The Crazies Review

Saw "The Crazies" the other day. It's a remake of the 1973 film of the same name.

It takes place in Ogden Marsh, a small rural town that becomes infected by an unknown toxin in the water. The US military, triggered by a satellite that detects the contamination and begins "contamination protocol", begin to round up all of the town's citizens, testing them to see if they've been infected. All is well until the protagonist, David, sees his wife get taken for being infected, though she is really pregnant and her symptoms are the result of that.

After the "crazies" break out from their cage that was holding them in, all hell breaks loose. The military starts going door-to-door looking for any citizens (by that time, all the uninfected had been escorted out, except for David, Russell, Becca, who turn back to save Dave's wife, Judy). The group now has to fare with avoiding contracting the pathogen, along with avoiding the military, who have orders to shoot on site.

Their only way out is to risk themselves by driving on the highway, to which helicopters can see them, and hope that they can make it out alive.

Overall, this film was very good. The rural setting for this plot is typical, but it works. I liked how the movie didn't try to frighten the audience by just having loud screams and jumping faces everywhere - it built suspense that really creeped the viewer out. Also, I thought the ending was a little reminiscent of Cloverfield, but it fit the mood perfectly.

Rated R, this movie should be seen by avid horror/thriller lovers, as it won't dissapoint.

Rating: 4/5 stars ****