Crawl (film)

Plot

Slim Walding (Paul Holmes), a pompous bar owner, hires a laconic, nameless Croatian (George Shevtsov) to kill an acquaintance over an unpaid debt. The crime is carried out, but the culprit intentionally leaves behind the murder weapon: an antique pistol belonging to Slim (thus framing him for the homicide). However, as the Croatian makes his getaway, he accidentally runs down a stranded motorist. Now burdened with a bloodied corpse and a wrecked vehicle, the murderer seeks refuge at a nearby, isolated house. There, he holds a young woman, Marilyn Burns (Georgina Haig), hostage.

The Croatian then learns that Marilyn's fiancee is the motorist he has killed. In order to make an escape on a motorcycle (the only vehicle at hand), he ventures back to the crash site to retrieve the man's keys. There, the Croatian murders the fiancee, after discovering he is in fact still alive. Later, Slim realises that his prized pistol has been stolen and that he has been set up. Upon learning the Croatian's whereabouts, he heads off looking for revenge. At the house, however, after freeing a gagged and bound Marilyn, Slim is killed when the Croatian unexpectedly attacks him with an axe.

Marilyn, terrified, attempts to escape the house and soon finds herself involved in a cat-and-mouse chase with the mysterious intruder. Eventually, a fight erupts between the two of them, and the Croatian is subsequently shot dead by the hostage he underestimated.

Cast

Production

The film was shot on location in Queensland, Australia in late 2010.

Soundtrack

Australian composer Christopher Gordon scored the film.

Release

Crawl played at over thirty international film festivals, including Sitges Film Festival in Spain, FrightFest in the UK, and Brisbane International Film Festival in Australia. Bloody Disgusting released the film in the US on 1 September 2012, and Arrow Films released the film theatrically in the UK on 22 February 2013.

Reception

Crawl has received positive reviews from critics, scoring a 71% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Sean Decker of Dread Central said the film ″rivals No Country For Old Men in gritty style and suspense″ and was an ″assured Hitchcockian slow-burn.″ Journalist Alan Jones awarded the film four stars saying ″not since the Coen Brothers' Blood Simple has there been a more exciting thriller debut...a nail-bitingly effective study in slow-burning terror...scary, sly and sexy...a twisted and skillful homage to film noir.″