Crawl (2011) Reviews

• Very Impressive Suspense Thriller

  graeme-206-2550022012-02-25

  I attended a screening of this impressive movie last night at FrightFest in Glasgow, also in attendance were the China Brothers. After reading some critic reviews of the movie where it was described as a "slow burner" etc I prepared myself for 60 minutes of tortuous nothingness followed by 30 minutes of manic catching up before ending in a bang. Crawl was not a slow burner. Crawl is a brilliantly crafted work of suspense, tension and horror. From the very beginnings, the China Brothers mould their characters in front of you, building them into solid centerpieces of their film - without giving too much away - the casting of the three main actors in this is perfect, and, given they only had a very limited script to work with, they deliver the tense and suspenseful scenes with powerful ease. Location, actors, storyline, delivery and end product are all perfect, and I look forward to Brothers' future work with great anticipation, as they lavish such care and attention on their work, that they deserve a far wider release with Crawl and future films. Don't miss this if it visits a cinema near you - you won't be disappointed.

• Pretty crawl

  kosmasp2012-05-06

  As the other reviewer (only other one at this point of time), I did watch this at the Frightfest in Glasgow. I really liked the suspense the movie created and the filmmakers really did a nice job of capturing intense on film! While of course the movie could've been over sooner (if not for "movie logic"), this doesn't mean you have to dislike the movie for this suspension of disbelief. I sure hope you don't, because the movie would not be worth anything, if you start thinking like this. And I know what I'm talking about, because I do have those moments myself sometimes with movies. But this one was so fantastical, so otherworldly (great cinematography btw), that I didn't watch it as anything other than a tale or a fable (with horror mixed into it of course). While I also wouldn't exactly call it a slow burner, it isn't really fast paced either. You've got to know that this will not rush through things and will take its time to go places. I really enjoyed that and hope they'll come up with something new soon

• Wanting to be the Coen Brothers is not that Blood Simple, you know…

  Coventry2012-10-31

  The unwritten but relentless rule: "be wary of unknown movies that put all sorts of meaningless awards and praising quotes on the poster/DVD cover" once again proves itself to be very accurate and reliable. The poster image for "Crawl" spawns a whole miscellany of glorifying words and an accumulation of prizes won at random international festivals, but – as secretly feared – the movie itself eventually turned out a terrible disappointment. I don't know what kind of jury hands over these awards, but I bet they think of themselves as important and knowledgeable cinema experts. I can name a whole lot of things wrong about "Crawl", but most important key errors would definitely be boredom and pretension. "Crawl" isn't a so-called slow burner; it's a dead waste! Some quotes claim that the China brothers (Paul and Benjamin) are as talented as the Coen brothers, but I feel they're just lame wannabe copycats. The Chinas are probably even less talented than the Coen brothers' most distant cousins from their father's side of the family and "Crawl" can't hold a candle to their amazing debut "Blood Simple" and most certainly not against their widely acclaimed masterpiece "No Country for Old Men". The rudimentary plot, simply summarized as 'man hires eccentric killer and complications arise', is hugely unoriginal and even then it's full of dumbness and holes. Even more annoying, however, is Paul China's complete lack of knowledge on how to build atmosphere and/or generate suspense. You don't create tension just by stretching every scene five times longer than necessary. You don't necessarily make your pivot characters more mysterious by revealing absolutely nothing about them. Aborting sub plots all of a sudden does not make your movie artistic. Planting a silent Croatian killer (with a cowboy hat) in an Aussie setting doesn't qualify as black humor! The more I think back about my "Crawl" viewing experience, the more frustrated I get. It's just a downright inept movie with a retarded plot, and I will illustrate this through three simple bullet points: 1) the events take place in a remote and incredibly small town community. The local bar owner hires someone to kill the local gas station owner. First of all, what kind of pathetic vendetta could they possibly have? An unpaid bill for about $50, perhaps? And secondly, how does the bartender ever think he will get away with conspiracy to murder in a small community where every inhabitant knows about your quarrel with the victim? 2) Nobody, and I really do mean nobody, walks around his/her own house or work place at such slow pace as the people here. Nobody reaches for a light switch or a doorknob in slow-motion, neither. 3) If your car breaks down at approximately five minutes walking distance from your destination, you don't aimlessly hang around and throw yourself in front of another car hoping the driver will help! You just walk home through the corn field and call a mechanic from home. This way you don't get run over and killed, you stupid moron! Truly retarded movie; the only two stars go out to lead actresses Georgina Haig and Lauren Dillon for being so cute.

• Apparently, I should like this

  bowmanblue2015-01-13

  If you read the online comments on various internet message boards, you'll see phrases like 'a thinking man's horror film' and 'highly atmospheric.' Then, when people - sadly, like me - who simply describe the film as 'boring,' we get criticised for 'only liking the lowest form of film' and 'not appreciating it.' It's about a seedy bar-owner who hires a mysterious hit-man to do away with an out-of-favour colleague. However, things go wrong and the hit-man ends up stalking a hapless (and overly-perfect, in my opinion) barmaid who works at the bar. I'm afraid, for all the high-brow talk about Crawl, I just found it dull. There are long periods where there's no talking. And, in an attempt to 'create tension,' the same three chords are played endlessly on a cello. These scenes repeat at various intervals all the way through the film and you're just as well fast forwarding them and watching the speeded-up version (as you'll see what's happening at a fraction of the screen-time). I don't just watch Michael Bay films and movies filled with endless car chases. I do watch other movies where I also have to (occasionally) use my head to figure things out. However, I just couldn't help but get bored with this. Obviously, judging by the amount of positive praise there is out there for this film, then it has found an audience out there somewhere - I'm just one of those philistines who didn't appreciate it. Sorry! On the plus side, it's short!

• Just crawl away

  tony_cochrane2012-09-21

  I'm a fan of low budget horror films, from Brain dead to The Loved Ones, on to the Irish film Grabbers. However, this has the feel of a director who thinks he's directing an art movie. Lots of silences, not suspense, mind you, but just silence. Literally no sound, just two people looking at each other for 5 elongated minutes. When the action comes there is no logic to it. And finally, the sound track, or more accurately that same piece of annoying music that's randomly played regardless of what happening. All you need is 3 high piano key key to make a horror soundtrack. Watch any seventies or eighties horror. The acting was good, but that's the movies only saving grace. I wish I was living in Schwarzenegger's Total Recall, cos I got a memory I want to erase.