The Crazies

THE CRAZIES (Blu-ray)

Release Date: July 19th, 2010
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 101 minutes

Director: Breck Eisner

Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker, Christie Lynn Smith, Brett Rickaby, Preston Bailey, John Aylward, Joe Reegan, Glenn Morshower, Larry Cedar, Gregory Sporleder

Based on the 1973 George A. Romero classic horror movie of the same name, The Crazies is directed by Breck Eisner (Sahara) and stars Timothy Olyphant (Scream 2, Hitman, Die Hard 4) and Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill, The Surrogates).

This new version sees the town of Ogden Marsh, Iowa, the friendliest place on earth, taken over by mindless killers after a mysterious toxin leaks into the water supply following the crash of a military airplane. Sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) and his pregnant wife Judy (Mitchell), find themselves trapped in a once-idyllic town they no longer recognize. On the run from infected neighbours, loved ones and friends and targeted by the ruthless military and terrified of getting sick, they are forced to band together with other survivors in a desperate struggle for survival.

There have been a few movies lately which deal with post apocalyptic themes, but rarely do they comes across as intelligent, mutli-layered and well acted this one does. Olyphant and Mitchell make a great on-screen couple; as characters they are both strongly independent yet have a natural instinct to protect each other even when faced with the possibility that either one of them could be infected with the virus. Their scenes are compelling and the overall tone of the movie reminds me of the French dystopian post-apocalyptic drama Time of the Wolf (Le Temps du Loup, 2003) by Michael Haneke, in that the performances are raw and stripped of any gimmicky dialogue, one-liners or other clichés which have become the norm in such movies.

The Crazies is also filled with building tension. From the opening scenes which show the town of Ogden Marsh burning in the night, before taking us to back to two days earlier as the residents are watching a high school baseball game. When a gunman walks onto the playing field instinct tells you to fear the worst but Sheriff Dutton is approaches the man both with caution and determination to resolve any conflict by any necessary means. Another nerve shredding scene takes place out an a farm at night as a worried wife approaches the barn and stands in front of a gigantic set of rotating blades calling out to him. There’s more tension later on with residents strapped to make-shift hospital beds as one of the infected wander in with a pitchfork and a burning desire to cause some harm.

Politics and military tactics also play a part in the film and there are hints toward mass public surveillances from space satellites which all together go with the idea that the people of Ogden Marsh are nothing but cattle whom the government would prefer to put down in the same manner our own real-life governments deal with Mad Cow and Foot & Mouth disease. It’s all about containment and whether it’s the virus or the truth, it’s simply irrelevant.

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is a composer and music producer with a philosophy degree. Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and World Cinema, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

You can find his music on Soundcloud .

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