Infierno bajo el agua

Buen diseño digital y en la segunda mitad una decente gradación en la tensión y un uso imprevisible de la trama espacialmente limitada. Para un tema tan inicialmente transparente sobre una nadadora inteligente y una relación con su padre que necesita ser sanada, acaba siendo una película de terror de supervivencia honesta, escrita y dirigida sin tapujos. Media estrella más interesante que la similar Infierno azul. (26.08.2019)

Infierno bajo el agua me dio exactamente lo que esperaba de una película de terror de cocodrilos en el cine, y quizás incluso Alexandre Aja superó ligeramente mis expectativas, ya que creó un survival completamente entretenido y lleno de acción, donde siempre pasa algo. El guion no es gran cosa (pero quien haya visto la filmografía de los hermanos Rasmussen no podía esperar otra cosa); alguien podría señalar, con razón, que la mayoría de los secundarios de la película son víctimas propiciatorias. Sin embargo, como película de terror veraniega cumplió con todas mis expectativas y me lo pasé muy bien. Después de Piraña 3D, Alexandre Aja conseguE una vez más sacar el máximo partido a un tema de serie B y crea un entretenimiento sólido y emocionante. Y no ha habido una canción con más garra en los créditos finales en mucho tiempo. (18.07.2019)

Easygoing, animal attack summer nonsense. An alligator survival taking place during a category-5 hurricane looks good on paper, especially with Aja behind the cameras a Raimi as producer. That would be, of course, if these gentlemen had taken it with more darkness and horror. Crawl, unfortunately, doesn’t have much balls, which is surprising given Aja’s history. The gore is missing, everything is hidden either in the dark or behind curtains of splashing water. The alligators sometimes look a bit artificial, but not much. What is horrifying, though, are the dialogues between the father and the daughter. Brr! (11.07.2019)

Shot in Serbia, this American film, two-thirds of which is set in the basement of an old house, is better than average. Despite its B-movie subject matter, it does not look cheap and offers very solid CGI with animals that do not appear to be digitally generated. Starting with the opening credits, director Alexandre Aja does not squander a single minute and constantly portions out information about the characters and the relationships between them, which later proves to be opportune (almost all of the characters and objects encountered by the female protagonist during the brisk exposition are utilised just as economically). The protagonists are not just walking hunks of meat for the alligators. We understand their motivations and cheer them on, and we comprehend where, despite all of the scars, they find in themselves the strength to grit their teeth and face danger. The overcoming of family trauma is skilfully connected with the eco-horror plot also thanks to the fact that the house where most of the events take place brings the heroine’s childhood, and thus her father’s failure, to light. Its flooding with water (thanks to which Halley can show what works best for her) and its gradual disintegration thus represents an inevitable part of “family therapy”. It is true that the story faulters during longer dialogues, the characters are far too clichéd and, given the R-rating, I would have expected more scenes in which alligators tear people to pieces, but when it reminds us in its entertaining and undemanding way that if we want to survive, we should mainly respect nature, then it works nicely. 65% (10.07.2019)

A suspenseful horror film about two heroes who find themselves trapped in a basement with hungry alligators during a hurricane. Clever and interesting characters, well built tension and some pretty gritty scenes make Crawl a very fine genre entertainment. Too bad it turns from horror to action B-movie at the end. (13.07.2019)