The Crazies "2010" (Road to Halloween)

This forms part two of a two part review; I purchased a DVD containing both the original and the remake of “The Crazies”. This is the review of the remake but will also draw comparisons with the original.

The Crazies is a remake of the 1973 George A. Romero movie of the same name. It takes place in a small town (around 1260 residents) where a highly infectious man-made virus has entered the water supply. It causes the residents to change from being laid back to rampaging psychopaths with – to begin with – no apparent cause. However, unlike the original, the viewer never sees the military point of view of the situation and isn't even told the name or cause of what is happening in the town until the last 30 minutes of the movie.

The virus is called 'Trixie' (I accidentally called it 'Pixie' in yesterday's review) and was on board a plane bound to a military base where it would be destroyed when the plane crash landed in a lake which was the town's water supply. It was designed to “destabilise a community, in this case the wrong community” and within 48 hours of the outbreak you are either dead or don't have it.

The overall story has been altered from the original but the underlying point about viruses, governments keeping key information from the people and soldiers being ordered to kill unarmed civilians without being given reason are still present. If I had not seen the original I would see this as unoriginal as it appears to be a zombie movie in the same vein as 28 days later however since I know that this story was written 30 years before 28 days later I instead see it as ahead of its time. The use of a government created virus is as relevant today as it was in the original and H1N1 (Swine Flu) happened around the same time this was filming.

The movie builds suspense throughout and makes excellent use of the mutual fear of the town's people and the soldiers as both groups are grossly under-informed of what is happening in the town. 'The Crazies' is a great horror movie that is made all the better by the fact that 37 years after being written it seems like it was written as a commentary of what could be happening now.

No doubt that in 2047 when the next remake is made of this, it will still be relevant.

Rating 4 out of 5

See it if you liked:
The Crazies (1973)
Resident Evil: Afterlife
28 Days Later

What does IMDB say?

Review by Kevin Brown

The Crazies "1973" (Road to Halloween)

This forms part one of a two part review; I purchased a DVD containing both the original and the remake of “The Crazies”. This is the review of the original.

'Pixie' is name given by the American government to a man made virus that has accidentally entered the water supply of a small Pennsylvanian town. The virus does one of two things – depending on who it infects – it either kills them or drives them irreversibly insane. The army is sent in to maintain a perimeter around the town to stop people getting in or out in order to contain the virus however, there is no known antidote, so they must simply wait it out until all the town's residents either die or go insane.

The movie appears to be low budget but since it is now 37 years old it may simply be its age. The visuals appear low budget however the underlying story still shows through; the movie was made at a time when biological weapons attacks were a concern for America. This fear coupled with the army invading people's homes and rounding them up 'for their own safety' makes the town into the setting for a civilian uprising against the “invading force” that is the army.

The movie jumps around to varying location often, an example of this is when the general is telling someone to get someone onto a plane and to the town it quickly cuts away for a second or two showing stock footage to represent the command being followed, it is done in a style similar to Requiem for a dream. This works well on the few occasions that it is used however overall the movie is spread a little thin and contains far more talking than is necessary.

The army troops are all dressed in protective suits and gas masks which made the majority of the dialogue said by them muffled and on occasion inaudible.

The crazies may have been a good horror movie when it came out but in the near 40 years since it has lost some of its kick.

Rating 3 out of 5

See it if you liked:
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
The Crazies (2010)
Resident Evil

What does IMDB say?

Review by Kevin Brown