Crawl features Kaya Scodelario as Haley as she does her best to survive a hurricane with her father (Barry Pepper). Unfortunately for them, the flood waters are infested with alligators. The writing is good and the pacing works well for the plot. The special effects are very well done, but the movie has a few stumbles. Despite that, it’s a good movie that I rate three stars.

There aren’t many places where the movie isn’t fun to watch, but there are a couple elements that don’t make much sense. For example, there are openings in the basement bricks that one could logically expand in order to escape, but that potential is never explored nor discounted. Despite that, it is good that those opening exist when one considers lighting.

Lighting, sound, and special effects all came together really well in Crawl. The alligators looked realistic and terrifying, and their every movement was menacing. Sometimes the rain didn’t hit all of the background trees, but despite that everything looked and sounded great. The injury effects in particular were impressive in their realism and detail.

In addition to the special effects, the cinematography had some excellent moments. Not only did it show various characters’ perspectives, it showed several kill shots in a very interesting and subversive way. My expectations for the cinematography for this movie did not do it justice by the end.

Another thing that becomes very clear by the end is that this movie is well-paced. In Spider-Man: Far From Home, the pacing almost gave away a twist, but it still did well. In Crawl, there aren’t many twists. This helps because it doesn’t need twists to be interesting and it’s a self-contained story.

The story itself is short and sweet without time jumps or distractions. The writing team did a good job setting up a plot that works well with the confines of the house Haley and Dave (her father) are stuck in. as the movie escalates, so the characters. The plot pushes the characters along in some places, and in others the characters push the plot. That balance works well for this movie and holds it up as a good experience.

Crawl is an exciting summer flick that takes the premise of a gator movie and turns it into a good time. The writing is good and the pacing is great. There were a couple points with lost potential, but the cinematography was above expectations and the special effects were seamless. I rate Crawl three stars. It isn’t a masterpiece of cinema, but it’s a fun movie that I recommend seeing.