Crawl is a thrill-a-minute alligator home invasion story from director Alexandre Aja, producer Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead), and local screenwriters Shawn and Michael Rasmussen. Aja, whose films High Tension and Piranha 3-D demonstrated his efficiency for horror and gore, directs the film with twice the kicks (and on one tenth of the budget) of the recent scaly monstrosity Godzilla. One principle location and two actors not only cut down on the budget — it also ups the claustrophobia. Criticism that this is implausible schlock filled with waterlogged clichés may be true, but the observation ignores that the movie serves up the satisfactions of a good summer thriller. As a kid, we used to wait endlessly for the monsters in movies to appear. Lucky for us – and unlucky for the inhabitants of this Florida town – the critters in Crawl attack quickly, mercilessly, and often. This is a perfect guilty pleasure, an old fashioned B-movie without a franchise, explosions, overly recognizable actors, or exhausting mano a mano violence.
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