George A. Romero’s 1973 horror The Crazies was a sort of variation on his classic ‘Living Dead’ theme. This time, the ‘normals’ were up against, not zombies, but infected humans. The difference was that because these infected people weren’t supernatural creatures, it was even harder to make them out amongst the rest of the human population. Romero darkly suggested that there was often no difference between regular human behaviour and pure insanity.
That central idea remains the same for this 2010 update. A lone gunman wanders onto the pitch during a baseball game, forcing cop David (Timothy Olyphant) to take him down. Investigation into a series of similarly strange occurrences, all involving violent behaviour around town, leads to David’s discovery of a mysterious disease that’s spreading amongst its inhabitants. Even more disturbing is the government’s role in the management of the illness.
Breck Eisner takes the reins for the remake, and perhaps surprisingly given that he also directed the mind-numbing blockbuster Sahara he doesn’t do a bad job. For the most part, he doesn’t go for in-your-face pyrotechnics or cheap splatter, instead creating an atmosphere of suspense and uncertainty, with only occasional moments of blood-soaked release. Despite its title, the film is not, in general, very crazy.
As the film progresses, guessing who’s “crazy” and who’s not is increasingly easy but it’s fun. Spirited performances from Olyphant, Joe Anderson and Pitch Black’s Radha Mitchell ensure that we care about the characters. On the downside, however, the film is probably a little too unspectacular to keep many gorehounds satisfied. Also, its themes are rarely explored as thoroughly or as effectively as they might have been. Where Romero’s satirical movie was inspired by wholesale disgust with a post-Vietnam American government, Eisner’s film is not as clearly contextualised, and the director seems content to make little, if any, profound political statements. In the end, then, this new version of The Crazies is no more or less than a competent horror-thriller.
The disc comes with an extensive package of so-so special features, ranging from a commentary from Eisner to various featurettes of middling quality. An examination of Romero’s work, for example, falls short of the mark because it focuses mainly on Night of the Living Dead, and fails to make any but the most vague comparisons between The Crazies and its remake.
Overall Verdict: An insubstantial but entertaining horror remake.
Special Features:
Audio Commentary by Director Breck Eisner
Behind the Scenes Featurette with Director Breck Eisner
Paranormal Pandemics Featurette
The George A. Romero Template Featurette
Make-Up Mastermind: Rob Hall in Action
Visual Effects in Motion Featurette
Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery
Storyboards
Reviewer: Tom René