Customer Reviews

They Crawl [VHS]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

THEY CRAWL is simply what it is meant to be: a 50's B movie, updated with a little more violence and superior computer graphics. And on that level, it's one creepy movie. Although screen time for the roaches isn't quite enough, when they are on, ughhh!!!!!
Okay, we open with a roach crawling up the leg of a bus driver, and then a freakish scene of the driver trying to get the bugs out, and continuing to drive the bus. WHY DIDN'T HE JUST STOP DRIVING? Who cares? It's a smashing opening.

Then we meet a dashing young military man (with a secret) played stoically by Daniel Cosgrove who comes home to his ill momma (the delightfully underused GRACE ZABRISKIE) and his teeny bopper sister to find out that his younger genius brother is acting weird. Seems computer savvy brother and one of his pals are messing around with government research on what else, cockroaches?
Before you know it, pretty police detective Tamara Davies becomes involved in the case when nerd brother is mysteriously murdered.
Their investigation leads to Dennis Boutsikaris as the boys' professor---is he in on it? And how about Tone Loc as a gambling brother? Or Mickey Rourke as the leader of a long-established death cult? Or Even Tim Thomerson as a super-kind-of pest exterminator?
It's all second class fun, and the ending is so out of left field, you can't help but enjoy. Man can these bugs talk or what?
MINDLESS BUT ENJOYABLE.

I've always been a sucker for simply made monster movies, like Tremors. As straight-to-video ones go, this is pretty good. The main actors aren't that gripping, but the best performances are found in the smaller parts - by Mickey Rourke and Tone Loc. The commentary on the DVD from the director and producer is actually a pretty good behind-the-scenes peek of how to do a great-looking movie with a small budget. The film looks great, nice conversion to DVD.

Hey, it's a bug movie. What did you expect, Hamlet?

HORROR & SUSPENSE-Collector Cover Canadian Version-Widescreen-Dolby Digital Stereo(English)-English & Spanish Subtitles-Production Commentary With Director John Allardice & Co-Producer/Co-Writer- Neil Elman-THEY CRAWL, THEY CREEP, THEY KILL! A roach crawls up the leg of a bus driver (Jerry Kernion), panicing he continues to drive and crashes. A young military man Ted Gage (Daniel Cosgrove)with a secret who comes home to his ill mom Mrs. Gage (Grace Zabriskie) sister Mia Gage (Andi Eystad) to find out that his younger genius brother Brian 'Bean' Gage (Chase Hampton) is acting weird. The computer savvy brother & pal are doing government research on cockroaches? Police detective. Gina O'Bannon (Tamara Davies) investigates when the brother is mysteriously murdered & leads to his Professor Jurgen (Dennis Boutsikaris ). Who did it? The gambler Clarence(Tone Loc), Tiny Frakes (Mickey Rourke),or Even Exterminator (Tim Thomerson)? Can they stop these Super-Roaches?

They Crawl? They put you to sleep! The pace of this movie makes it unwatchable. I'm not a big fan of bug movies anyway because who can eat anything while bugs are running all over the people on the screen?

Not many bugs to worry about in this movie anyway. Not many good characters, storylines, scary or funny stuff.

If you have They Crawl on a VHS tape you can put a small piece of tape over that spot on the side of it and record something you might watch again off of your television.

It seems to be a nice cockroach buggie creepie-crawlie show, but it turns out to be this extremely BORING detective movie. The majority of the movie is a stupid criminal investigation. Hardly any roaches in it. BOOORRRING. The entire movie crawls slowly and it's hard to keep your interest. Mostly dialogue. Dullsville.

If you have insomnia, watch it.

I was hoping for a good grade B movie but this flick takes itself much too seriously for that. Most of the film is just plain boring, stupid and unrealistic police investigative procedural, until about three whacking moments at the end, which are not enough to make up for having to sit through the other 85 minutes.

Genius college student Brian ("Bean") Gage is killed in an explosion that is written off by the police as a crystal meth lab explosion. However, brother Ted Gage, an Army Ranger who is under court martial, thinks there's more involved. The film mostly covers a bunch of boring investigation by Ted and LAPD Detective O'Bannon that in itself doesn't hold up well enough to classify it as a good suspense movie. For instance, if the police are so convinced that the explosion was the result of a crystal meth lab explosion, why didn't they search the place thoroughly enough to find the suspiciously encrypted computer files that Bean left behind? And why didn't they question Bean's colleagues at the university? Wouldn't you think the police would be interested in tracking down information left behind by the operator of a crystal meth lab?

But no, the police are more concerned about a freak accident involving a bus driver who was attacked and killed by roaches. The movie plods along. Gage and O'Bannon take forever to come to obvious conclusions. The roach scenes are so obviously CGI that there is no believability factor there. The few people who are killed, die very cleanly- no blood, no gore.

This isn't even a fun movie to make fun of as the characters, dialogue, situation and plot are just so stupid. If Ted Gage is an army ranger, why is he such a lousy fighter? If O'Bannon knows she is going into a warehouse that she expects is infested with killer roaches, why does she take an automatic rifle instead of a giant can of Raid? Why does it take the captive professor so long to cut the duct tape binding his hands when O'Bannon drops the knife right into his hands, and why does he continue sitting there after he finally cuts himself free? There are so many why's in this movie that it is ridiculous.

Forget this flick, if you want to see a good Grade B about insects, get The Swarm. if you want to see a good detective flick, then get The Bone Collector. Just don't get this movie, unless you are looking for something to put you to sleep.

this is a useless film, not even good for a laugh. The roaches only get a little screen time here. It's mostly talking. no real babes here either, if that's what you're after.

Ok, now you would think this would be about killer cockroaches and how terrifying it is to be eaten by bugs. (Warning spoilers ahead) ... You have explosions here, explosions there, and gun fights, and drama, and lots and lots of talking, and high tech computer equipment getting trashed. What about the bugs you ask? well lets see, you see them in action only a few times, and they kill 4 people, 3 you don't even see the bugs touch the people, and the last well, is so badly computer generated it wasn't even worth rewinding to get a better look. The film itself is excellent quality, not low budget at all. The cover art, looks like some re-re-re-release rehash of some 1960's sci-fi embarassment newly released. ...