CRAWL MOVIE REVIEW
The monsters of the deep type movie is back with a whole new look: gators. Move over Jaws, there’s another level of predator on the loose and this one has some bite to it! Is Crawl kid-friendly for teens and tweens? The Crawl Parent Movie Review will help you decide what age is good to go to this one.
There are few movie genres I like less than monster movies: I feel like I gotta say that upfront. And I definitely put killer animals in the monster movie category.
But I decided to give Crawl a chance and it was better than my expectations. I think there’s been worse out this summer, so if you have teens who are looking for a lark- or you need a mindless escape- then this one might be worth watching in theaters.
Table of Contents
About Crawl
When a massive hurricane hits her Florida hometown, Haley (Kaya Scodelario) ignores evacuation orders to search for her missing father (Barry Pepper). Finding him gravely injured in the crawl space of their family home, the two become trapped by quickly encroaching floodwaters. As time runs out to escape the strengthening storm, Haley and her father discover that the rising water level is the least of their fears.
Rated: R
Runtime: 87 Minutes
Are There End Credit Scenes In Crawl?
Nope- nothing happens at the end. In fact, the ending is super abrupt.
You do get a wink atcha as the song, See You Later Alligator starts to play, but there’s nothing worth sticking around for.
When Can You Pee During Crawl?
Crawl has a lot of action interspersed with a lot of mellow moments.
You can get up and go to the bathroom during either part, honestly.
The action is probably what you’re there for, so I picked more conversational moments to suggest as when to pee during Crawl.
- around 24 minutes in when Haley’s looking for the phone.
- 35 minutes in there’s a break in the action when the water is rising
- 50 minutes in Haley & dad are talking it out. It’s a good personal moment, but if you gotta go, you gotta go!
Crawl Parent Movie Review
As a quick over-all Crawl review, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it.
It’s far from perfect- even through the lens of a monster movie; the characters are a little light in development and the dialogue is pretty basic.
But: it’s a monster movie and that’s what we’re here to see.
Are the alligators scary enough to make you squirm? Heck yeah. The development of animals with CGI makes things so much more realistic. The jump scares that this movie relies on totally got me, even when I was expecting them. The realism is there.
My biggest complaint was the repetition of the fights (nothing much new happens) and the abrupt ending. The action just stopped and then fade to black, the movie is over. Okay, then.
Can your kids see this one? I can’t say that Crawl is kid-friendly. My Crawl parent movie review is that it’s not the worst choice for a rated R movie you could allow them to watch.
There’s language in the movie, but there’s no sex or even jokes about it really.
No alcohol or drug use either and no nudity or sex.
There are a lot of scares and gore. And the realism of the gore is what keeps this movie out of the PG-13 realm.
If these were fake make-believe monsters, I think it would be more suitable for younger teens. But we’re watching gators- real animals in the real world- tear people apart. One scene has 5 gators ripping one person apart and… whoa.
And that’s why I’d say 15 and up for this movie. I don’t have any issue with an older child who loves a good jump sitting through this one. Think Jaws if you want a comparison (but not nearly as good overall!).
Rating: 7
Patty Holliday is a parent movie reviewer, writer, and podcaster living in the Washington, DC area. Her goal is to bridge the gap between casual fandom and picky critic with parent movie and television reviews. As a lifelong fangirl and pop culture connoisseur, she’s been creating online since 2009. You can find her work at No-Guilt Disney.com, No-Guilt Fangirl.com, No-Guilt Life, and as host of the top-rated No-Guilt Disney Podcast.