I'm Not Crazy for The Crazies

The Crazies is a remake of the 1973 film by George A. Romero. You know him from his classic horror films which include the Dead tetralogy. He re-defined the horror genre, but I hadn't seen the original of this film. According to the boards, some think the remake is better. I mention this in case people are wondering how it compares to the original.

The film moves along quickly as it opens with a baseball game. David Dutton is the sheriff of the town and is played by Timothy Olyphant. He is enjoying the game along with his deputy Russell who is played by Joe Anderson. Most of the locals are also there cheering on their team until a man walks onto the field with a shotgun. Quickly, the sheriff heads onto the field and talks to Rory who used to be the town drunk. He is bleeding from the nose, and his skin shows signs of bruising. David attempts to talk the gun away from him, but Rory doesn't so much as say a word. Eventually, the danger is too great, and Rory is gunned down. David thinks that the man was drunk, but a toxocology report confirms that there was no alcohol in his system. Soon, we meet David's wife Judy who is played by Radha Mitchell. Judy is the town doctor, and, at her office, we also meet Becca played by Danielle Panabaker. David, Judy, Russell, and Becca are the main characters for the remainder of the film.

Soon, things become weird when a local man kills his wife and child. They arrest him, but he, too, begins to act like Rory. Blood seeps from his nose and eyes. Then, David and Russell receive a call about a dead pilot and soon discover a crashed plane which contaminates their water supply. When they return to the police station, the Internet doesn't work nor do the phones. The roads are blocked, and they are trapped. David realizes that everything is about to go to hell. He is right as the military moves in and begins capturing people. The containment procedure is fully under way when David and Judy are separated. David is taken to a safe area, but he decides to go back for his wife. All hell breaks loose when a group escapes from the containment area, and the military pulls back. What ensues from this point is a game of survival. However, we still wonder who will survive and who is infected? If this sounds good or better, it's probably worth seeing.

Now, I would like to discuss what I didn't like about the film. Hopefully, I've made this sound exciting because I, definitely, was pumped to see this. I thought it was a fresh, interesting take on an epidemic which causes craziness, but the story is the same as we've seen before. The scares are cheap and become old quickly. Some of the saves (David is saved many times) that occur are trite. The story starts out so strong, but we don't see the fall of the town. Like other stories we see the aftermath which is just a disappointment. As far as I'm concerned, the little town is just too much of a cliche, but the doctor is married to the sheriff which isn't fresh but odd. It's never stated that they are high school sweethearts or something like that. Judy is also pregnant, but this, apparently, is not relevant what-so-ever. The ending, while I'm not going to tell you what it is, doesn't quite make sense. See it if you want to, but it could have better. I would still give it a 6/10, but this should have been a solid 8.