Respond to these rapid questions in our Crawl quiz and we will tell you which Crawl character you are. Play it now.
How could anyone forget the hysterically funny gore-fest “Piranha 3D,” with its gross-out buffet of dismembered spring-breakers, which premiered in 2010. There will be no comparable dose of gory schlock flood in the white-knuckled gator movie “Crawl,” which will be directed by the same person. The film’s tone will be somewhere in the middle of a relentless thriller with various satisfying (if not predictable) jolts and a summer comedy that only tentatively dips its toes into deliberate silliness, afraid to fully plunge into the water. When watching “Piranha 3D,” you might find yourself wishing that French director Alexandre Aja (“The Hills Have Eyes”) had gone all out for something that came close to the campy fun of “The Hills Have Eyes.” The film “Crawl” does, however, have a reptilian bite to it, thanks to its nods to the tradition of underwater monster movies. Certainly not “Jaws” or even “The Shallows,” but sloshing around in a hazardous deluge in a Southwest Florida town on the verge of devastation due to a Category 5 hurricane has its own thrills and spills.
And, of course, we’re in the state of Florida. Where else would we be able to find some hardy yet weathered individuals who have seen it all and then some when it comes to extreme weather and the resulting predators who opportunistically circle the defenseless in search of a feast? This may explain why Haley (Kaya Scodelario), a professional swimmer, is only slightly alarmed, rather than terrified, when she encounters the jaws of a hulking beast in her estranged single father’s overflowing basement; a grimy, rat-infested labyrinth she stubbornly plunges into to check on the elderly man she and her sister have not heard from in a long time. Rather than being alarmed by the intrusion of these obnoxious neighbors, she appears to be irritated by their intrusion into her private space for a meal.
After a while, however, the panic of Haley and her father Dave (Barry Pepper) is able to rise to the occasion, with co-writers Michael and Shawn Rasmussen throwing a series of claustrophobic, nearly fatal challenges at them and dispatching a string of doomed side characters to their rescue, only to have us gasp at their helpless screams as they are devoured alive by the unforgiving beasts moments after. Meanwhile, Aja is working on revealing some impressive visual tricks that he has up his sleeve. Some scenes, such as one in which a second, previously unseen gator appears and the two carnivores attack Haley in sync like a pair of Velociraptors, are clearly intended to be a clear nod to “Jurassic Park,” and they work well.
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this Crawl quiz.
Aja uses location-specific features to propel the action forward in the dark basement segment (which accounts for the majority of the film’s 87 economical minutes) before he runs out of (and thus, redundantly recycles) ideas. We are in a compartmentalized safe space surrounded by pipes and wires that keep the crusty creatures at bay; the next, we are following Haley to potentially dangerous entry or exit points as she takes risky leaps to find a way out. Meanwhile, across the street at a convenience store, we briefly follow a group of looters as they attempt to flee after what appears to be a lucrative robbery. In the end, they are unable to evacuate, but the scene in the flooded aisles of the store provides a humorous diversion.) In addition, we haven’t even mentioned Sugar, a miniature schnauzer-terrier mix who, despite the fact that she was placed in danger by her owners, has managed to stay alive. (Yes, the dog is still alive!)
Crawl Quiz
Sadly, Aja spends far too much time in the ghastly and, by all accounts, nasty basement; you desperately want to get out into the world, where greater dangers are almost certain to abound. Scodelario, on the other hand, appears to be up to the difficult conditions. She basically Kate Winslet-s her way through those dangerous pipes like a tenacious passenger on the ill-fated “Titanic,” all while the rest of the world is collapsing all around her. You shouldn’t bother asking her how she manages to keep all of her limbs intact despite the fact that she has been the target of numerous severe bites and savage captures throughout the course of the film. Perhaps it is not the best time or place to analyze a family ordeal while in the midst of an alligator attack, but it is better not to question the sincerity of the laughably stagnant (and poorly dialogued) scenes in which Dave and his daddy’s girl Haley settle old family scores about Haley’s mother.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Crawl quiz.
Despite this, “Crawl” provides an adequately engaging disaster package, complete with storm and gator effects that are grippingly realistic. Although it is far from being a top-tier entry in the genre, it may be able to sink its teeth into your skin just deeply enough if you’re looking for some mindless action that is mercifully free of tired superheroes and talking animals. It’s not a particularly good movie, but it’s not a particularly bad time at the movies either.
For more personality quizzes check this: The Mule Quiz.
