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Review: ‘Crawl’ Is A Natural Disaster Thriller With Serious Bite

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It seems every time you watch the news or read a report online, a natural disaster is striking somewhere. Be it earthquakes, tornados, or hurricanes, we are constantly reminded that man does not control the environment, but is at its mercy. And the movie Crawl presents a worst case scenario to further highlight the folly of man with a combined terror of hurricanes, floods, and lots and lots of hungry alligators!

Image via IMDB

The story of Crawl follows Haley Keller (Kaya Scodelario, The Maze Runner) a professional athletic swimmer in an estranged relationship with her father Dave (Barry Pepper, Saving Private Ryan) who pushed her to compete and was recently in a messy divorce. With Hurricane Wendy about to strike Florida, and her calls and messages ignored, she follows him to the old family house to make sure he’s okay amid the evacuation. Only to become entrapped alongside him in the house’s flooding crawlspace as the storm hits and they’re surrounded by several vicious alligators! Now, they must find a way to survive an onslaught of predators, the storm, and flooding waters.

It’s a simple enough premise, and an innovative one at that. Haley and Dave are stuck in the house’s crawlspace having to contend with one menace after another. While director Alexandre Aja is known for his more over the top films like Piranha 3DCrawl is far more tempered and grounded, which makes it all the more frightening to watch as the alligators stalk through the dark and rip people limb from limb. The alligators themselves being an overwhelming presence, keeping both the characters and audience paranoid that one of those murder machines could be dwelling in the murky waters and could snap their jaws up at any second.

Image via IMDB

There’s also a real heart to the story of Crawl as Haley and Dave deal with their dysfunctional relationship. Nothing like being trapped in a flooding basement full of man-eating gators to work through estrangement! The characters showing their inventiveness and determination to stay alive through the ordeal. The story is tightly paced and hooks the audience on every second, every raindrop, because the characters are on a ticking clock and every moment matters. The visual FX for the film work for the most part, with a large portion being practical and complete with a fully flooded set. Some of the CG gators don’t mesh quite as well, but not enough to take you out of the film. The blood and gore FX standing out in particular. Every wound, bleed, and compact fracture looking disturbingly real enough to make you squirm.

Overall, Crawl is a tight and intense natural disaster – monster movie hybrid. One that’ll be especially scary for anyone near hurricanes, alligators, or both!

Image via IMDB

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Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

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The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

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lizzie borden house

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

Inside the Lizzie Borden House

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

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’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

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28 years later

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.

28 Days Later

The original film followed Jim (Cillian Murphy) who wakes from a coma to find that London is currently dealing with a zombie outbreak.

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