Directed by Alexandre Aja, "CRAWL" relies on people's instinctive horror when it comes to surviving a huge and deadly animal, and is generally less terrifying than his previous films, with more reliance on building suspense rather than bloody consequences. It does not contain many horrific and disgusting moments, it revolves around an animal attack in the end, its story is simple but high impact, it literally presents the scenario of a monster inside the house, and shows university student Haley (Kaya Scodelario), a combat swimmer we see this talent from the beginning of the work In preparation for knowing that it will bear fruit later, being stuck inside a flooded house teeming with hungry crocodiles, when Florida hits a Category 5 hurricane, Haley violates the evacuation order to go and check on her father Dave (Barry Pepper), who was not answering her repeated calls and messages .
It turns out that Dave is injured and stuck in the basement of the house, surrounded by several crocodiles, and now Haley is stuck in turn, and the way they try to outrun these predators and survive is the main source of fun and tension in the movie, and with the presence of those crocodiles that Man-eating, fierce hurricanes, devastating floods and roaming thieves, the "Keys" region in which the events take place can be compared to Nubar Island from the movie "Jurassic Park", regardless of whether that analogy is fair to that region.
Much of CRAWL takes place inside Dave's basement, and Aja takes advantage of every inch of that dark and gloomy setting to get the most nerve-wracking effect, the pipes being the only things keeping Dave and Haley safe from that. Crocodiles, but that doesn't mean that they can stay hidden there for long because Dave is badly injured, the flood waters are rising, the house is getting more and more destroyed as time progresses, and the director manages brilliantly to escalate the feeling of confined space and the fear of being stuck in such a seeming frame It's inevitable, plus the fear of not knowing what might lurk in the dark or the water.
As expected, Haley's swimming skills are exploited in action and suspense scenes, but her struggle as an athlete is also a source of the current rift between her and her father. This predators movie, and given that "Haley" and "Dave" are natives of Florida, they are familiar with alligators and hurricanes and the like, so they are more prepared than the usual characters in other horror films, but with the sheer power of these ancient monsters Even the most prepared people, like our heroes, find themselves on the cusp of death.
It can be said that "CRAWL" is a perfect horror movie to watch in the middle of the night, especially with your friends, thanks to the feeling of collective fear and perhaps nervous laughter it elicits all the time, although the movie does not offer a new idea especially for people who have seen films like "Jaws" or "Lake Placid", but "CRAWL" offers a lot of fun and a sense of tension.