CRAWL (REVIEW)

Dir. Alejandre Aja

Reviewer. Dan Cook

Sometimes the most effective horror movies are the simplest and CRAWL perfectly proves this. Directed with gruesome bite by Alejandre Aja, CRAWL sees an estranged father and daughter duo (played by THE MAZE RUNNER alumni Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper) trapped in a flooded Floridian basement with a bunch of large and very hungry alligators.

Having previously made the redundant THE HILLS HAVE EYES (controversial - Ed) remake and the exemplary Euro-slasher SWITCHBLADE ROMANCE (a.k.a HAUTE TENSION), Aja is no stranger to blood and gore and 'Crawl' has it's fair share of horrifying kills and wince-inducing scenes of bone-crunching, flesh-tearing injury so those of a more squeamish disposition may want to give the movie a wide berth.

However, if like me, you are a glutton for monster movies and animals-on-the-attack popcorn thrills, then there is much to enjoy with CRAWL. The performances from Scodelario and Pepper are strong and likeable, the gators (bought to life with pretty convincing CGI) are realistically vicious and brutal and director Aja makes the very most of the movies intensely claustrophobic setting.

Add to this a nerve-shredding soundtrack by composers Max Aruj and Steffen Thum as well as a refreshingly zippy running time of 87 minutes and you get a satisfyingly snappy rollercoaster ride of a film that stands out as one of the better horror releases of recent years.