If you'd like to be surprised by the Black Crab film, I don't recommend you to watch the trailer beyond 0:34, because it starts to give away parts of the plot. It basically provides a summary of the film.
Svart krabba / Black Crab, movie (2022) - Watch the trailer on YouTube
Watch the trailer in Hindi - Watch the trailer in Russian - Watch the trailer in Swedish - Watch the trailer in Swedish, with Spanish captions - Watch the trailer in Ukrainian
video © Indio Film
Article updated: 2023.03.07
The Black Crab (2022) is a military action / thriller film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.
Product: Svart krabba / Black Crab, movie (2022)
Original title: Svart krabba (English: Black Crab), English title: Black Crab
Series: -
Other adaptations of the story: -
Setting: contemporary alternate Earth / near future Earth
Product type: Film, Genre: military action / thriller, Style: thriller, action, adventure, military action
Release: Premiere: 2022.02.03 (Göteborg Film Festival), Release: 2022.03.18
Reviewer: Kadmon, Type: Male, 40s, Preferences: Immersive, logical story, consistent setting, prefers surprises to spoilers, prefers establishing elements before referencing them
Watched: very recent (2022.04), first time
Rating: Average (2 out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Weak (2- out of 3 points)
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This is my review of Black Crab, a military action / thriller movie from 2022. It's about a team of soldiers trying to cross a dangerous territory to deliver a package. The Black Crab film is watchable, but I only recommend it to fans of the genre.
Svart krabba / Black Crab, movie (2022)
image © Indio Film
Review (spoiler-free) - Black Crab, movie (2022)
I didn't know much about this movie before I started to watch it. The preview text made it look like it's interesting. It's a futuristic war story, and I like futuristic. I didn't watch the trailer.
The Black Crab movie is about a team of soldiers trying to cross a dangerous territory to deliver a package.
The basis of the story is interesting, it's the execution that's lacking. The movie is very slow, and the same things happen again and again. The consistency is otherwise fine, it's just consistently boring. There are no character arcs. There are plenty of logical problems.
The cinematography is good, there are many visually interesting scenes. The action scenes are easy to follow. The special effects look good. The movie was made for a wide screen, but I have a feeling that it could be cropped to a regular TV screen, as the important elements were in the middle.
The characters are not very well developed, not even the main protagonist, our point of view character. They are unlikeable, even the main protagonist. Their portrayal by the actors is okay.
The music (by Dead People) is good, it fits the story.
Black Crab is a watchable military action / thriller, that I think only fans of the genre might enjoy.
My experience
I was not satisfied with Black Crab (2022). I prefer stories with well-thought, interesting plots, and Black Crab couldn't deliver that.
Rating: Average (2 out of 3 points). Black Crab is a watchable film.
Enjoyment: Weak (2- out of 3 points). Black Crab was not interesting for me, and there were plenty of problems with the plot.
Rewatchability: Average. Although it's mostly the surprise of the story that makes you feel interested, if you liked it for the first time, it's probably the atmosphere of the story that caught your interest, so you might enjoy watching it multiple times.
Chance of watching it again: No.
Chance of watching a sequel: I'd probably watch it.
Black Crab, movie (2022)
image © Indio Film
Will you enjoy this?
If you like action thriller movies, you might like Black Crab.
If you like military movies, you might like Black Crab, although there are not as many military action scenes.
If you'd like to get comedic moments in your movies, Black Crab will disappoint you, as it's serious.
If you don't mind illogical elements in your movies, you can enjoy this.
If you don't know anything about military and soldiers, you might enjoy Black Crab, as the faults of its logic won't bother you.
If you hate subtitles, there's already an English dub for Black Crab.
If you prefer visuals over story, there are some nice scenes in the movie, but you'd need to wait long stretches of time between them.
If you hate violence and gore, this movie is probably not for you.
Do you need to read the original novel to enjoy this?
I didn't read the novel, so I can't tell.
Watching for plot points
If you are interested in military stories set in a frozen environment, I think it's worth watching the Black Crab movie for the plot points.
Should you watch this on your own screen at home, or is it worth going to the cinema?
The visuals probably look better if you'd watch it in cinema.
