The Crazies

It’s crazy I know but it’s not half bad

Lover: Taken from IMDB
“I love the zombie/virus genre and I can just use those two words "Instant Classic" ! If you enjoy this type of movies - you won't be disappointed, this movie delivers from all perspectives - good actors, very very well played, great pace, gore and yeah - more GORE, last but not least - pressure builds up all the all way through the movie to reach an absolute beautiful ending.. The genre has seen some titles lately, including Romero's other new installment - Survival Of The Dead, but I feel this as the best and certainly delivered the most of everything. Some people compare to "28 days later", which was by all means a great move, but one must not forget, Romero created the genre, he's not competing, he's in a class of his own. And this movie proves it once more. So basically - if you like the typical virus outbreak / zombie scenario - you're surely gonna love this movie.”

They are right; if you like this type of horror then The Crazies is a stand out feature for you. However this is only based on Romeros original work so not quite sure he’s “competing” with it?

Hater: Taken from IMDB
“A murky and unnecessary remake of George Romero's Vietnam-era original that could have improved upon Romero's talky gore fest, but it quickly becomes a long- winded and repetitive chase without much suspense and even less originality. All too often, the music cues up, something leaps out and so it goes and goes and goes. The film would have benefited from a slow, eerie build-up where things are gradually revealed to be off kilter, but the film pretty much plunges into the action with minimal characterization providing little reason to care. The script might make a decent Twilight Zone episode, but as a feature film it becomes tiring long before the end. Unfortunately, The Crazies wastes a good premise and decent actors. You'd be crazy to waste your time and money on it. There's not a single original or memorable moment in the entire forgettable mess.”

This is a very good review, well written and some great points I can’t argue with, however…

What I thought:
This is going to be a short one as there really is only one thing to say about the Crazies. As a genre film it does what it sais on the tin and it does it well enough, it’ll make you jump and delight at the amount of gore. It may not be an original but firstly it’s a remake, it was never really going to be. Secondly most of these films are stuck in the same gene pool, all of them are a mish mash of each other, what The Crazies does have is guts. I don’t mean literally (though there is a lot!) it’s the speed at which the film moves and the characters it dares to hurt (hurting kids always hits the right note). The horror starts almost straight away and doesn’t really let up not leaving any time for you to connect with the characters, it’s a daring strategy but it somehow works.

That was more than one thing I know, and I have just one more thing to add; the ending was not beautiful it was stupid! SPOILER warning but the Nuke at the end!? Just a bit silly almost as bad as Indiana Jones in the Crystal Skull hiding in a fridge!? Preposterous!