Crawl

When I first saw the trailer for Crawl, I thought it had to be a joke. I soon learned that I was mistaken and Hollywood was doing a movie all about a hurricane and alligators. Crawl is about a University of Florida swimmer, Haley, who travels home to find her dad whose home is in the path of a Category 5 Hurricane. She finds her father trapped under the house, injured, and surrounded by Alligators. Haley and her father must fight to survive and escape. What follows is The Good, The Bad, and The Spoilers of Crawl.

The Good

This movie did a fantastic job of layering suspense to keep the audience on the edge of the seat. I continually wondered how, or if, Haley and her father would make it out of the house. Like any classic monster movie, there were many different surprise jump-scares. Alligators lunging from the waters when least expected to snatch an unknowing victim. One of my favorite scenes is when one of the gators grab Haley by the shoulder and pulls her underwater. We then get to see an interesting view of an alligators signature death roll to drown their prey.

The Bad

In order to enjoy this movie, you had to set aside the logical part of your brain. If you are from Florida, Louisiana, or any southern state use to both Hurricanes and Alligators, this will be much harder for you. First of all, Alligators are nowhere near as aggressive as this movie makes them out to be. We come to learn that there is a nest under Haley’s house, and that does explain alligators under the house being territorial and aggressive. This however does not explain the alligators that seem to hunt in pack outside the house in thigh-deep floodwaters. Next BIG problem was the hurricane. This trailer and movie dialogue STRESS over and over again that this is a Category 5 hurricane headed straight for them. While the rainfall, flooding and storm-surge is accurate for a hurricane, that’s it. Obviously, the director/writers forgot that hurricanes get their category from wind force, because there is very mild wind damage. At one point we see the character walking in flood waters when suddenly the eye of the storm passes over. Yet trees, houses, and buildings are all still intact. Not to Hollywood: The eyewall of a Category 5 storm would have obliterated this neighborhood. One last point, there is a ton of lightning and thunder during this hurricane, something else that is very, VERY uncommon.

My Overall Opinion

When I bought this movie, I planned for it to be stupid. I wanted nothing more than to sit in the theater and laugh as these gators terrorize and eat people. I was very surprised by how much as genuinely enjoyed watching this one. Sure, it is very inaccurate in terms of alligators and hurricanes, but it was suspenseful and intense. If you like a good monster movie, I would recommend renting this one. Just remember that you have to set aside you logic brain in order to like this Brain Candy Film.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with my points? Comment your thoughts below.