Welcome one and all to part 51, the penultimate instalment of The 52 In 52. If you haven't read any before, first off where have you been all year ? but, most importantly, the concept is simple. Each week I take a DVD or Blu Ray from my collection that may have been sitting gathering dust and I watch and review it. Last week I watched the incredible Mid90s.
As always if you have any comments or feedback on this or any of my other posts leave a comment in the section below or by following me on Twitter and Instagram.
This week I will be reviewing Crawl. Released in mid 2019 and was directed by Alexandre Aja written by Shawn and Michael Rassusmen and produced by Sam Rami, Crawl follows the story of Haley Keller (Kaya Scodelario) as she returns to her childhood home to check on her father, Dave (Barry Pepper) during a serious hurricane. When she returns home Haley discovers that her dad is stranded in a flooded cellar but, that isn't the only threat.
I can't recommend Crawl enough. The film is billed as doing for alligators what Jaws did for sharks and I think that is a safe comparison. Crawl is a fast paced (88 mins) thriller that delivers a lot of action in a really short amount of time and that's a benefit. I feel that the story is told well without little to no exposition to slow the pace down.
The story itself is a well balanced story with something for everyone. The relationship between Haley and her father is pivotal to the story and really feels like it is relevant throughout, their bond has it's own arc from start to finish. The alligators are used in a way, not unlike Jaws, where they're a shadow and over time are teased but, after their appearance they are relentless and that adds so much tension to the film.
The visual effects are done incredibly well throughout. There is enough physical horror to keep the gore fans happy, a scene in which Dave has to repair an injury to his leg is particularly gruesome. The weather almost feels like a secondary "big bad" in the film, by that I mean that the weather felt like it was there to play spoiler for Haley and Dave as they struggle to get out of their predicament. The alligator effect work is fantastic and whilst feels a little unrealistic at times, is incredible and actually terrifying.
The acting is fantastic throughout. Kaya Scodelario really puts in one of her best performances and shows a great mix of vulnerability and strength, going from daddy's girl to the true hero of the story. Barry Pepper is someone that I wasn't overly familiar with when I watched the film but, he puts in a great performance too. There is a hinted at redemption of this character throughout the film that is under played but, is a perfect secondary story line.
Overall Crawl is a fantastic horror/thriller that relies on tension and story telling rather than jump scares and gore. That is not to say that the film is short of either but, they are used in a way that leaves for a breathless race against time.
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