The Crazies is a 2010 remake of George A. Romero's 1973 film of the same name. It is actually a decent remake worth screening. The Crazies begins by introducing several characters from the small, isolated town of Ogden Marsh, Iowa. We are not really certain where the film is going at first, as we are introduced to the Sheriff (Timothy Olyphant) and his lone Deputy, Russell (Joe Anderson). We also meet the town's Doctor, Judy (Radha Mitchell), who we later learn is married to the Sheriff. The opening game of the High School baseball season brings the indication that everything is not right in Ogden Marsh. When reformed town drunk Roy walks onto the baseball field with a shotgun, the Sheriff ends up in a showdown.
While we witness several people in town exhibiting violent behavior, aloofness and arbitrary vacant actions it becomes clear that the problem is widespread. This also coincides with the discovery of an aircraft in the middle of a marsh. The military soon seizes the town, which quickly becomes overrun with homicidal maniacs. The Sheriff is separated from his wife, whose elevated temperature (caused by her pregnancy) is misdiagnosed as being infected. It seems the plane was carrying lethal doses of a biological weapon that was being sent for incineration. The Sheriff is forced to fight zombie-like citizens and the military in his quest to save his wife.
What I enjoyed most about this film is that it didn't rely on slasher tactics to succeed. The film manages to build suspense by creating situations and circumstances that coincide in time to create a nice degree of tension. It is not overly manufactured, although the timing is a bit predictable. If the film had relied too heavily on contrivances, it would have turned me off as much as relying too much on gore and not enough intellect. The film is intelligent. It is far from perfect, but it has a nice balance that was refreshing. It was a decent worthwhile remake.
There were some plot holes that also took away from the film. Although the characters were developed decent enough, there were elements that did not make much sense. The fact that a large aircraft could go down in the middle of Iowa and nobody notice anything seemed a bit far fetched. It would seem that at least the pilots would be noticed to be missing. And that is suggesting that there were no passengers on this large aircraft. There was also the suggestion that the virus went from being carried by water to being airborne. There were some reasons that this line of thought did not make much sense. Also, the theory was that the water infected people based on their distance from the lake, but then the water is turned off from a water tower, which would suggest that everyone would have been infected randomly (not geographically, but based on when and how much water they consumed from their tap) and not based on their distance from the source. It also appeared that members of the same family were not infected, refuting the geographic concept put forth in the film. There was also the suggestion that the disease would manifest within 48 hours or not at all. So that does not explain how Roy's family ended up infected much later than him. There were more inconsistencies, but I don't want to belabor the point. My point is that the film used intelligence to create suspense, but overlooked many unexplained points and did resort to some manipulation that created inconsistencies.
The acting was a mixed bag for me. Olyphant and Anderson were pretty decent. Mitchell was tolerable. Just about everyone else in the cast were weak at best. There were some exchanges that were almost hammy in their delivery. It was too bad, because the film had rich visual effects that were striking at times. The camera work did an excellent job in adding to the suspense and creating a rich environment. So the weak actors took a lot away from an otherwise decent film. Maybe the acting was meant to maintain the B film feel...if so, it was a mistake. Strong performances would have helped this film.
The Crazies is far from perfect. However, the film was entertaining. I like suspense and thriller type films with the exception of the slasher genre. This film could easily have resorted to slasher levels but chose to create suspense through camera angles, writing and situations. Although slightly inconsistent, the plot did not feel contrived. It also left the classic opening for a sequel at the end. In a field of substandard sequel laden films that have more bad films than good, The Crazies manages to stand out. Not as exceptional, but as a decent film to add to your scary movie night queue. 6.5/10.
Trailer and images subject to copyright.