Crawlspace

It is amazing how low budget movie from OZ, with hardly known performers can deliver such entertainment. I am not going overboard and say it was an Oscar material but the movie kept me interested up to the end, I have read some of the reviews on IMDb and to be honest I was disappointed because other reviewers decided to give negative review just because they can. The acting was very convincing as for the story line; the movie makers could have elaborated on the main two chatterer past to make sense of some parts of the movie. This movie wont make it to the Oscar but by its own right is good entertainment; I know that because while watching some boring movies I tend to do something else or my mind wander away, this one kept me on my seat to the end.

The plot is quite simple but powerful. It is intelligent from the beginning trying to show you very little as the movie goes along. I was very surprised with acting in general, cinematography, art, editing and music. But perhaps the thing I liked the most is all references to Area 51, and conspiracy theories. From EVE to Genesis project, and quoting the Soviet Union paranormal experiments during the cold war which, now we know, were actually real, at least in their intent. I also enjoyed the several classic science fiction movies homages like James Cameron's "Aliens", Roger Donaldson's "Species", the Resident Evil games and even Steve Barker's "Outpost" if you want, and some others. Perhaps the main issue that generates dislike is the lack of dynamic and rhythmic editing during the 2nd part of the film. The climax to be precise. Nevertheless I think it is a good film for those hardcore science fiction fans that are always searching for new productions.

In 1966 the Australian and U.S. Governments established Pine Gap, a top secret research facility in the remote Australian outback. Fifteen hours ago all contact with the facility was lost, cause unknown. Then there are messages telling that the prisoners have escaped. Three helicopters with a group of elite soldiers are sent to rescue the scientists and eliminate the dangerous prisoners. Commander Romeo (Ditch Davey) leads the team formed by Fourpack (Eddie Baroo), Wiki (Peta Sergeant) and Kid (Fletcher Humphrys) that is mysteriously attacked by strange creatures in the underground. When Romeo meets the amnesic prisoner Eve (Amber Clayton), he protects her compromising their mission. When his team questions who Eve is, Romeo tells that she is his wife that died years ago in Paris. When they find the scientists Darious Caesar (Nicholas Belt), Emily (Ngaire Dawn Fair) and Matthews (Samuel Johnson), they learn that the scientists are developing powerful psychic soldiers in the facility. Who is Eve? Will the soldiers succeed in their assignment?

"Crawlspace" is a claustrophobic movie with a promising idea, good acting but poor beginning and conclusion. The story begins without any development, with a group of soldiers breaking in a facility in the outback of Australia. The viewer does not know whether the story happens in the present, past or future; how is the government of this society; and who are the prisoners (criminals, political). The action is reasonable and when Eve opens the body bag and is surprised with her discovery, the viewer never knows who was there (might be the alien in her recollection, but it is not clear). What Romeo did to his wife and why is also confused and not clear. Last but not the least, the conclusion is totally disappointing. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Fortaleza Secreta" ("Secret Fortress")

IMDb truly baffles me sometimes. The score for Crawlspace stands at 4.8 at the time of writing which is ridiculously low for such a competent, not to mention fun, piece of film making.

Premise - a military team is sent in to an underground complex ("Australia's version of Area 51" one character notes) with the mission of eliminating a group of escaped prisoners and saving the scientists. Of course it all goes wrong, and that's about all you need to know.

No, actually what you need to know is that this hangs together way better than 90% of the other Aliens derived plots out there. The similarities to Aliens are evident at every turn, from the way the military team interacts with one another (much like James Cameron's colonial marines), to the motion trackers and a lead protagonist who bears more than an uncanny resemblance to Michael Biehn. Sure it rips of Aliens, but it rips it off well and if like me you've been waiting for over 25 years for a film that had that Aliens vibe going for it then you will love this.

There's another layer to Crawlspace too though - a pretty intriguing psychological mystery plot woven through that hides just enough answers to keep your interest. But, like all good old school movies, it doesn't try to get too clever and the end is obvious but deeply entertaining including a couple of kiss-off lines that I said right along with the actors and then grinned my head off.

I dunno, I suppose kids these days want something different from movies than we did in my generation. When I go into a sci fi horror movie about soldiers vs underground monsters, all I really want is some gore, some action, and some entertainment and Crawlspace delivered on all accounts.

4.8 - no way. This is a solid 6. But I'm giving it an 8 just to counterbalance some of the insanity.

This is an Australian Sci-Fi/Horror movie that has elements of Alien, Species and Scanners. Set in the Australian equivalent to Area 51 known as Pine Gap it involves a team of elite soldiers being sent in to see why the compound has come under attack, and to save the scientists still there. This is a pretty good little horror in my opinion. Although the story has been done before it takes a few different sub-plots from other films and melds them together making it an original movie in some ways. I watched it and liked it, yes it wasn't brilliant, but I enjoyed it to the point that if there is a sequel I'd be happy to see it also. I give this movie a 7 out of 10.