Crawl

Okay there was a superlative amount of music to attempt to crank up the tension level in this one. There was a shower scene with not enough skin. There was a spanking scene with not enough skin. Scenes are dragged on a little bit too long, as there really wasn't a whole lot going on. Can't give this one any better than a 4/10.

One of the dullest so-called thrillers I've seen in a long time, CRAWL has aspirations to be the next classic Aussie movie. The only good thing I can say about it is that director Paul China clearly knows his movies, but there's being inspired by and ripping off, and CRAWL falls into the latter category. In various press releases, China and his brother are described as the new Coen Brothers, but CRAWL is more like a Coen Brothers rip-off.

The opening scene is about the most memorable bit in it and even that rips off NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN like nobody's business. After this point we're in BLOOD SIMPLE territory, with a slow-burning plot involving a small cast who come together on one fateful night. Bloodshed ensues, but everything is dragged out to an endless degree so it becomes a chore to sit through. There's no artistry here, no suspense or gripping moments, just a film that eventually becomes silly because it's so po-faced.

It doesn't help that the script fails to breathe life into the various uninteresting characters, or that the cast members are singularly unmemorable. But by far the worst thing about this is the director himself, who has no idea of how to make a thriller work. I think even I, with zero training in film-making, could have done a better job.

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.

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.

This one definitely had scary elements to it but by the end of the movie, I had this weird feeling of being mislead. The whole movie has a very dark comedy feel to it, but it mostly leaves you feeling confused and a little bored. I never really felt the urge to laugh, but I was aware that some stuff was meant to be funny, it just wasn't enough for me to actually laugh. It's still worth watching because there are some definite creepy situations but overall, nothing new that you probably haven't already seen.

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