First, note that it's just 87 minutes long, making it the shortest horror film with a wide theatrical release in 2019. I know that a shorter run time does not automatically equal a better horror film, but it seemed like Crawl was one of the few spooky flicks this year that took advantage of the fact that sometimes horror works best when it's claustrophobic, tightly paced, and constantly moving. The large reptiles and gore didn't hurt either.
Don't get me wrong, it did decently at the box office. On a $13.5 million budget, it made $39 million domestically, so it was profitable. But I'm guessing hardly any of your friends or family saw it. It made about half as much as Annabelle Comes Home, and about a fifth as much as It Chapter 2. Still, it was directed by Alex Aja, who's been known to deliver a cult classic or two in his time (High TensionandPiranha 3D), and it was produced by Sam Raimi, who is the king of cult classics -- theEvil Deadseries,Darkman,The Quick And The Dead, etc.
Honestly, it'll be really weird if Crawl isn't eventually regarded as one of the best non-Jaws creature features. I think that a decade from now, this one is destined for an abundance of "Remembering the Underrated Crawl On Its 10th Anniversary" pieces.
Related: 10 Criminally Underrated Horror Films To Watch This Year
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