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Black Crab, movie (2022)
image © Indio Film
Review with spoilers - Black Crab, movie (2022)
I didn't like the Black Crab movie.
At one hour, it started to get boring. Nothing surprising happened, I just watched the events unfold, while they didn't give anything to think about.
I didn't like that we have watched the protagonist suffer through the story, only for her to get so mad for being lied to, that she decides to start a potentially deadly contagion. You could say that "this is typical female behaviour", yet I still would have preferred a better ending. Her decision makes the whole movie before the ending somewhat pointless.
Cover
The cover of the movie is okay, it doesn't say much, but it doesn't spoil the movie.
The trailer
The trailer is okay, although it spoils some parts of the movie.
If you prefer spoilers, it's a great trailer for the Black Crab film. If you prefer to avoid spoilers, it will make the movie less fun for you.
Promise of the first scene
A woman and her daughter are travelling by car. Suddenly, terrorists attack the people. They try to hide in the car, but they are found. As I know that the mother will be the protagonist, they'll either take her daughter, so she'll have to find her, or kill her or rape her, so she'll have to take revenge on the culprits.
Execution: Although it did provide the background for her motivation, I'm not sure I'm satisfied with the execution of the promise.
Black Crab, movie (2022)
image © Indio Film
Plot summary / Synopsis
In contemporary Scandinavia, a woman (Noomi Rapace as Caroline Edh) and her daughter are travelling by car. Suddenly, soldiers attack the people. They try to hide in the car, but they are found.
Next, we see that the woman gets taken off from a train, carrying fugitives. She already has a rifle, but her daughter is nowhere to be seen. She meets with a lieutenant (Jakob Oftebro as Nylund), who drives her through the city, that we see has been damaged by artillery shelling. She sees some people executed for being deserters. On the way to the base, they stop at a place, and the lieutenant leaves her alone.
The locals start pleading for food, but then they draw weapons, so she has to fight them, killing some. She escapes with the car, leaving the lieutenant there.
She arrives at the base. She meets others - an old guy (Dar Salim as Malik), a young guy (Erik Enge as Granvik), a bearded guy (Ardalan Esmaili as Karimi). They get debriefed by the general (David Dencik as Colonel Raad). They are very close to losing the war, but there's a chance that might end the war. During operation Black Crab, they are expected to use ice skates to make a 185 km trip through the frozen sea, to bring a package from one city (Tessenöy) to a research base, across the sea (Ödö). The woman was chosen for the mission because she used to ice skate, and knows the area. The general tells her that her daughter happens to be on the research base, so they can be together when she arrives.
As she sleeps she has a dream about a time, after the war has started, but she was still with her daughter. In her dream, they are getting bombed.
The woman awakes for the base getting attacked. Under fire, they get out of the base, and they receive the package - two black boxes, they can't open, and they can't let it fall into enemy hands. A female officer (Aliette Opheim as Forsberg) leads them, and the lieutenant, who the woman left at the camp, also joins the team. They are ordered to only travel at night, otherwise it's too easy to spot them. The six of them start the trip.
When they stop, the ice breaks under the female officer. The woman dives to save her. backpack, that contains the package, but she leaves the officer under the ice. They go to the shore and get into a house so the woman can warm up. After the dead of the female officer, the lieutenant becomes their new commander.
As she sleeps she has a dream, when she was scavenging with her daughter. In her dream, enemies are approaching.
She awakes for the noise of a helicopter approaching. She alerts the others. They get out of the house just before it gets blown up. The bearded guy was talking on the radio just before the helicopter arrives, so they accuse him of being a traitor, and take his gun, before they continue their trip.
They find civilian bodies frozen into the ice. A helicopter finds them on the ice, and starts shooting at them. They decide to leave the ice for a while, and go through an island. They meet people hiding in a house, who welcome them and give them food. Then they shoot the bearded guy dead, although they also die in the shoot-out. The older guy also gets injured. When they find a shipwreck to hide while they come up with a plan to reach their target, the young guy opens the package, revealing that it's a contagious biological weapon. The older guy commits suicide so he won't slow the others. The young guy refuses to go on with the biological weapon. As enemy troops are approaching, the woman decides to leave them, and go on alone. But she runs into thin ice that breaks under her. The other two team members arrive to save her.
