Customer Reviews

Crawlspace (1972)

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CRAWLSPACE (1972) is something of a hidden gem and I'm glad it's finally on DVD. Nice performances by all (especially Arthur Kennedy of LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE fame) in a creepy little made-for-TV thriller which shows what happens when you let strangers in your house! If you liked BAD RONALD, don't miss this one! The director also did DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK (1973).

I watched this movie as a kid and it haunted me for years. So, for the past 10 years or so I have been looking for it, but I could never recall the title or who was in it. However, I started searching on IMDB.com with some keywords and lo and behold I found it! Much to my surprise it had just been released and I had to get it.

Indeed the quality of it is not great, but to be expected for a 70's TV movie. Also, it wasn't as frightening as my memories had held, but nonetheless was still great to watch. Worth watching, especially if you saw it when it was on TV way back then.

This was loaned to me by a friend--mostly because my friend knew I liked Teresa Wright. I had never heard of the film before, so it was a "pleasant" surprise.

The movie is truly bizarre as it starts out like a nice little drama (complete with your pretty little music) and turns into something a lot more sinister. It is very difficult to review this movie without giving away half the plot, so let's just say that the acting is good, and the plot is surprising (if somewhat gruesome).

The picture quality is not the best, but this was a TV movie back when TV was not Hi-def! This film is cheesy, short, suspenseful and worth your couch time!

P.S. Teresa Wright is getting old, but she is still as charming as ever--and the voice hasn't changed at all. I just love her!

"Crawlspace" is a wonderful film.

It is about an aging childless married couple
living in a rural setting on the outskirts
of a small town who befriend a troubled
transient homeless young man
whom they "allow" to live in a crawl-space
in their basement with the intension
of helping him.

Despite their best efforts and in part due
to the bad behavior of other locals,
the young man is unable to overcome
his psychological problems which appear
to have their root in past betrayal
and abandonment.

This is not a terror/horror movie,
properly speaking.
It is more like a tragedy.

It illuminates the potential of charity to redeem
and the destructive unintended consequences
of the lack of charity.

"Crawlspace" is not a dry psychological study.
It is very entertaining and does have
some tense and scary moments.
The acting and cinematography are very good.
I recommend it.

This film was directed by John Newland, well known at the time for directing a number of creepy TV episodes and other films.
It was shot on location, which adds a lot of atmosphere to the strange theme. I would put this film on nearly the same plane as some of Joseph Losey's best character studies.
Worth watching on a cold, stormy evening.