Crawl (2011) Review

Who doesn’t like a simple, straight-forward bloody horror every once in a while? And if that’s the sort of thing you’re in the mood to watch, Crawl is just the ticket.

It’s hard to believe that it has been 10 years since the China brothers (Paul and Ben) worked, with a limited budget, to bring this gritty, interesting project to the screen.

The film opens with a contract killing in a small town, somewhere in Australia. A bar owner named Rusty, with lofty ambitions and narcissistic tendencies is determined to take out his competition using a cold-hearted killer from Croatia, known as ‘the stranger’.

Our protagonist is Marylin (Georgina Haig) who is quite the opposite of her greedy boss. All she wants is a simple life, working at a bar, meeting people and living in hope that her faithful boyfriend will soon surprise her with a marriage proposal.

Nothing should get in the way of that dream, but sadly for poor Marylin, misfortune leads to her being caught between Rusty and the stranger when the deal turns sour, leaving her at risk of not only losing her dreams, but even her life.

With Marylin taken captive, not knowing who the stranger is or what he plans to do with her, she quickly realises that her only chance of survival is to fight.

As stated in the opening paragraph of the review, one of the most endearing qualities of Crawl is the simplicity of it.

With little introduction, the audience is plunged headfirst into the situation, feeling immediately immersed in an extra-ordinary set of circumstances in an otherwise very ordinary, small Australian town.

Georgina Haig, who is somewhat reminiscent of Gwyneth Paltrow, exudes innocence as Marylin. One can’t help but feel a connection with her character and sympathy for her plight.
Stuck between two detestable figures in Rusty and the stranger, it’s impossible to not be engaged in the story and determined to find out how it will play out.

The film, though low-budget, it expertly put together. The use of light and composition are up there with the big-budget general releases and the use of sound – or in fact, at many points, the powerful use of silence – help add drama to the most significant moments.

Though Crawl does have the odd, unusual moment, mainly down to it’s occasional flirting with humour, overall the film works and delivers a lot, at pace, in a short space of time.

For a film a decade old, Crawl is still fresh and it’s surprising that more films since haven’t opted for this more direct approach to horror.

Movie Rating:

Trailer: