Director: Pierce Berolzheimer

Starring: Jessica Morris, Dylan Riley Snyder, Robert Craighead, Allie Jennings, Justen Overlander and Chase Padgett

Rating: ★★★

There’s an entire sub-genre of horror which is monsters attacking people with an attitude it’s so bad it’s good. That is exactly what Crabs! Sounds like on paper. A small coastal town is attacked by mutant crabs that grow in size over the course of the film. It’s silly and over the top.

The opening shot of the film is really bad CGI. There’s an explosion at a nuclear power plant that looks shocking and then the film switches to pointless nudity on a beach with horrendous acting before the first crab attack. It’s an awful opening of the film that will tempt many people to switch it off there and then. There are already too many bad horror films out there, no time for another one.

If you manage to get past that moment, then it’s a decent film. After the first deaths the film switches to the main plot with a disabled teen genius who has been working on a contraption that will let him walk again. He takes his girlfriend to the prom and that’s when the crabs strike again.

The performances from the whole cast are pretty good, they are a step above the usual monster-movie trash. Chase Padgett as Radu is the standout character. He’s really funny and has some of the best moments in the film.

There’s a lot of fun to be had with the film, it’s genuinely funny with many laugh out loud moments. The only downfall really is the CGI. Director and writer Pierce Berolzheimer wanted the film to be completely practical, but restraints stopped that. The majority of the film is practical and looks cheesy and great, but the CGI moments are pretty terrible.

If you’re a fan of films like Sharknado, then there is something here to like. It’s a mix of Gremlins and Godzilla with a lot of nods to other films. It’s funny and enjoyable, if nothing special.