Crawl or Die Revisited: Time to Celebrate
Five years ago, I sat in front of a large screen television to indulge in Oklahoma Ward’s sci-fi horror, Crawl or Die, starring Nicole Alonso as Tank.
This became one of those rare occasions where I got to know the filmmaker and the talent, which led to a friendship. That meant my heart rested firmly in my stomach because if the film turned out to be awful, what could I say? I didn’t want to see our fledgling relationship destroyed, especially since I found them to be phenomenal guests on The Last Knock podcast. Plus, the film also included actor, writer, director David Wilde, a frequent guest of the show.
Crawl or Die did not disappoint by any means.
In fact, five years later, the film still makes me grip my chest and keeps me on the verge of a panic attack – and for a horror film, that’s a great thing.
Going Underground
Crawl or Die follows a ragtag group of soldiers trying to protect a coveted “package.” As fate would have it, luck doesn’t go their way and a mega-fight for survival begins. But the setting is far from the norm: it’s an underground maze of tunnels and nooks and crannies that become smaller and smaller, and even smaller still until one can’t imagine how Tank manages to keep on crawling in an attempt to survive whatever’s chasing her.
I can still recall the look of terror on Nikki’s face as she fights to move forward in an oppressive and utterly claustrophic environment of dirt and darkness.
Tank’s struggle becomes our own as if we’re somehow just ahead of her but unable to help her pull through.
What Oak and Nikki delivered is a heart-pounding foray into terror and suspense, with fear as an unyielding baseline – something so many horror films over the past five years fail to do on both independent and commercial fronts.
With Crawl or Die revisited, it’s clear Nikki suffered for her art, and I can only imagine the scrapes and bruises that took weeks to heal. And who knows what Hell she’ll indure in the sequel, Tank.
Tank: Preparing to Roll
And the sequel, Tank, has been a long time coming. Not due to lack of story or commitment, but due to a lack of funds. Both Nikki and Oak took to flipping houses to raise money, so consider it a “flip for film.” Hell, they stopped renovations on their own home to invest in the next installment of their self-made franchise.
Most would say it’s a risky move to put your own money into a movie, but Nikki and Oak are on a passionate creative mission, and that over-rides logic. Hell, it has to. Because if they stop creating, they’ll perish.
A cool element to Crawl or Die revisited: If viewers didn’t know, Oak made the film in his back yard. While other people have pools and playsets, Oak created an underground world to induce a mental and emotional breakdown.
With Tank on the way, the backyard will once again become a movie set and you can follow all the goings-on for the sequel – including the set build – by following Nikki on Twitch for regular updates, or visit the Crawl or Die Trilogy website.
Here’s to more terror, fear, and futuristic mayhem!
The Plot Sickens: Crash looks at the character Tank in Strong Women in Horror!
Billy Crash
Also known as William D. Prystauk, he loves great, in-depth characters and storytelling in horror, and likes to see heads roll, but if you kill a dog on screen he’ll cry like a baby. Crash, an award-winning screenwriter and novelist, co-hosts THE LAST KNOCK horror podcast on iTunes, and can also be found on Twitter, LinkedIn, IMDb, Amazon, Behance, YouTube, and Instagram. He’s currently in pre-production on a dramatic thriller feature while working on the third novel in his #KinkNoir crime thriller series.
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(Crawl or Die images from Oklahoma Ward.)