Written and directed by: Paul China
Featuring: George Shevtsov and Georgina Haig
Filmmakers Paul and Benjamin China are a filmmaking team of brothers who have stuck to their guns to create a thriller, a movie that has subsequently played all over the world in the festival circuit. Crawl is a well told story that is also visually interesting.
While this particular film was picked up for distribution representation during ScreamFest 2011 in Los Angeles, I wasn’t able to see it until it made its way to Cannes 2012. I worried that I’d be the only one who didn’t get it. Luckily for me, I became part of the Crawl army.
It is important when going into your viewing of Crawl to understand that it isn’t a gory torture porn. Crawl is more of a throwback to horror of old — which, personally, is my favorite type of horror subgenre. To properly execute such a film, it takes adequate time to develop the story and build the tension, leaving the viewers satisfied. Crawl is a finely tuned, perfectly nuanced orchestra performance. Attention to detail is imbued in every moment from beginning to end.
Crawl is about a waitress who thinks her boyfriend is going to propose marriage, so she goes home to prepare the house for romance. In the meantime, her bar-owner boss is mixed up with a loose cannon killer, and a car accident involving her fiancé and this killer takes place. This killer visits the waitress's house. She is taken hostage. The game begins. This movie explores the ways in which the characters intersect and intertwine with disastrous and heroic results.
The filmmakers create suspense and capture human emotion while exploring the complications of life and human relationships, from employee - boss, to boyfriend - girlfriend, to friendship. Paul and Benjamin China have created a masterpiece; this is true filmmaking, the kind that I don’t often see — especially on the indie-budget level. I am very excited at what the future holds for the duo and what they will come up with next. Crawl is a must-see.
An interesting point: Most of the characters literally crawl at some point in the film, each for different
reasons. There is a clear point and direct purpose when each of the characters is made to move in such a way.
Rating: (5 out of 5):
