‘All residents must evacuate immediately…’
I’ve got an absolutely startling confession to make. I don’t love Jaws… I know that is a borderline heretical admission for a supposed film lover to make, but there it is. I don’t think it’s overrated or anything, I understand why it’s so beloved. It pretty much invented the concept of the summer blockbuster for chrissakes. I just don’t relate to it on any kind of emotional level. And so it goes for most other creature features. I just can’t get on with them. I’m scared of ghosts me. Creatures do very little for me. All the more surprising then that I genuinely loved Crawl.
Haley (Kaya Scodelario) is a swim meet enthusiast who makes a daring bid to save her increasingly estranged dad (Barry Pepper) from a flood. Oh… it’s probably important to mention that the flood waters are absolutely infested with gigantic and terrifying alligators.
I’ve never really considered that people in America have to deal with actual alligators. That’s a pretty frightening prospect. Especially for someone who has been known to openly weep at the sight of an above average sized spider. Master horror director Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes, High Tension) does a cracking job in bringing to life the fierce water dwellers, in a way that is both confrontational and worryingly plausible.
Crawl took me by surprise. Well acted, compelling and pretty unique, Aja’s latest creature feature must be seen as a resounding success.