Derbyshire, UK

When Alligators Attack - Crawl (2019) Film Review

Hey Film Buffs,

Remember when we used to chat film all the time and every week you got a Friday Fright? I have really missed talking film with you all and recently I have been keeping a cute little film journal, so I have a heap of great films to share with you ...as well as some not so great ones I can warn you about! We love films so much that me and the Mr make sure we watch at least one film a day so I have a lot to share. When Prime flashed up ‘Crawl’ and we saw it was directed by Alexandre Aja it was straight on our watch list. Alexandre Aja is has made a name for himself making horror remakes like ‘The hills have eyes’  and ‘Maniac’ he has a very dark edgy aesthetic and is well known in the horror circle. He is no stranger to underwater adventures having directed the 3D version of ‘Piranha’. Another great named tagged as producer is Sam Raimi who I have huge respect for.


Crawl’ is what happens when a disaster film merged with a creature feature and I’m not mad! Haley has a passion for swimming and when a hurricane warning is announced she can’t get in touch with her Dad. The real surprise is when she goes to look for him only to get trapped in a basement with rising water and angry alligators! Special shout out to the beautiful dog Sugar who watches on in horror.

The film certainly action packed with enough deaths to satisfy even the most blood thirsty of horror fans. Drawing influences from 'Deep blue sea' and 'Jurassic park' you feel like Haley and her dad just can't catch a break to escape the alligators. Even though the 'gators are huge they are a realistic size so it is relatable and easy to imagine yourself getting stuck in this impossible situation. The CGI becomes a little cheesy in places namely when an alligator swims past the sewage pipe but otherwise you really can see how far CGI has come....if you don't believe me watch the hundreds of bad shark films out there.


Arguably although the alligators are bloody scary they are just as scared and confused by the hurricane. They are most likely lashing out when being flooded from their homes and protecting themselves.  Mother nature is the scariest thing there is because you can kill an angry animal but you can't stop a  hurricane.

Dim down the lights on a rainy day and find yourself screaming at the screen at some frustrating moments but wincing at others. A fun film to watch with friends who can handle a few jump scares if they can't just make sure they aren't holding the popcorn. I gave this a chomping three out of five and I look forward to seeing what Aja brings to our screens next.

Have you watched 'Crawl' yet? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to come say hi on twitter.


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