Crawl Is the Most Stressful Movie of 2019

Directed by Alexandre Aja and produced by the legendary Sam Raimi, Crawl is the first movie to nearly give me a physical panic attack. Kaya Scodelario plays Haley, a swimmer who visits her estranged father (Barry Pepper) during a Category 5 hurricane to make sure he evacuates safely. Her rescue mission turns into the pair swimming, crawling, and climbing for their lives as they dodge the gaping maws of alligators which have made their way into the home's basement.

Horror movies which spend the majority of their run-time in a single setting tend to grow old quickly, but Crawl chooses not to waste time (or scares). The CGI alligators have a real presence throughout the film, and with the movie's minimal soundtrack their every splash and snarl reverberates throughout the cavernous basement.

I'm not claustrophobic, nor am I particularly scared of alligators (or at least I wasn't prior to seeing Crawl), but Aja's sparing use of the camera flowing seamlessly under the surface of the water, Scodelario crawling through the smallest spaces she can fit, and long shots of the water's surface were all utilized incredibly well. While thrillers sometimes stick to jump scares, Crawl has plenty of instances where the audience is left waiting for the alligator emerges only for the murky depths of the water to remain still. It's a simple tactic, but it leaves the viewer on edge and denies them the release of tension they desperately need.

From Scodelario's arrival in her father's home to the final frame of the film, the movie is an adrenaline rush. While there are plenty of movies which have frightened me, none has stressed me out to the extent that Crawl did. As soon as the credits began to roll I had to search for a comedy watch while my heartbeat slowed to its normal rate.

The directing and cinematography are Crawl's biggest strengths and the main reason the film succeeds in being so stressful. Its simple premise of "people stuck in a flooded basement with an alligator" could result in terrible straight-to-DVD horror schlock in the hands of a director of lower caliber than Alexandre Aja.

Scodelario and Barry Pepper carry the film well, with a decent enough supporting cast (fleeting as they may be). They clearly know how to show fear, even if they're acting alongside some imaginary alligators. Their performances help keep the momentum going, and although their characters occasionally fall into some of the cliche horror pitfalls (I distinctly remember saying "why are you checking your phone now!?" very early on) they're still likable and believable enough that I wanted to see both of them overcome their sharp-toothed nemesis.

Crawl is a fun and fast-paced movie which will probably stress you out, and might even warrant a break halfway through so you can take a walk and calm down. You can see it on DVD, BluRay, Amazon Prime, Vudu, YouTube, or Google Play.