The Crazies [DVD]

The Crazies (2010).Genre: Horror.Certificate:15/R.Running Time:101 Minutes.Synopsis.A mysterious toxin contaminates the water supply of Ogden Marsh, Iowa turning the residents into cold, calculating, depraved, bloodthirsty killers.Timelord Thoughts.The Crazies is a 2010 remake of the original George Romero cult classic & while I'm not a fan of most remakes I actually prefer this version to the original.The screenplay by Scott Kosar & Ray Wrigh isn't your usual cliché run of the mill zombie movie but instead brings a ingenious fresh & original take of a toxin that pollutes the water supply of a small town in Iowa which begins turning the townsfolk into ravenous crazed murderers.The Crazies is structured into three tightly paced acts.1) the manifestation of the outbreak & it's affect upon the townsfolk.2) the army attempting to contain the contagion with brute force.3) the fall out as our brave survivors fight to survive.With a solid script in place director Breck Eisner who was about to direct the recently cancelled Friday The 13th reboot wrings every drop of tension out of this movie with tight claustrophobic direction that enhances the drama, from the films opening scene to it's shocking climax this movie never sags or feels padded out. Eisner drip feeds the audience with genuine moments of building up suspense & creates some superb visual gory sequences that truly shock as the residents begin to turn into psychotic murderers & attack there friends & family.Timothy Olyphant is a solid lead & such a versatile actor who effortlessly carrys the movie as sheriff David Dutton, Radha Mitchell is perfect casting as Judy Dutton the towns doctor & shares great chemistry in her scenes with Olyphant, while Danielle Panabaker (Friday The 13th 2009/The Flash) also impresses in a small role as Becca.Gripes? Only a couple, the supporting characters could've been fleshed out a little more as we don't really get to know that much about them & while the ending isn't a bad one it's a little anti climatic & seems to be setting up a sequel that we sadly never got.Overall then, The Crazies is a chilling edge of your seat tension filled remake that is in my opinion a better version over the original, it delivers plenty of nerve shredding suspense combined with jump scares, gory sequences & is definitely one modern horror to add to your movie collection.

This is a vast improvement on the George A. Romero original and I don't say that lightly as I am a fan of Mr. Romero's movies , again and again he has proved himself to be years ahead of the trends in horror movies. The original was just that , ORIGINAL ! a very clever idea that the Government was responsible for an accident and then a subsiquent cover up and mass slaughter of the people directly affected by the accident. Romero's movie was a reflection of what the average American was feeling and witnessing during the late 60's, early 70's with the freedom marches and civil strife that was rocking the country at the time. This new version is a very slick reworking of the original and whilst it follows the same basic story line of the first , it supplies a great deal more background detail to the people and their everyday lives, before and after, they are affected by the 'accident'. I won't give too much away in regard to the finer details of the plot but this version cracks along at a fair old pace - far quicker than Romero's original. It is for this reason, the character development and the far superior acting in this movie that I rate it better than the original. The main characters are all not just like able but surprisingly believable and you genuinely feel empathy towards them - a great achievement in itself for a modern day 'horror' movie , let alone a remake. This movie will take you to the edge of your seat - and keep you there.

The brilliant acting made this movie almost believable. One could empathise with the characters & the storyline was non-stop action. I hope there will be a sequel because the ending would allow for one.

From reading some other reviews I had a couple of initial reservations regarding this film, but I have to say that I actually liked this film. A simplified overview would be, instead of mindless flesh hungry zombies chasing people, we have the crazy people who still have memory/thought functions that allow them to perform certain tasks, or commit murder which must have been part of their psychological profile already.

Very entertaining film well worth watching.

Very happy great gift

A great dystopian film. When something contaminates the water supply a town starts going mad. Well written and far easier to believe than the endless zombie films of late.

Good comedy