"The Crazies": Movie Review (2010)

Movie Review

"The Crazies"

By our guest blogger, Jeremy Wilkinson

Not only is “The Crazies” a remake, but it joins the many “infection” movies that have been released in recent years. As such, it treads familiar ground. Despite this and the lack of any real surprises in the movie, it still delivers enough to be enjoyable.

Sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) is enjoying a high school baseball game when a man walks onto the field with a shotgun. After a tense moment, David is forced to shoot the man. When another man commits a violent crime, David discovers some kind of virus is causing people to become violent. Soldiers enter the town en masse and hell breaks out shortly after.

The film's plot is reminiscent of other movies of similar ilk--infection breaks out, main characters try to stay alive, and violence ensues. “The Crazies” still manages to deliver some tense scenes, making the most of something so familiar. All the actors do a great job in their roles, bringing sympathy to all the characters who deserve it and fear to all those who need to be feared. There isn't any deep characterization, but you're given enough about the characters to make their interactions make sense. This film could easily have devolved into a cheesy B-movie, but for the most part, it avoids that. And while a B-movie would also have been entertaining, it's refreshing to see a horror movie take itself seriously and not be torture porn.

“The Crazies” suffers from issues other horror movies are afflicted with. The major one is that people still split up. Note to readers--if you ever find yourself in a situation where you know there are zombies/maniacs/rabid girl scouts in the area, do NOT split up. Why anyone would separate themselves from loved ones or comrades in these situations is beyond me. Nothing will be spoiled here, but know that there are some groan-inducing moments. In addition, there are more than a few predictable jump scares. If you've seen any number of horror movies, you can usually tell by the camera work when something will pop out and say 'boo.'

"The Crazies" is a lot better than its pedigree might imply and is worth checking out. The film is unoriginal, but nevertheless enjoyable.

Grade: B-

View the movie trailer for "The Crazies" below. What are your thoughts?