Director: Breck Eisner
Writer: Scott Kosar, Ray Wright
DVD and Blu-ray release date: July 19 2010
Studio: Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment
No of discs: 1
Region: 2
Price: From £10.99-£17.99
Running Time: 97/101 mins (DVD/Blu-ray)
Certificate: 15
Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker, Larry Cedar, Brett Rickaby
Breck Eisner’s fairly faithful remake of George A. Romero’s 1973 film of the same name entertains from start to finish as the protagonists overcome an unrelenting succession of bad luck.
The small township of Ogden Marsh is completely obliterated within two days after its residents rapidly go from gradually losing their marbles to all out mass insanity.
Conveniently two of the town’s most important members, David, the Sheriff (Timothy Olyphant) and Judy, the doctor (Radha Mitchell), are not only married but also playing to be survivors, alongside Russell, the Sheriff’s deputy (Joe Anderson).
After not much investigation David finds the source of all the madness but is too late and the army come in to take control of the situation by mass extermination. The trio are left fighting the savage townsfolk who were once friends, whilst trying to conceal themselves from the merciless all-annihilating army.
As a re-make and part of a well-explored genre, The Crazies doesn’t do anything new but what it does do, it does well. The cause of the outbreak is revealed early on in the film so the remaining focus is on whether the leads will survive and if so, how. All three are likeable and convincing, leaving the viewer rooting for them throughout the onslaught of continuous attacks they fight.
David is all set to bail out before the epidemic gets any worse, but as the town doctor, pregnant Judy feels a responsibility to the community. By the end of the film, she is broken: “This town is dead and it’s never coming back”. It’s David’s stubborn determination to survive at all costs as a future father that drives them on.
The Crazies is full of big explosions, plenty of action and even touching moments between the devoted husband and wife and the long-serving deputy and his boss: “A deputy does what his Sheriff says.” Thankfully, the one thing the film lacks, to its credit, is slow-moving zombie-like figures; although almost all humanity is drained from “the crazies”, they are certainly not zombies.
A somewhat predictable end reminds us the film isn’t taking itself too seriously, which is what makes it such entertaining easy viewing.
***
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary
- The Romero Template featurette
- Paranormal Pandemics featurette
- Behind-the-Scenes featurette
- Rob Hall Makeup featurette
- Stills gallery
