alligator

The director is Alexandre Aja who did High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes and Mirrors, but you just can’t fix bad writing. Crawl lies squarely in the realist camp. There are no giant creatures born of the sewers, mutations, or clones utilized here. You can’t pretend they’re suddenly deaf one minute and reactive to clanging the next.

In opening scenes, the signs are all there…literally. There is a sign that shows the house they lived in is near a crocodile farm. Hailey’s reason to drive to check on her father during the onset of a CAT 5 hurricane, is plausible. Even getting both the players into the crawl space of her house, is justified. But there was so much in this film to pick at I couldn’t even decide which were the most important bits to berate.

See it, but leave your brain at the door. You won’t need it, but make sure to watch this with surround sound because the ambushes are cool. For more of Mother of Movies’ social media channels follow this link.

The Crawl movie is rated

3.5 crocodilian tears of disappointment out of 5

Where was the Crawl Movie Filmed?

I read somewhere that to make the film on the cheap, a full set including the house with massive tanks for the cast to swim around in, they set off to film Crawl in Serbia. It certainly explains why the scenes where we see the house begin to get submerged were entirely awesome and believable.