They tied themselves together with ropes, and started to cross the thin ice.
As she sleeps she has a dream, when she was scavenging with her daughter.
When she wakes up, she find the lieutenant gone, and the package is missing. Enemy solders start shooting at them. The young guy gets killed, the woman gets shot, but they kill all of their enemies. She continues the trip, and finds the lieutenant. When he doesn't stop, she shoots him, and takes the package from him. He tries to talk her out of the mission, as he thinks that it's some deadly virus they carry, that would kill everybody.
The woman arrives at the destination.
As she sleeps, she has a dream, a continuation of the first scene, when we see that her daughter was taken by a soldier.
The woman wakes up in a hospital. They have operated her wound, and amputated some of her toes, but treated her properly. They get her out of bed to get her a promotion. The lieutenant she shot is also there. They reveal to her that her daughter was never here, they just told that to give her motivation. This changes her mind about the bioweapon, and decides that they have to stop their army from using it. She convinces the lieutenant to help her.
They go to the lab, kill the guards, and get inside. They manage to get the serum, but the researchers recommend to blow it up outside of the base, otherwise they'll infect everyone inside. They raise the alarm, the laboratory gets evacuated, and they hide among the researchers. She tapes the vials to a grenade, and when she is found, she threatens the soldiers that she'll blow it up. The lieutenant gets on board of an evacuating helicopter. The woman blows herself up with the grenade (probably infecting the soldiers around her, starting the contagion).
The setting
Black Crab is set on an alternate contemporary Earth, probably the 2010s / 2020s. Or maybe on a near future Earth.
There's a war going on in Scandinavia.
The virus
The virus they carry in the vials is probably an artificially manufactured biological weapon.
The scientists at the base think that if the virus gets out of the vials in the research building, everyone will get infected. That shows that the thing inside the vials really contain some kind of pathogen, but we don't get to know the potential effects of it.
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Black Crab, movie (2022)
image © Indio Film
Analysis of the story - Black Crab, movie (2022)
I mostly liked the basis of the story, but the dramatic and logical problems prevented me from enjoying Black Crab.
The message of the story
"You can only be free in a war if you disobey your command"
The structure of the story
The scenes of the Black Crab film are mostly played in sequence, following the same storyline. There are some dream sequences throughout the movie, and a flashback, showing what happened after the end of the first scene.
The woman is the single viewpoint character. The only time it changes to the lieutenant is when the woman kills herself, so we can see her from an outside point of view.
It has the usual arc of the dramatic structure - introduction, action, resolution.
Things I liked
- I liked the idea of going over frozen ice.
Problematic elements
The camp: The lieutenant seems to be a superior officer, who told her to stay in the car and wait for him. Yet, the first thing she does is getting out of the car, against her orders. Why did she do that?
The lieutenant in the camp: The lieutenant ordered her to wait for him. Why doesn't she wait? Why she care what will happen to him?
Arrival at the base: The soldiers knew that she was accompanied by the lieutenant, who is now missing. Why don't they at least ask her what happened to the man?
Camouflage: Why do they wear black commando suits, while going through a white landscape? Even if they only intend to travel at night, they could bring a white suit for wearing at daytime. And even at night, an arctic camouflage would probably work just fine.
The female officer: Why did they just leave her under the ice? Even though it looked like she was already dead, they might have been able to revive her.
The dead of the female officer: Why did she die? She wasn't long enough under to water to drown. Was it the shock?
The lieutenant: After they meet again, why doesn't the lieutenant want to know what happened at the camp? He doesn't ask anything from the woman.
The helicopter: It's a very lucky thing that their enemy doesn't have thermal scopes, even though even police helicopters have them.
The helicopter leaving: The crew of the helicopter has clearly seen them. So, after the team hid under the pier, the crew of the helicopter knew they are there. A dinky pier won't provide hard cover against machine gun fire, so they could have just spent some time killing everyone under the pier, then send someone to pick up the bodies.
Attack on the island: They take cover beside the machine gun that was used against them. If they have that, why do they only use their rifles? Even when they run out of rounds, they still don't try to use the weapons left in their hideout. Also, there are ten enemy soldiers approaching. Why don't they try to flank them? Why don't they use suppressive fire? They just line up to get killed.
