Paramount unveils the first footage for Crawl at CinemaCon. The new horror film is directed by acclaimed French filmmaker Alexandre Aja, one of the leading figures of the New French Extremity movement. In May 2018, Sam Raimi signed on to co-produce Crawl.
Crawl stars English actress Kaya Scodelario as Haley Keller, a woman who is trapped in a house during a hurricane, and tries to fend off baddies. In a co-starring role, Canadian actor Barry Pepper portrays Dave Keller. In 2018, the two were part of the main cast for Wes Ball’s Maze Runner: The Death Cure, the final chapter of a dystopian science fiction film trilogy. Scodelario began her career by portraying Effy Stonem on the British teen comedy Skins, while Pepper is a noted character actor with a film and television resume that dates back 25 years. For his performance as Robert F. Kennedy on the 2011 miniseries The Kennedys, Pepper won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor.
At CinemaCon, Screen Rant’s own Rob Keyes caught a glimpse of Crawl’s first footage. In the footage, Pepper and Scodelario portray a father and daughter who enter a dark house during a hurricane, this coming after they drive around with a dog in a car. In the house’s basement, Scodelario’s character loses her father, only to find him laying down and almost dead. She hears a mysterious sound, and a monster then pulls her away. Next, she’s trapped in a cell or room, and treating her leg from a bite. Pepper’s character yells from another room, asking if she’s OK. While trying to contact any possible rescuers, the daughter spots an alligator or crocodile. Pepper’s character offers to distract the animals, and rescuers are seen getting eaten in the flooded streets. The Crawl footage ends with Scodelario’s character in the shower, with the bathroom door closed. An alligator swims around the bathroom.
Over the years, Crawl’s director - Aja - has made a name for himself by depicting extreme horror on screen. In 1999, he released his feature debut Furia starring famous French actress Marion Cotillard. By 2003, Aja released his second film High Tension, which is widely regarded as a cult classic, and a defining film of the New French Extremity movement. Since then, Aja has released five more feature films, with his sixth being especially unique, as he wrote, directed, and produced Crawl. Aja’s production collaborator, Raimi, not only directed the original Spider-Man trilogy, but also the iconic ‘80s horror films The Evil Dead, The Evil Dead II, and Army of Darkness.
Based on the description of Crawl’s first footage, the film seems to have a claustrophobic effect, much like the aforementioned High Tension. And with alligators and/or crocodiles hunting down humans during a hurricane, chances are that Aja’s new film with be gory and gnarly. We’ll keep you updated as more details about Crawl emerge.
More: Terminator: Dark Fate CinemaCon Footage Description
