Dear Oklahoma,
I just wanted to write and tell you that I really enjoyed your movie and I think you did an excellent job in making it. I wish you the best of luck in your future career.
Here now are some TLDR-ish extra bits of info.
I came to this movie on a recommendation from Steve Ramsey of Woodworking For Mere Mortals. I really love horror or SF pictures that try to do something a little different and strange, and this really appealed to me. It was clear from the start that the poster (and maybe even the title) were not representative of the actual film. I truly believe that this is a very cleverly crafted film that shows its passion in every aspect - the sound, the visuals, the acting, even the script. Crawl Or Die as a title feels a bit like something the Syfy channel would insist upon. I suspect that the real title was just "Crawl", which feels much more appropriate.
I really don't get people who try to rate all films on a giant scale, with Godfather 2 and Shawshank on one end and, I dunno, ROTOR on the other. I prefer to rate films according to their genre or audience or intention. I think this is a film that is supposed to make you feel scared and claustrophobic, but have a cool SF backstory at the same time. And it really succeeds in that. I kept having to take deep breaths of fresh air because it was so oppressive! It reminded me of a trip I took to Vietnam where I crawled through the tunnels they used in the Vietnam War. I don't know why I chose to get into the tunnel in the first place and I don't know how I didn't freak out when I hit a dead end (in pitch darkness). I think this film captures that intense fear and mounting panic. I kept expecting there to be some sort of let-up, where Tank can see a light ahead or something, but no. It just gets worse and worse and worse.
I really love low budget first films that use a single set. One of my favourite ever films is Cube! I think that films like this can really showcase an explosion of pent-up ideas and talent. I'm excited about a sequel to Crawl, and I'll definitely keep an eye on your career, Oklahoma.
I'm not going to give this film a 10 out of 10, or get angry with people who dislike it. It is a very specific film for a very specific audience, time, place, etc. I think you should ignore the people who get upset about it and just focus on producing something else that you are proud of and that is effective - that does what you intend in the best way you are capable of. Congratulations to you, sir - you gave me a very entertaining evening!
Sincerely, SCCO.
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