Crawl's alternate opening originally got right to the bloody action, with hungry alligators making a violent meal out of an entire family. While it got unjustly overlooked by many when it came time to recognize the best theatrical horror films of 2019, Crawl did pretty great for itself. Directed by Alexandre Aja, helmer of past hits like The Hills Have Eyes and Piranha 3D, Crawl grossed $91.5 million worldwide on a budget of $13 million, and scored tremendously positive reviews from critics.

A true nail-biter, and master class in creating tension, Crawl functioned as a cat and mouse game for most of its running time, as Haley Keller (Kaya Scodelario) and her dad Dave (Barry Pepper) try desperately to outmaneuver an assault on their home by killer alligators. The two are trapped due to the fact that a massive hurricane has arrived, and the area has been evacuated, leaving the pair to fight for their lives against the colossal creatures.

That's definitely what Crawl is too, the modern reincarnation of the old "creature feature" genre that's sadly all too often relegated to Syfy original movies nowadays. While not entirely lacking in satisfying chomping of squishy humans by gators, Crawl was originally planned to include even more. Check out the film's alternate opening below.


In the released cut of Crawl, the movie introduces viewers right away to Haley, and establishes the relationship dynamics she has with various members of her family. After not being able to contact her father, she then heads to his house to make sure he evacuates, only to find him injured at the hands of a gator that's gotten into their basement. However, as seen in the alternate opening above, which is presented in the form of a motion comic since it was scripted but never shot, the movie begins with something altogether different.

In a truly harrowing sequence, even in its animated form, Crawl's alternate opening shines a spotlight on an unknown family seeking to escape the same hurricane by car, only to get caught in rising waters. One by one, beginning with the father, who got out to assist a stranded fellow motorist, the family is devoured by the alligators that have taken over the area. Only the father is shown being eaten in graphic detail, but the screams and flying blood at the end makes it clear what happened to his wife and their two small children. Aja has yet to explain why this opening wasn't shot, but perhaps it was determined that starting Crawl away from the Keller's would distract from the main plot of the film. Either way, it would be cool if more unfilmed scenes were created using motion comics going forward.