Movie · Horror, Thriller · 2019 · R

Crawl: parents' guide

15+our pick

Best for ages 15 and up. Rated R for bloody creature violence, and brief language.

A lean, very intense creature thriller for older teens, about a college swimmer who goes into a flooding Florida house during a hurricane to rescue her injured father and finds it full of alligators. The gore is the main concern: people are torn apart, a head and an arm are ripped off, and a broken bone is set on screen. Swearing includes four f-words. There is no sex and no drinking. Father and daughter mend a strained relationship, and the family dog survives. Bloody violence and nonstop peril are why we suggest 15.

What's in it

Violence

Strong

Alligators bite, drag and devour people throughout; bodies float in bloody water, a police officer's head is torn off, and a character loses an arm. A leg wound shows exposed bone, and a woman is slammed against walls.

Language

Moderate

Plugged In counted four f-words and about a dozen s-words (Movieguide heard three f-words), plus 'son of a bitch,' 'goddamn' and roughly ten other misuses of God's name.

Sex and nudity

Mild

A locker-room scene shows young women in swimsuits and underwear, one changing seen only from the neck up, and a sister jokes about once being caught with a boyfriend. No nudity or sex.

Drinking, drugs and smoking

None

No one drinks, smokes or uses drugs. A bottle of liquor sitting on a table is the only sign of alcohol.

Scary or intense scenes

Strong

Almost continuous peril in a cramped, flooding crawl space and house, with sudden attacks, near-drownings and characters trapped as water rises. Gruesome injuries and a storm wrecking homes add to the tension.

Worth talking about

Haley and her father both carry hurt and blame from the family's divorce. How does surviving the storm together change the way they see each other?

Where to stream →

On our lists

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Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, movieguide.org. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.