Frat Boy At the Movies: The Crazies
on February 28, 2010 at 3:56 amI didn’t expect much from The Crazies, but it turned out to be a top notch horror movie. The basic premise, the water in a small town in Iowa becomes contaminated. It slowly starts turning the population nuts and somewhat homicidal.
It’s hard not to give spoilers without giving away some of the movie, but I think you already know that the government quarantines the entire area and it soon spirals out of control. Director Breck Eisner is a master of pacing. The movie starts slow and then is rolling down hill by the end. Great ending too, another sign of a good scary movie.
Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell as the sheriff and town doctor have really good chemistry together. The thing I really like about it is that most of their decisions are very logical. You’re not throwing your hands up going, “What the Hell are you going in there for?!” every five minutes.
The sheriff’s wife is hot! No wonder he goes back for her.
Characters are set up and then situations pay off down the road. You also feel for these characters because you get to know them as people before most of them all go nuts. Unlike zombie movies, which sometimes have a relentless, numbing pace, The Crazies balances the characters avoiding the crazies, the soldiers and just trying to survive.
It’s been a long time since I was scared in a movie, but this movie really had some good scares. Some nasty stuff happens too, but it’s not an over-the-top torture gorefest. It’s scary because of the situations, not the blood.
I give the Crazies 8 out of 10 keggers. Go see it bros!
