The Crazies is going to get completely overlooked, and it’s a damn shame. Though not as charismatic and revivifying as Dawn of the Dead 2k4, the remake of George Romero’s 1973 faux-zombie obscurity is entertaining, scary and hits the same thematic notes as the original, albeit with a little bit less impact as a sacrifice to its Hollywood polish. The hardcore will bitch that David’s not a fireman and that the movie is set in Iowa and not western Pennsylvania. The clueless will skip it because the ad campaign looks a bit generic. Beneath that exterior shell of preconception, though, The Crazies is one of the better mainstream horror movies I’ve seen in a long time.
It’s almost an accident, though. We’re looking at a screenplay from some chancy remake veterans – the guy who wrote the Amityville remake and the guy who wrote the Pulse remake. It’s directed by the guy who directed Sahara. It’s not asupicious.
The acting goes a long way, though. The same understated stoic quality that made Timothy Olyphant a good choice for the lead in Hitman shines through here, too, and his David Dutton is reliably cool under fire and as heroic as he should be in a quiet, anchoring way. Radha Mitchell elevates female lead role beyond screaming and being imperiled. Joe Anderson, who I barely recognize from Across the Universe, is a standout, going back and forth from gee-shucks deputy to raging badass. Anderson does an excellent job of making the audience question whether he’s sick or just losing his shit; that knife’s edge between coping poorly and turning into a ravening murder machine is the key source of tension in the latter half of the film.
If you’re horror-inclined, go and see The Crazies. It’s the best genre thrill ride this year, at least so far.
