Time: 101 Minutes
Age Rating: R16
Cast:
Timothy Olyphant as David
Radha Mitchell as Judy
Joe Anderson as Russell
Danielle Panabaker as Becca
Director: Breck Eisner

George A. Romero’s The Crazies isn’t really regarded as one of his best works but was entertaining enough for what it was. Nowadays, you generally hear more about its 2010 remake than the original film, and honestly having seen both versions, I kind of see why.

The premise is similar to the original film: a biological weapon gets into the water and infects a town of people, and the US army executes a containment operation, which largely involves shooting everyone that they see. The setup is formulaic and familiar, and the plot is somewhat predictable, but overall the story is solid and a fun ride. One thing you can mark down the 2010 version for is the lack of political commentary, which was very present in Romero’s film. There is still a notable aspect about not trusting the government here, but isn’t as prominent. Thankfully, it makes up for it by being a much more thrilling, better paced, and entertaining movie. It works as both an action movie and as a horror movie. There’s a good amount of dread built up, and sustains a tense atmosphere throughout. Sometimes the ‘crazies’ can come a little close to acting like typical zombies (mainly towards the end), but are handled well enough that the film doesn’t quite fit into the zombie subgenre.

The cast are solid and deliver great performances, especially with Timothy Olyphant, Joe Anderson, Radha Mitchell and Danielle Panabaker.

Breck Eisner’s direction is solid, the cinematography is good, and it does well at building up a tense atmosphere. The action scenes are also well done, and feel relatively contained especially within the small town that it’s set in. The practical effects and makeup are effective and use of CGI is minimal until the end, and while it did look a little dodgy, that can be easily overlooked.

The Crazies (2010) is a tense, eerie, and very well crafted horror movie, greatly directed and excellently performed. Notably superior to the original film.