'The Crazies' Movie Review

What would you do if everyone in your hometown all of a sudden started acting not only crazy but homicidal? If your friends and family members turned into glassy-eyed, unthinking monsters, could you do whatever you had to do to stay alive? The Crazies, based on the 1973 George A Romero movie of the same name, makes audiences ponder those questions while delivering plenty of thrills and chills.

A fast-paced, smartly shot, and well acted horror/thriller, The Crazies is a cut above most remakes. Surprisingly entertaining, this R-rated film doesn't rely on cheap scares, which is both refreshing and unexpected.

The Story

In the 2010 version of The Crazies, the small town of Ogden Marsh is experiencing a weird upsurge in uncharacteristic, psychotic behavior by its inhabitants. First, the town's recovered alcoholic comes to a baseball game with a rifle and has to be shot dead by Sheriff David Dutten (Timothy Olyphant) before he can do harm to any of the high school players. Then a woman brings her hubby to the sheriff's wife, Dr Judy Dutten (Radha Mitchell), because he's been spacing out, but Judy can't find anything physically wrong with the man and sends him home. Later that night, he calmly locks his wife and young son in a closet and sets fire to the house.

Yes, there's definitely something rotten in the town of Ogden Marsh, and as David quickly deduces, it all has to do with the water supply. Along with his trusty deputy, Russell (Joe Anderson), David tries to protect the town from further contamination to no avail. The townspeople are out of control, and before David has a chance to figure out a plan, the military moves in to quarantine the infected and evacuate the others to a safe location just outside of town.

Unfortunately, Judy's misdiagnosed as one of the crazies and locked up in a secure facility. There's no way David's going to leave his healthy, pregnant wife locked up like a lab rat, so he and Russell have to figure out a way to break themselves out of lockdown and then to sneak back into town to rescue Judy. They do so, saving Becca (Danielle Panabaker) at the same time. And now the foursome has to make their way past the crazies and through blockades, while staying one step ahead of the military and other government agents who aren't afraid to use lethal force to keep the Ogden Marsh folks in line.

The Cast

I really think Timothy Olyphant is under-appreciated, and this role showcases just what he can do. Sheriff Dutten's a stand-up guy, respectful of others yet totally in charge, and Olyphant plays him with just the right attitude. Mitchell's terrific as his pregnant wife who's in no way, shape or form the typical female usually seen in these genre movies. The same can be said of Panabaker. She's young and pretty, but she's doesn't run around screaming and flashing her breasts or whatever.

But to me the real standout of The Crazies is Joe Anderson (Across the Universe). Anderson's the comic relief when needed, but he doesn't resort to playing Randall like the typical 'goofy deputy' character. As the film progresses and the ailment spreads, Randall slowly loses his grip on sanity, and Anderson seems to relish getting into his character's deteriorating mental state.

The Bottom Line

Director Breck Eisner (director of Sahara and son of ex-Disney CEO Michael Eisner) does the genre proud with this remake of Romero's '73 film. Eisner and screenwriters Ray Wright and Scott Kosar stay away from easy scares, and instead steadily build the tension up to the breaking point in the final climatic scene.

The makeup effects are gruesome and terrific, the supporting cast all make fine infected zombies, and our four main heroes are really people we get behind and hope survive this government-caused mess. The Crazies is entertaining and just good zombie fun.

GRADE: B

The Crazies was directed by Breck Eisner and is rated R for bloody violence and language.

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