The moment I saw what Thrash was about, I knew without a doubt that I would watch it once it arrived on the Netflix schedule. Was it a great movie? I mean, no. But was it everything I expected it to be? Absolutely. Hurricane + sharks + people = stormy, sharky chaos. I wasn't more than a third of the way through the movie that I knew that, once I finished watching, I was going to have to revisit a certain 2019 horror film that also happens to involve rising waters and an influx of carnivorous beasts. Not sharks though... alligators! If you liked Thrash, and you haven't seen Crawl (or are due for a rewatch), now's the time.
What To Know About Crawl
- Year Released: 2019
- Director: Alexandre Aja
- Produced by: Craig Flores, Sam Raimi, Alexandre Aja
- Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper.
- Plot: A young woman, her father and their dog attempt to survive a Category 5 hurricane, while trapped in (and beneath) their house, which is quickly flooding and swarming with gators.
Thrash Is Fun, But Crawl Is Better
Tommy Rikola's Thrash makes the absolute most of its chaotic scenario, including shark attacks, a flooding neighborhood, and the right array of characters to suit the formula -- a selection of heroes we want to see survive, plus a couple of awful people we just know will get eaten. For good measure, it throws in a pretty absurd childbirth scene, as well as a mother vs. shark face-off. There's a lot going on, and it undoubtedly leans into its campiness, which is what I want from a movie like this. Also, I thought the cast (Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak, Djimon Hounsou) was great.
Assuming you haven't seen Crawl, as you can see from the description above, the plot is pretty similar. There's a hurricane, flooding waters, and hungry creatures indiscriminately devouring anyone who splashes into their domain (which is now in and around people's homes). But the story is significantly tighter, mainly focusing on Haley (Scodelario), a college swimmer who returns to her father Dave's (Pepper) house during the storm and finds him trapped in the crawlspace, having been attacked by a gator. As the crawl space begins to flood, the father-daughter duo has to work together to try to escape without being eaten as more alligators show up for the party.
There are a few other people who come into the story here and there, but unlike Thrash, which follows a few different sets of characters, Crawl's main focus is on Dave, Haley, and their dog Sugar.
As fun as Thrash was, I think Crawl is the better movie by far, and it seems critics and audiences agree. Mike Reyes gave Crawl 4.5 stars when he reviewed it in 2019, and it has an 84% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 75% audience score. That puts it significantly ahead of Thrash's 43% critics' score and 24% audience score (as of this writing) by a fair margin. That said, if you liked Thrash, I think you'll really like Crawl. Also, if you need to know if the dog survives in this movie (I completely understand), you can get spoiled on that while reading the introduction in this article about what Aja had to say about Sugar's fate.
If You Like Crawl, Have You Seen Alexandre Aja's Other Work?
Of the films I've seen from director Alexandre Aja, the tone varies pretty drastically. I remember The Hills Have Eyes (2006) being genuinely scary -- like chills-inducing scary. Meanwhile, I loved Piranha 3D for the campiness, off-the-charts gore, and dark humor. And Horns -- a book-to-screen adaptation of Joe Hill's novel -- is dark and twisty, with a side of humor, but more of a supernatural thriller. Crawl, meanwhile, is mostly action and horror, with a bit of family drama worked in.
As different as the mentioned movies are, they all understand the assignment. What's more, I think Aja does a great job at making us feel invested in the characters in each of them. In the case of Crawl, Haley and Dave were once very close, but are now a bit estranged. They have to work together to overcome that while trying to survive, which adds an emotional layer to the suspenseful story, without ever dragging it down. It's a fun, suspenseful and satisfying watch from beginning to end.
How To Watch Crawl Streaming
- Crawl is available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription.
- You can rent or buy Crawl on digital at Amazon.
