The Crawlers (film)


The Crawlers is a 1993 Italian horror film directed by Fabrizio Laurenti under the pseudonym Martin Newlin. Some parts of the film were also directed by producer Joe D'Amato, uncredited.

Plot

After a small town nuclear power plant dumps hazardous waste into a forest surrounding the town, people begin dying in increasingly gruesome ways. No one can pinpoint the source of the deaths until the EPA investigates; the forests' roots were mutated due to the waste, causing them to kill and eat people. The plants attempt to break loose, however the EPA bulldozes the plants, killing them, but leaving the possibility that some plants may have survived.

Cast

Production began at summer in 1990. Filming took place in Porterville, Utah, where Troll 2 was also filmed.

Title clarification

The Crawlers is also known by the titles Troll 3, Creepers and Contamination.7. Despite the Troll 3 title, the film has no narrative connections to Troll or Troll 2, the latter of which itself has no narrative connections to Troll. The Crawlers does not feature trolls, and does not share any cast members with either Troll film.
D'Amato's fantasy film Quest for the Mighty Sword was released as Troll 3 in Germany, so these two films have been confused in some reference sources.

Distribution

Originally slated for theatrical release in the United States in 1990, the film ended up instead as a direct-to-video release in 1993 by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment.
Scream Factory released the film on DVD for the first time under the title Contamination.7, along with The Dungeonmaster, Catacombs and Cellar Dweller, in a 4 Horror Movie marathon collection on October 29, 2013.
On April 18, 2017, the film received a Blu-ray release by Scream Factory, again under the title Contamination.7.