She takes no weapons: After the island fight, when she is out of ammo, she still doesn't take the assault rifles of the killed enemies, and continues with the sniper rifle that only has five shots left. Sure, they teach not to take enemy weapons, but that's because weapons conveniently left around could be booby trapped. However, here the weapons belonged to freshly slain soldiers, so they couldn't have tampered with their equipment. And yes, plot-wise she won't need weapons, but she couldn't have known this.
Finding the lieutenant: The lieutenant had a long head start. The woman is injured, and doesn't know exactly what route the lieutenant had chosen. How does she manage to reach him?
The lieutenant and the package: If he really wanted to make sure that it's hidden, he could have cut a hole into the ice, and just throw it in there. It was unnecessary to take a trip to find some open water, when there is plenty of water just under their feet.
Getting out of wheelchair: She has a fresh shot wound. She has some of her toes amputated. She has some frozen body parts. Yet, they force her out of wheelchair to go to the meeting. It seems to me like a unnecessarily cruel thing to do, even if they pump her with painkillers.
Getting the scalpel: While the doctor might have missed the movement when the woman takes the scalpel, he'll find out soon when he checks his tool, and tries to disinfect it or dispose of it.
Security: Although it's okay that they don't have armed guards inside the laboratory, the shots they've fired must have been heard outside, so soldiers should be right at their heels. It's not like the woman was careful, and made some barricades or closed the doors to prevent this from happening.
Unanswered questions
- Who is the enemy they are fighting? (Update: According to the creator's website, it's a civil war, but it's not made clear in the movie.)
- Why did the people at the camp attack the woman?
- What was inside the vials? What kind of infection was it?
- Who was the bearded guy talking to on the radio?
- Where is her daughter? Was her daughter taken from her in the beginning? Is she even alive?
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Possibilities of improvement
Make the trip shorter. They should arrive at the base at around one hour to make it better.
Add dialogue by the scientists, confirming that the bioweapon is a deadly virus that will wipe out everyone. This would make the protagonist look better, rather than the deranged woman, bent on revenge because she was lied to.
How it could have been better?
Allow the audience to think about something during the long stretches of nothing happening. Give us some puzzles to solve, and some clues to help us.
Create some change of pace after the one hour mark - by that time, things got tedious. They could have turned against each other. Or they could have been captured.
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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?
I haven't seen any other works of the writers (Pelle Rådström).
This is the first feature movie of the writer/director (Adam Berg).
How does it compare to the original source?
I didn't read the original novel, so I have no clue.
The protagonist is male (Karl Edh) in the novel.
There's only four team member in the novel, compared to the six in the film.
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Behind the scenes
Thoughts about the reviews of others
The enemy doesn't use explosives: Yes, they could have killed the team easily with grenades or rockets, but they might have known that they are carrying the package, and they wanted to get that intact.
Killer virus: Some reviewers are convinced that the virus will wipe out humanity as a form of revenge. This is not made clear in the story, for all we know it could be some contagious diarrhea, that will make it harder for the soldiers to fight effectively.
Or even if it really is a deadly virus, it could have been used as something to threaten the enemies with, rather than being used.
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Black Crab, movie (2022)
image © Indio Film
Uses for the film - Black Crab, movie (2022)
Plot
- Set in a contemporary / near future setting.
- A team is sent to bring a package to a place.
- A team has to go through a dangerous territory (frozen sea).
- A team has to go through enemy territory.
- There's a package that will help them win the war.
- After the team completes the mission, they change their mind, and turn on their employers.
Scenes
- When the base is being shelled, it's a good scene to depict a base being shelled.
- When the soldiers are skating over the frozen sea, it's a good depiction of soldiers skating on ice.
- When they break into the laboratory, it's a good depiction of terrorists assaulting a laboratory.
Designs
Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas
Journey: The team is sent through a territory, that's unusable for most of the time, but now it's just simply dangerous due to some recent change (for example, the sea is frozen, the krakens are sleeping, a forest fire cleared the jungle). They have to go through, and bring a package, or get something from the other side, and bring it back.
Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas
Ambush: A man leading the troops leaves the group, asks them to wait. Suddenly, the locals attack the troops.
