Crawl Gators Hunting for Humans in Hurricane Season?!? YEEEEE HAWWW Grade: B

Source: IMDB

When I was young I told myself I would be alright during a flood, due to the fact I can swim well... As I gotten older I realize younger version of myself was not smart at all. Crawl tells a story taking place during a hurricane in Florida, as a small family gets trapped in their house while being terrorize by a few Gators... That's it, that's the movie. The Cinematography was fine, really enjoyed that opening pool shot the most out of every shot, lots of charm in that shot. The Score was fine, I don't really remember the music other than that Alligator song when the credits roll.. Which I'll admit was funny. The cast was... Goofy. I feel majority of the performances weren't that good, as I believe it's towards direction and script. Mainly it's just the cast trying to do their best impression, of what people in Florida act and sound like, it's just so dumb but hilarious to me. Our lead Haley played by Kaya Scodelario was such a corny character, the performance felt silly. Every time she screamed "Dad!" it's just the funniest thing, a very weak deliver so it comes out funny. I want to dive in no pun attended towards her character later on, just by how silly it is. Barry Pepper (Coolest name for an actor of all time by the way) playing Haley's father was silly as well, his performance felt more funny as he took this role way too seriously. So when I saw the trailer for Crawl I honestly laughed because the plot sounded so bizarre and flat out silly... However, I like this original concept, it's a cool concept. I mean those who don't live in Florida probably wonder, what does happen during a hurricane in Florida?! Do Alligators invade people's homes so that's the main reason why people evacuate during hurricane season?! It's stupid but a fun concept. Well I'm a fan of aquatic reptile films, Anaconda is a guilty pleasure of mine and I will say Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid is an entertaining average film. Crawl left me satisfied, I enjoyed this film. All my flaws come with the two main characters: I could care less about them, in fact I cared more about the dog's safety than these two morons. So Haley and her father have a conflict, which is her father hasn't been around her daughter for awhile due to the fact he was too serious about her career in swimming, so her daughter doesn’t him around anymore, so that’s why as he hasn't been around her swim meets in awhile?! Every time this film went back to this, I just either laughed or dozed off because it's so freaking corny and uninteresting as I don't care. For some reason this film goes to flashbacks of Haley during her younger days of swimming, like it's important to the story and the triumph she has in order to escape these Gators?! It's so ridiculous and even when it's shown in the third act is comes out laughably stupid. This film has quite a few logic issues, including stairs and getting on a boat... Oh no. But honestly what did we came here for, while experiencing Crawl?! WE CAME TO SEE SOME KICK ASS GATORS AND MY GOD WE GOT THAT. The special effects for the gators looked really nice, not only realistic but a bit frightening too. All the Gator appearances and deaths made by the gators were entertaining and fun to watch. In a film like this I believe the film didn't want us to care about any characters, that's why they made them dumb and disposable so when the Gators come... We get out of our seats and cheer, it's messed up, but heck it's a film centered around Gators during a hurricane, so let's have some fun?! The story is solid, as it's aware that it's just a fun dumb summer popcorn film. It kept me invested and excited what was going on, a couple of dull moments but it mostly moves forward fast as it's not all in one setting of a basement. Some of these actors took their roles too seriously, which resulted in some laugh out moments. I compared this film to be a Crocodile Hunter version of Hannah Montana, it's some of the corniest shit you’ll see but so hilarious to watch. There could be quite a bit to nit pick, but in the end it's a movie about Gators in a hurricane, what do you expect?! A Midsommar?! Alexandre Aja is well known for The Hills Have Eyes as anytime he works on a movie, they always mention that film. To me Crawl is better than that film, I felt more entertained as it was a better overall film than that one, so I hope when he does make another film they actually credit him that he made this one as well. Overall, Crawl was a solid dumb fun popcorn film. I recommend this film, it's actually a good time at the movies during the summer. Now if you excuse me, I'm counting down to hurricane season so I can wrestle some gators at abandoned homes, YEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWW! -Mitch Smietana