The Crazies [DVD]

Directed by Breck Eisner and written by Scott Kosar & Ray Wright, The Crazies (2010) is a remake of the 1973 film directed by George A. Romero. It stars Timothy Olyphant, Rhada Mitchell and Joe Anderson. The plot sees a toxic spill into a small American town's water system turn some of the locals into marauding maniacs.

Eisner's movie is that rare old thing these days, that of the horror remake that greatly improves on the original. That might annoy some Romero purists, but the truth is is that his original film really isn't that great to begin with. Thus it's ripe for a remake, whilst acknowledging that a certain weariness creeps in to our thoughts at the seemingly never ending line of horror remakes churned out by a Hollywood running out of ideas. Hell I will even venture that we have seen all this before, nothing in this Crazies will have the horror faithful rushing out to tell their buddies about some overtly cranial splendour piece they have just watched. But this is a very effective horror piece, taut and tense at times, at others sick and splendidly disgusting. Eisner may not be a Craven, or for sure no Romero, but he executes the material with gusto and shows a knack for knowing how to make the material work.

The film is structured over three parts - - character formations in the little town of the delightfully small Americana sounding Ogden Marsh, which leads into the infected going doolally-the army attempting to get things under control-and then the fall out as our brave survivors, erm, try to survive and make sense of what is happening. Eisner and his writers even get away with not fleshing out the principal characters. We know Olyphant's Sheriff is a toughie, and that his pregnant wife, Mitchell, is equally resourceful, while the deputy played by the film's standout performer, Joe Anderson, we know is loyal and sharp with a rifle. Who cares about flesh on these bones, let the crazies after them and see how they cope! Where the writers score good points is with the portrait of a world losing its humanity. The sick are rounded up and contained, nobody cares enough to try and help them, while those sent to restore order, to protect the people, are as dangerous as those bleeding from the eyes and ears. Madness everywhere.

With memorable blood pumping scenes, bona fide suspense and metaphorical smarts in the writing, this is one damn fine remake shocker. 7.5/10

The Crazies is part of a long American tradition where it is a toss-up whether the Government or the Illness/Aliens/Radiation is the most deadly enemy of our heroes. In 28 Weeks Later we just assume Governments muck things up, but in The Crazies they are if not effective a lot more vicious. Setting the whole disaster in a film version of Smallville is an effective method to up the fear (and no more car washes for me). The end is good (but I'll not say in what way). The heroine is annoying at a Doctor Who level which is saying something. Very competent, very creepy, very grim.

As far as biological toxin disaster stories go Breck Eisner's
remake of George A. Romero's original is a highly entertaining
shocker. Mrs Wolf and I spent a tense hour and a half squirming
on the sofa this evening and still managed to devour a whole
watermelon shortly afterwards! (Having seen the contents of
more than one head spread across the inside of the TV screen
during the course of the film you may take this as evidence
of our robust woodland constitutions!)

The narrative is well paced. It becomes starkly apparent early on
that all is not well in the small town of Ogden Marsh, Iowa.
(It may be some time before I can look our next-door-neighbours
in the face again with my usual jolly air of fatuous affability!)
Something extremely nasty has got into the town's water supply and
folks are beginning to turn a bit green (and murderous) behind the gills
and the powers-that-be don't want anything (information or people)
getting out. The "evacuation" scenes are particularly well choreographed.

The malevolent atmosphere builds at a cracking pace and the old
"has he or she got IT?" cliche is given a credible new lease of life.

Sheriff David Dutten (played solidly by Timothy Olyphant) is one of
the good guys and makes it his mission to get his pregnant wife
Doctor Judy (a feisty performance from Radha Mitchell) to safety
(wherever that may now be!) at all costs.

The toxin takes its toll on the local community and it becomes harder
and harder to know who to trust or who might be lurking behind the
next burning truck intent on examining the contents of your chest cavity.

A particularly bloody moment shared between the Sherriff, a knife
and an insanely grumpy infected woman creates a deeper sense of
uncertainty and unease about whether Mr and Mrs Dutten will have
the opportunity to live happily ever after when the ash clouds clear.

Anywhichway things are not looking good for the future of the planet.

'The Crazies' is a worthy and enjoyable addition to apocalyptic genre movies.

(As I write Mrs Wolf is intently examining the labels of all the
cleaning products stored under the kitchen sink just in case .... !)

Recommended.