Vaughn On Movies – The World's Toughest Movie Critic™

The opening scene shows small town America, Ogden Marsh, engulfed in a fiery blaze. This is a small town with apple pie values. How did it get this way? The answer is uncovered by David, (Timothy Olyphant) the town’s sheriff. On a typical day the citizens gather ‘round the bases. One day the town drunk brings a rifle to the park. David tries to diffuse the situation, but has to draw his firearm and kill the man. Soon, more mysteries, homicidal behavior hits the area. David’s pregnant wife Jody (Radha Mitchell), witnesses how her zoned out patients become murders. Eventually, our heroes find that a government-designed pathogen has polluted the town’s water supply. Naturally the Army gets involved, putting David and Jody in the race of their lives.

Though there have been more graphically violent recent films, The Crazies pulls few punches. Actually, the horrors it doesn’t show play on the imagination of the audience; sparing us the on-screen melting of children in the least. Regardless, there is plenty of gruesome imagery whether or not you believe a virus can make someone methodically murder.

As David and Jody try to escape, they find friends and enemies. This is a well-conceived concept for the film to play with since many of the early docile citizens reappear as crazed killers. I am privy to the intel that this is a remake, but Netflix wasn’t able to fetch me a copy of the George A. Romero original. Thus, I don’t know how much is from the input of director Breck Eisner (I will blame him for the horrendous faux spy satellite footage that periodically breaks the illusion). Presented with notable cinematography, strong acting, and effective use of music, it’s difficult to imagine a better film dealing with this particular situation. That’s not to say that The Crazies is perfect—far from it.

Whenever there is a remake, there is a Panabaker. This time around we have the older sister, Danielle. She basically does her routine from the Platinum Dunes production of Friday the 13^th. It’s an adequate supporting performance, but certainly pales in comparison to Joe Anderson’s. As deputy Russell, he captures the mark between rural and hillbilly in a way that doesn’t stereotype. Doesn’t hurt that the characters are written to display a range of emotions since the virus makes them questions each other’s sanity.

The Crazies is one of those special movies where a few calls near the end make you change your mind. One of the obvious plot twists becomes a political statement. It could maybe even be considered bad taste for the movie to draw comparisons with Nazi death camps. One shot, that makes it apparent, shows hands sticking out of a trailer made to look like a railcar from Schindler’s List. Factoring in predictability and a weak conclusion can certainly make The Crazies a downer. Fact is that the majority of the film works well within its means; for that, those of you with interest in The Crazies will have a brutal, sadistic time. **½