The Crazies

It is clear that the current cycle of horror remakes is far from over and the results so far have for the most part been surprisingly good. This trend continues with 'The Crazies'- a reinvention of George Romero's little-seen 1973 original. The plot is beyond simple: a biological agent gets into the water supply of a small town in Iowa called Ogden Marsh and turns the inhabitants into homicidal maniacs. Things get even worse when a US Army unit initiates a brutal containment operation where shooting first and not bothering to ask questions is the order of the day.

The film wastes little time building up to the first outbreak of insanity and then chillingly portrays how the town's social fabric is obliterated at break-neck speed. There is an abundance of scary moments, inventive gore, and even some very black humor. Some moments are so intensely suspenseful that time seems to practically stand still. All the cast play their parts well; including Timothy Olyphant as the town sheriff, Joe Anderson as his deputy, and Radha Mitchell as the town doctor. The minimalist soundtrack is also strikingly effective. All in all, this film is a treat for horror fans and for anyone looking for an intense night out at the movies.

I didn't know diddly squat about this movie before I saw it, and that's how I recommend you see it also. The back of the DVD case sorta spoils some of the fun, so avoid reading it if you can. All I'll say about the plot is pretty evident from the title and cover picture (a blood drenched pitchfork). This is a movie where chances are you're gonna see someone get it with a pitchfork.

The overall story and theme reminded me of the classic thrillers of the 70s, so it came as no huge surprise when I learned that this was a remake of a 70s George Romero flick. By comparing it to 70s thrillers I mean to say it's the story of a lone protagonist or small group fighting against a grossly overpowering enemy. This sort of "hopeless underdog" theme was probably a result of the political climate of the 70s, when people were waking up and realizing that our beloved guv'meant and friendly corporations were sucking us dry like a 2 hour old wad of Bazooka Joe bubble gum. So this distrustful awakening spawned excellent conspiracy flicks like "Coma", "The China Syndrome", "The Andromeda Strain" and "The Stepford Wives" which flew in the face of the traditional tale of a superhero good guy vs. a clear and present danger, instead showing a more disturbing scenario of a protagonist at the mercy of a far more insidious and often faceless enemy.

What, you're saying? Then who's the dude with the pitchfork? Well broadly speaking, again as you might guess from the title, the enemy is an entire town gone crazy. That's what makes this hit home. With the enemy being our neighbors and friends, it's not like we're threatened by a fantasy 2-headed space beast. Instead the threat is something that exists around all of us. As the actors mention in the "behind the scenes" DVD feature, this is the terror of something safe & familiar which is turned upside down.

In that respect it reminded me of another excellent thriller, "The Strangers" about an ordinary couple terrorized by ordinary people in very un-ordinary ways. Again, no supernatural monsters or (as my title says) no "zombies" are required to instill perfect fear. This is the sort of movie that'll leave you thinking "wow, that really COULD happen." That's the mark of a truly terrifying story.

The acting is fantastic, and although I had never seen any of these people on screen before, I instantly liked every one because they seemed so real and personable. My favorite character was "Russell" who plays a harmless sheriff's deputy, but as the film gets darker, he too becomes more fidgety and cynical to the point where you're not sure what's going on in his head.

Special effects are really good. No obvious cgi garbage. Yes, the film crew really did roll a few trucks and trash a few streets to make the carnage authentic. Makeup also is really convincing, so much that it's more disturbing than the actual gore (which surprisingly there isn't a whole lot of; most of the violence is handled quickly from creative angles that pump up your imagination).

Entertainment value: 10/10. This flick hits you from the very first scene and keeps the suspense rolling through the whole thing. The scares are well placed. Things remain tense without the need for unnecessary kitschy horror clichés... although there's at least one scene where the movie isn't afraid to make fun of itself a little. I'm talking about the over- the-top bone saw scene which was as much comedy as it was horror. Lots of reasons to see this movie so go out and rent it already. You'll never see your neighbors, or pitchforks, the same way again.

This remake of the 1973 George Romero film sees the rural Iowa town of Ogden Marsh become unhinged when it's residents begin exhibiting odd behavior, usually culminating in acts of violence. Sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) is at a loss to explain what's happening to the people he's known all his life, but the discovery of a dead pilot in a marsh leads him to the answer, a downed plane infecting the town's water supply. It isn't long before the military has blocked all methods of communication and descended upon the town. Determined to render a final solution, they don't intend to let anyone out alive.

Following the basic setup of the original, this update expands upon the story and throws in a few new directions and surprises. If you ask me, there was plenty of room for improvement. Romero's film is decent, but highly flawed. You could blame the budget, but Romero's done some fantastic work with low budgets. It definitely had bigger problems than that. This is the type of remake I wish there were more of, the type that can improve on a weak original. We spend the majority of the film with the four main characters as they attempt to escape the madness; David, his wife (Radha Mitchell), his deputy (Joe Anderson) and his wife's secretary (Danielle Pannabaker). I was already a fan of both Olyphant and the lovely Mitchell before viewing this, and they're once again in solid form here. This is basically Olyphant's show, and he owns the screen when he's on. I'd love to see him get more leading roles after this. Anderson and Pannabaker are also impressive, getting me to care about the fates of their characters, something that many horror films have a hard time doing. One of the major differences between this and the Romero original is the lack of focus on the military's point of view this time around. We spend the duration seeing the events from the perspective of the leads and various other townsfolk. While the POV shown in the '73 film did offer some levels of interest, I think it works better as far as menace goes to not do that here.

The crazies themselves are well rendered, each person reacting differently to the virus. Some are completely gone while others still retain some semblance of a thought process, the hunters for instance. After seeing the trailer, I was worried that they'd turn this into another zombie movie, but I was happy to see that wasn't the case. Speaking of the crazies, Lynn Lowry (of the original, Shivers, I Drink Your Blood, etc.) pops up very briefly as one of them. A nice little nod there, and I noticed another potential nod to a similar film, 1984's Impulse, in which contaminated milk leads people to act on their base impulses. A scene of Olyphant running after a mysterious vehicle that has been documenting the carnage mirrors a sequence from that picture. Also of note is Maxime Alexandre's gorgeous cinematography. Eisner was smart in getting him, as he's done equally stellar work for Alexandre Aja in the past. Thankfully, the use of CGI is minimal. In fact, I don't believe any pops up until the end, and when we get to that, it actually works just fine.

The film is peppered with a number of suitably tense set-pieces, particularly one involving a pitchfork, a scene in a car wash and the aforementioned ending. On the downside, there are a few cheap jump scares thrown in. The music also struck me as being rather pedestrian at times. Overall though, I can safely say I'll be returning to this one more often than the 1973 effort.

I give the edge to The Crazies 2010. It was slower pace but had better character and story development . I found the actual (Crazies) to be a lot more menacing in the remake . And the ending of the 2010 film packed a punch

What I really love about this movie, was the main character. He really did the whole movie for me.

Usually, in zombie movies or "OMG it's a horrible disease that spreads quickly!" movies, the characters wait around until the story forces them to act. But not in this movie! This movie's protagonist takes the initiative, he isn't waiting around to be killed once he gets the gist of things. He starts off trying to help legally, and then resorts to the illegal.

He was & is a well written character, his actor was fine as well but not something too amazing or interesting.

Pros:

Well written protagonist & support Cool and somewhat realistic plot Well done action scenes

Cons: It takes a bit of time 'till the story kicks in, but I believe it's worth the wait