Crawl

Written and directed by Paul china

Crime/Thriller/Australian

Cast: George Shevtsov, Georgina Haig, Paul Holmes 

Plot

A seedy bar owner hires a strange Stetson wearing Croatian as a hit man, but a planned double-cross backfires when a young waitress, who is waiting for her boyfriend to come home and propose marriage to her, is taken hostage.

Review

This is a slow moving, tense and taunt thriller, which will successfully have you sitting on the edge of your seat.  The characters are well drawn, and very strange in that Australian way that brands their films so successfully.

George Shevtsov is rugged and unreadable as the Croatian a hired killer. He has a Clint Eastwood death stare and it's hard to tell if he is going to burst into a beaming smile or kill, bloodily. 
In one scene he has tied Marilyn to a chair. She fears he will rape her and clearly he knows what's on her mind, so he pulls her skirt down to her knees and at that point, you could almost think he might be misunderstood. But of course you would be wrong...

Georgina Haig plays Marilyn and creates a strong but ordinary woman who very refreshingly deals with a potential threat intelligently.

Paul Holmes also gives a great performance as Slim Walding, he is delightfully sleazy and it is his characters particular extracurricular activity which gives the film its name. 

 

The film is shot simply, but with an eye always on keeping the audience tense. There a great many thriller devices such as the subtle noises which may or may not indicate there is someone behind the door.  But there is enough originality that these devices do not bore but contribute to building tension.

You'll spot similarities to other films including Blood Simple, Hitchcock's work and maybe even a nod to The Shining.

This film is definitely worth a look, and is a pretty impressive entry into genre film making by writer/director Paul China.  Its low budget, and the first feature for the director (and his brother/collaborator Ben).

3 out of 5 stars