Crawl

Insidiously simple, compact, and clever, this killer alligator movie, complete with slowly rising floodwaters, is relentless and absolutely terrifying. It's a career best for director Alexandre Aja. Crawl may have little to say about the world -- except perhaps a hint of the dangers of climate change -- but what it does do, it does exceptionally well. Screenwriter brothers Michael and Shawn Rasmussen spend just a little time establishing Haley's swimming skills, her tattered relationship with her father, and the scope of the storm before letting go with wallop after wallop. Their basic idea of the claustrophobic crawlspace married with the attacking monsters is the stuff of classic thrillers, and the storytelling pace is positively brilliant. Gimmicks like a slowly submerging radio and a hand-cranked flashlight add immeasurably to the scenario.

Aja, whose fun remake of Piranha was a high point in a pretty uneven career so far, ought to stick to movies about water-based predators. His work here is so fluid that it's almost elegant. He even manages to avoid dumb jump scares -- the first alligator appearance on-screen is a masterful moment -- and uses the compact space with lucid clarity. He expertly ramps up the tightly coiled tension, revealing one surprise and shock and solution after another; even the rest breaks aren't entirely restful. Those alligators could be lurking anywhere, just below the surface of the rising water. In the end, Crawl feels like a white-knuckle roller coaster ride, and while viewers may leave smiling, they may also feel totally wiped out.