1-2: They have to help their leader escape. 3-4: It was a trap set by the leader, even if they get into the house, he'll attack them. 5-6:
Hiding (solo game): A team is hiding in a house, when enemy scouts arrive. The team has to avoid detection, until the scouts decide that the area is clear. Choose a number of areas that you can easily make random numbers for. You can make more important areas if you use multiple dice to generate numbers - for example 7 will be a more important place with a 2d6 roll. Place a numbered counter in every area. The scouts will move in random directions - determine the first place they want to check. When they arrive there, they spend an action to declare it clear. When all of the areas are clear, they leave.
Uncertain scouts (harder for the player): After clearing an area, roll a d6. On 1-5, they move to an uncleared area. On a 6, they decide to go back to an area they already cleared, just to make sure.
Fighting on ice: They are fighting on thick ice over water. Heavy weapons and explosions can tear holes into the ice, making the areas open water. The water is ice-cold, so any model falling into it will be out of the fight, even if they are saved, unless they have some special ability or equipment to reheat them.
Frozen people: There are people frozen into the ice, making it rough ground.
Thin ice: If they stand on it, it breaks under them, they must be constantly moving. If it breaks under a model, it must make a skill test. On a success, the model spreads on the ice, and the others can help it out by using ropes. On a fail, the model falls under the water. Shooting or using melee attacks on the thin ice can break it, making it open water.
Capture the package: One of the defenders carry a package that the attackers want to get. The attackers can't use explosives, flame throwers or other heavy weapons, as that might damage the package. The attackers can either kill or capture the defenders. When they search the body, roll a d6, and on a 1, they have found the package. If it's the last defender, you don't need to roll, it has the package. After finding the package, the attacker is allowed to use explosives or other destructive weapons. The attacker wins if they are able find the package. The defender wins if they can finish their objective, and leave the area, or defeat the attackers.
Capture the secret weapon: There is a laboratory in the middle of the defender's base, with a secret biological weapon. The attacker sends a team to destroy that. The defender sets up the playing area, with a laboratory in the middle half of the playing area, then he deploys the defender units. The attacker rolls a d6: 1-3: they can make a breach on the outer walls; 4-6: they can make a breach on the outer half of the playing area, inside the base. The attacker has to reach the laboratory, retrieve the secret weapon, then leave the playing area, so they can safely dispose of it. The attacker wins if they can leave the playing area with the secret weapon. The defender wins if they defeat the attackers.
Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)
Civilians: Human-sized (S3) modern / post-apocalyptic civilians.
Soldiers: Human-sized (S3) modern soldiers.
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Similar stories - Black Crab, movie (2022)
Short stories
Philip K. Dick: Second Variety (1953): In a futuristic setting, a team (soldiers) tries to get through enemy lines. They don't know and don't trust each other.
Novels
Jerker Virdborg: Svart krabba (English: Black Crab)(2002): In a contemporary setting, a team (soldiers) tries to get across a dangerous territory (frozen sea), through enemy lines. They don't know and don't trust each other. They have to bring a package (bioweapons) to their destination, that will save their people.
Roger Zelazny: Damnation Alley (1969): In a post-apocalyptic future, a team tries to get across a dangerous territory (deserted wasteland). They have to bring a package (vaccines) to their destination, that will save their people.
Graphic novels
Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth (1978): In a post-apocalyptic future, a team tries to get across a dangerous territory (deserted wasteland). They have to bring a package (vaccines) to their destination, that will save their people. Inspired by the Damnation Alley novel.
Movies
Damnation Alley (1977): In a post-apocalyptic future, a team tries to get across a dangerous territory (deserted wasteland). Very loosely based on the Damnation Alley novel.
Screamers (1995): In a futuristic setting, a team (soldiers) tries to get across a dangerous territory (deserted wasteland), behind enemy lines. They have to bring a package (biological weapon) to their destination, that will save their people. They don't know and don't trust each other. Based on the Second Variety short story.
TV series & episodes
Gamebooks
Freeway Fighter (Fighting Fantasy, 1985): In a post-apocalyptic future, a team tries to get across a dangerous territory (deserted wasteland). They have to bring a package (vaccines) to their destination, that will save their people. Inspired by either the Damnation Alley novel, or by the The Cursed Earth comics.
