Crawl Looks Like Jaws For Alligators And It's Awesome

Kaya Scodelario in Crawl

You know what I love most about the trailer for Crawl? You KNOW that the creative team behind it basically watched The Meg – and knew about Jaws – and thought, “What other water-based creature can we tap into to produce that same fun vibe?” The answer appears to be “Alligators,” as this wild thriller appears to sell in the first giddy trailer for Crawl. Check it out:

What’s not to love about Crawl? It takes place during an unprecedented storm. It fully embraces its Florida setting, evacuating residents during a Category 5 hurricane. And it traps Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper in their slowly flooding home as a pack of wild alligators hunt them.

Perfect. Where do I buy a ticket?

You need more? The creative team behind Crawl is producer Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Spider-Man) and director Alexandre Aja (Horns, Piranha 3D, The Hills Have Eyes). The know horror, and Aja has shown with his movies that he understands how to have fun in truly terrifying situations. Also, did you notice that there’s a scene in the trailer where the crocodile bites down on Scodelario’s hand while she’s holding a gun, so she unloads a clip of bullets into the beast’s belly?

Again, where do I buy a ticket?

To coincide with the launch of the Crawl trailer, Paramount actually dropped a funny viral meme that will remind people of the Orange Tile used to drum up anticipation for the Fyre Festival. If you were scanning Instagram this morning and saw this, you might have wondered what was going on:

A photo posted by on

Well, it’s warning people that “Help isn’t coming.” Just like the orange tile warned Fyre Festival attendees that real food and luxury accommodations weren’t coming.

What, too soon?

Let’s hope that Crawl turns out to be more successful than the Fyre Festival. And again, with the people involved, we’re at least expecting a gratuitous thrill ride that’s more The Meg than it is Sharknado. Crawl will slither into theaters during the hectic summer blockbuster season, where it will go head to head against 21 Bridges and the action comedy Stuber. All three will want to hurry up and make their money, though, because The Lion King will be breathing down their collective necks the following weekend.

Alexandre Aja directs Crawl, the people vs alligator thriller, which stars Kaya Scodelario (Pirates of the Caribbean), Barry Pepper, Morfydd Clark and Ami Metcalf. Will they be more than simple alligator feed? Find out later this summer.

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.