by: Obaid K
Posted on 03.18.10 in All Horror Films > Sci-Fi > Thriller/Suspense > Zombie
Release Date: 2010

Since the release of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, I don’t think there’s been a time that zombie movies have been unpopular, and over the last 10 years the genre has seen a resurgence of sorts with some excellent offerings overshadowing the low-budget trash that’s usually churned out. After watching The Crazies, I felt this film fell somewhere in between: it’s not bad but not great either. I should also mention that this isn’t really a “zombie” movie since the infected individuals are still alive and don’t devour their victims, but the themes common to the genre (claustrophobic paranoia, viruses, militarism, fear of the government) are all found here.

This is a remake of a relatively unknown Romero film of the same name and features an interesting storyline that, no doubt, influenced movies like [Rec], 28 Days Later and even the Resident Evil video games. This updated version wears its influences on its sleeve with several shots that reminded me of some classic sci-fi/horror films and there was also a half-hearted attempt at socio-political commentary, which doesn’t delve as deeply into the climate of paranoia as effectively as it could have (I thought this worked better in the original).

The film begins with an opening sequence depicting a deserted downtown district in flames and foreshadowing the chaos that will come to Ogden Marsh Township – a tiny community of 1,200 in rural Iowa. It then quickly shifts gears and shows the town two days prior with people going about their business, farmers preparing cornfields for the spring, kids riding their bikes (all tastefully set to Johnny Cash’s version of We’ll Meet Again).

It’s at a local baseball game, however, that things start to go awry after a man walks onto the field armed with a shotgun and has to be shot by Sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant). He initially believes the man was intoxicated but Dutton soon learns that this wasn’t the case and discovers that the local water supply might be contaminated. What caused the contamination and why is it causing people to act dangerously? Dutton finds out that the problem is much bigger than he imagined.

Even though this movie will appear derivative today (how many zombie movies have we seen about a virus infecting a town or community?) it’s still got enough tension to keep viewers engaged. In fact, I thought director Breck Eisner did a great job at pacing the film and having it build towards the climactic finale. A lot of movies today fail to deliver in the end but this was really satisfying.

The script isn’t bad but there were some moments when I thought the dialogue was pretty poor and the performances were similarly hit-or-miss throughout the film (though they did a good job with the casting). Joe Anderson was consistently excellent as Deputy Russell Clank, though. Many horror movie clichés we usually let slide were pushed to their absolute limits (almost to the point of parody), and the way some of the characters cheated death were ridiculous – I’m all for suspending disbelief but towards the end they pushed it a little too far.

If you’re a fan of zombie flicks or are just looking for an exhilarating movie that’ll keep you entertained for an evening this might be worth checking out.

• ★★★★★

  Acting:

• ★★★★★

  Blood:

• ★★★★★

  Violence:

• ★★★★★

  Partying:

• ★★★★★

  Language:

• ★★★★★

  Humor:

• ★★★★★

  Predictable:

• ★★★★★

  Girls:

• ★★★★★

  Gore:

• ★★★★★

  Sexuality:

• ★★★★★

  Torture:

• ★★★★★

  Overall:

I used to be a huge Zombie film fan, but now I'm a little bored with it all. Maybe because the genre has changed so much, but then again, I'm not 100% opposed to the new-age zombie trends either. I'll get into it again, but it just seems that The Crazies won't be the film that will jump start the genre back up for me.

Good detailed review, Obaid K.! I definitely want to see The Crazies, but I don't want to shell out nearly $10 for a movie ticket if it ends up being awful. It sounds like a fairly good zombie-type movie. I'll definitely watch it when I get the chance.