Ogden Marsh is a peaceful, small American town. The tranquility comes to a chilling end when its inhabitants begin to turn into crazed maniacs, leaving a small band of survivors in a race against time to escape not only their now murderous former neighbours, but the military who intend to contain this “threat” by any means necessary. Remake of classic George Romero horror of the same name.
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The “Everyone’s A Critic” Review – CONTAINS SPOILERS
Not being familiar with the original “The Crazies”, I went into the remake with very little expectations. The first teaser, which played out to the Gary Jules version of “Mad World”, was very eerie and full of suspense, so I could only hope the finished film would represent this. I am happy to report that it does.
Director Breck Eisner has crafted a superbly entertaining thriller (it is more thriller than horror), with engaging characters and some superb set pieces that linger in the mind long after the final reel.
The film tells the story of a small town infected by a military virus (initiated after a plane carrying it crashes in a nearby swamp). However, the army quickly learns of the incident, and goes all out to ensure no-one ever learns about what happened. Only a handful of survivors know the truth and must battle to escape. So, all in all, “The Crazies” plays (very successfully) as a “28 Days Later”-esque horror come military conspiracy thriller.
Lead actors Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell are in fantastic form as the town sheriff and doctor respectively – they buy into their parts and are entirely convincing as a couple, which helps us get fully behind them in their bid to escape.
The film is a suspense filled ride, but there are two stand out set-pieces – the car wash sequence and the truck stop finale – these will have you on the edge of your seat (or cowering under it!).
In a genre that is filled with remakes and sequels, this version of “The Crazies” has been a huge a huge success in this reviewers eyes and look forward to seeing it again.