Crawler

Granted, independent filmmaking is a tough game : no or low resources, not enough time to make it good, not enough script revision, etc.

In my view of things, there are only three ways around this : 1. Great acting based on a minimal-yet-effective script.

OR 2. An incredible script based on a great idea with an okay cast and okay shots.

OR 3. Passable acting and passable script based on wonderful lighting and set designing.

Many québécois (francophones) films rely on great acting first.

Sadly, a lot of horror movies coming from Québec are shot in English by a mixed cast of bad unknown Canadian actors and bad unknown québécois-francophone comedians. I can understand that the director-producer seeks to facilitate distribution worldwide, but this way of thinking just strips away all the flavor the film could have had if done the québécois way, in french.

I think SV Bell is a nice guy per se, and that by veiling himself in the guise of an English filmmaker (he is francophone, I believe), he misses the target.

"Crawler" suffers from the flaws related to this choice : 1. Actors are bland, forgettable, speaking in a dull and flat English tone.

2. The locales look realistic, which is okay, but the camera work and lighting are uninspired. We quickly lose interest for the main sandy scenery, used over and over.

3. The "Crawler" itself looks like any other bulldozer I have seen. It does not seem in away more menacing than other pieces of machinery.

4. The script is awful. People are killed and no one seem to really care - "Oh, he's still missing. Ah, anyway, let's go back to work...". Tensions between the main character - the old foreman back on the job - and one of his employee - a former adversary in court - are played in an uninspired way. The girl employee hardly acts the way a woman would act in the construction industry. She is not really respected by her colleagues, which exposes herself to danger and abuse. And finally, the way the protesting and grieving mother acts is not believable. Protesting alone is the best way to get evicted by the cops. She should have mobilized the community or tried to get an arrangement with the company.

Anyway, all of this is based on what? On a bulldozer which kills people one by one when others aren't looking. A theme which is based on the failure that "Maximum Overdrive" is. Ouch. That was a bad start anyway.

SV can do better, if not in filmmaking, elsewhere.

I watched this for two reasons, first, because I like shlock horror.and I like Robert Reynolds (Daughter Of Darkness, Tunnel Vision, Traps) I found myself enjoying Crawler because even though it's not the greatest horror, it's pure fun. It doesn't take itself too seriously, the acting can be a bit all over the place and some of the effects are cheap. But you can see the cast are having fun and the storyline, while done before, is still good.

Not bad if you like this kind of movie.

This is exactly the kind of "bad" horror I love, it's a weird concept that doesn't take itself too seriously. If you like Asylum kind of films, then I think you could have fun with this. The story is on the basic side, but...

Like what is not to love about a construction clawler that just wants to kill people? It doesn't just do it in the obvious way either, which is just as much fun as it silly.

And even though the budget wasn't there, they didn't do a bad job getting something enjoyable. Granted, it's not amazing in the CGI department. But if you take this film for what it is, there is a lot of fun to be had.