If you have arachnophobia then you're not going to have a good time watching Crawlers, which is the best, and most entertaining, spider horror film since . . . well, Arachnophobia.
Matilda Lutz is Serena, the put-upon caretaker/handywoman at Paradiso Palms apartments, a building about to become home to some very aggressive spiders. They're not super-sized, although some are a bit bigger than others, but they're fast and mean, and determined to keep getting inside people to feed and breed. Once the building gets locked down, by scientists who don't initially realise that the problem is an arachnid one, Serena ends up trying to rescue a baby, look after young Molly (Andrea Scott), and enlist the help of a very capable and unflappable dominatrix named Lady Lash (Melina Matthews).
Written by Jayson Rothwell, Crawlers is a complete checklist of things you don't ever want to see if you live with a major fear of spiders. Spiders in the kitchen cupboard, including one or two in a coffee cup = check. Spiders crawling into a shoe = check. Spider visible when you rip some sheets off the end of the loo roll = check. Spider crawling into a packet of snack food = check. There are one or two other key visuals, but you get the idea. The first half of this film is absolute nightmare fuel for people like me. It's also full of things being set up that you just know will be paid off in the third act. It's not exactly sophisticated stuff, and some may dislike the way the tone becomes sillier and lighter after such a tense opening act, but it's exactly what I needed to stop me from hyperventilating every time I saw another spider scurrying across the screen.
Director Ángel Gómez Hernández doesn't have the biggest filmography, having helmed a couple of features and numerous shorts, but he knows exactly what to do here, showcasing some gnarly gore and gooey moments, while working with the screenplay to keep viewers dancing back and forth as they watch events unfold and wonder how much they can tolerate.
Lutz is very good in the lead role, and she's allowed to be tough and determined in a way that doesn't make her seem blinkered and stupid. Matthews is a lot of fun, and it's a nice surprise to watch her character become more important on the way to the finale. Scott is fine, if not particularly memorable, Gary Anthony Stennette is welcome when he appears as a scientist who eventually figures out what exactly is going on, and William Miller steals a couple of scenes as Mr. Rossmore, the money-hungry asshole owner of the building.
Using certain criteria, Crawlers isn't great. But using the criteria specific to entertaining spider-filled horror movies, it ends up very close to the top of the pile. I recommend it to everyone who breaks out in cold sweat as I do whenever a spider is spotted crawling across the living room carpet, even if (like me) you end up swearing a lot while averting your eyes from some of the more incy wincy "highlights".
8/10
If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do
consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A
subscription/follow costs nothing. All links are HERE.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
No comments:
Post a Comment