Computer games
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Frequently asked questions - Black Crab, movie (2022)
Will the Black Crab movie be available with English audio dub?
Yes, Black Crab is already available with English audio dub, among other languages.
Is the Black Crab film based on a book or comics?
Yes, Black Crab is based on the Svart krabba / Black Crab (2002) book from Jerker Virdborg.
Is the Black Crab film a remake or reboot?
No, the Black Crab film is neither a remake nor a reboot.
Why is it called Black Crab?
Black Crab is the codename of the operation. In some languages (German, Hungarian), the movie is even called Operation: Black Crab.
What was the apocalypse in Black Crab?
It seems that the "apocalypse" in Black Crab is a local conflict in Sweden or in the entirety of Scandinavia. It's either an invasion by a neighbouring country or a civil war that erupted in the area. According to the creator's website, it's a civil war, but it's not made clear in the movie.
Who are they fighting in Black Crab? / What are they fighting in Black Crab? / What countries are fighting in Black Crab?
It's not entirely clear who are they fighting in Black Crab. Sweden might be invaded by a neighbouring country, or it could be a civil war, and they are fighting another fraction of their own nation. According to the creator's website, it's a civil war, but it's not made clear in the movie.
What does the virus do in Black Crab?
In the Black Crab film, we don't get to know what does the virus do. For more information, read the The virus section of our article.
Does Black Crab have a happy ending?
It's up to the audience to decide whether they consider the ending of Black Crab a happy end. The main character certainly dies, and if the scientists were right, she'll infect the people around her with a deadly virus that could wipe out humanity. For some people, I can imagine that they'd consider this a happy ending. On the other hand, the virus might have been an empty threat, and the main character just simply dies, after her hopes have been taken from her. I can also imagine this is a kind of happy ending, putting an end to a tormented life by suicide.
Is there a post credit scene in Black Crab? Does Black Crab have end credit scenes? Does Black Crab have a post credit scene?
No, there's no post credit scene in Black Crab.
Is Black Crab based on a true story?
Luckily no, Black Crab is not based on a true story, it's based on a novel, Svart krabba / Black Crab (2002) by Jerker Virdborg.
Is Black Crab about Ukraine?
That's a good question. Black Crab is a fictive story, and avoids naming the actual antagonists. The Black Crab novel was written in 2002, a time closer to the Yugoslavian conflict (1991-2001). However, as the movie was made in 2001 or 2002, the Ukrainian conflict (2014-2022-) might have been an inspiration to make the film. The events depicted in the movie are close to the Yugoslav War, and the Russo-Ukrainian War, before its escalation in 2022.
Where can I see Black Crab? What is Black Crab playing on? What streaming service is Black Crab on? Where can I watch Black Crab online? Is Black Crab available on Netflix? Is Black Crab on Amazon?
As of 2022.11.14, Black Crab is available only on Netflix.
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Resources - Black Crab, movie (2022)
Official
Indio Film: Black Crab: Official article.
Netflix: Black Crab: Official article.
Information
IMDB: Svart krabba / Black Crab (2022): Database article.
WikiPedia: Black Crab (film): Database article.
Letterboxd: Black Crab 2022: Database article.
Rotten Tomatoes: Black Crab 2022: Database article.
TVTropes: Film / Black Crab: Database article.
Creation
: Concept art article.¤
Reviews with no spoilers - Black Crab film (2022)
Oli Welsh (for Polygon): Netflix’s action movie Black Crab turns ice skating into a crucial post-apocalyptic skill: Review article about the Black Crab film with no spoilers.
Reviews with spoilers - Black Crab film (2022)
Aslı Tekgöz (for Upcoming Season): Black Crab Movie 2022 Ending Explained! – Is Edh Alive?: Review article of the Black Crab movie, with spoilers. Includes a plot summary.§
Analysis - Black Crab movie (2022)
: Analysis video, explaining the finale of Black Crab.¤
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Buying the product - Black Crab, movie (2022)
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Have you seen the Black Crab film? How do you like the movie? Would you recommend it to others? Do you know reviews or resources you'd like to add? What further thoughts do you have about it? Tell your opinion in the comments!
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