The Crazies (2010)

As a toxin begins to turn the residents of Ogden Marsh, Iowa into violent psychopaths, sheriff David Dutton (Olyphant) tries to make sense of the situation while he, his wife (Mitchell), and two other unaffected townspeople band together in a fight for survival.


Even outside the fact that The Crazies is actually a remake of a 1973 George A. Romero film, I have a feeling most audiences still have the "infection" flicks of the past decade still fresh on their minds. While I feel Breck Eisner's 2010 redux of The Crazies isn't anything new in this regard, I still found myself entertained over the course of the 100 minute runtime. This may have something to do with the fact that I grew up in a small town in southern America not too unlike the setting of the film and I can recognize the small town obsession and paranoia of larger political/governmental interests heaving themselves on the livelihood of small town folk and invading their way of living. That idea has been exaggerated in a worst-possible-scenario with The Crazies. The direction is impressive with much attention to detail taken from behind the camera. The film moves with brisk pace as our heroes struggle to survive the unthinkable. Eisner, like Romero, is astute at making Hazmat suits and the traditional gas mask into terrifying images. The very presence of such an image confronting you effectively sends a feeling of utter helplessness into the audience. There are some issues that prevented me from loving the film. The script could have used a little work as plot holes were easily noticeable and characters were either very thinly developed or, at times, made ridiculous decisions. Like another recent "zombie" film, Zombieland, occasional over-the-top actions of some of the characters seemed out of place. Thankfully Olyphant, Mitchell, and a surprising performance from Joe Anderson add credibility to such events. Eisner is already in discussions to potentially direct remakes of The Brood and Creature from the Black Lagoon; let's hope he gets his hands on some decent scripts. I hope you find my thoughts helpful! Related Recommendations: 28 Days/Weeks Later, Children of the Corn, [rec], Quarantine, Planet Terror, Dawn of the Dead, Carriers, The Stand, The Crazies (1973)


I haven't seen the original (except for previews and clips here and there), so I wasn't comparing it too much to the original. The original does now top my list, but you can be sure it's a "long wait". I love "end of the world" movies, so this one was pretty sweet.


****/*****


4/5 Stars