The Crazies

Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker
Directed by: Breck Eisner
Rating: R
Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller, Horror
2010

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: In a small town, the local sheriff (Timothy Olyphant) and his doctor wife (Radha Mitchell) try to survive when everyone in town begins turning into violent maniacs.

Review:

Tim: I was actually pretty excited for The Crazies. I don't know why, but I was looking forward to it. It looked like a realistic, gritty, scary movie. The film had loads of potential, but it never quite fully realizes it. There were very good moments, but all in all, the movie felt like a remake of a 70s horror movie, which is what it is. I didn't hate this film, but I felt more than a little disappointed.

I love movies that take place in small, isolated communities as this one did. There is something so frightening when terrible, unexplainable events happen in such places. The setting is terrific, but the people let me down. I like the idea of the two main characters, the sheriff and his wife. However, we are never given any real background or reason to care about them. We are told that the wife is pregnant, as if that is all the reason we need to get invested in them. I never really felt connected to them- I know one is a sheriff and the other is a doctor, but I don't know anything about them. The character develop was extremely weak, and that is one of the big reasons I didn't love the movie. All the crazy events didn't matter because I never really cared about any of the characters. Horror thrillers have been making this mistake for decades, and yet they continue to do so.

The cast was decent, but not great. I seem to always like the idea of Timothy Olyphant, but his performances leave me wanting me. It is not that he is bad- he's just decent. There is nothing exciting or memorable about his turn here. He looks the part and was certainly believable as a small town sheriff, but he still lacked something. Radha Mitchell was the same way. I supposed I believed she was a doctor and she had enough chemistry with Olyphant (but not too much) to make me believe they were really married. However, he performance was rather bland and forgettable. Nothing stood out from her, and as a result, I was underwhelmed. The supporting cast were fine, but besides a good performance by Joe Anderson, everyone else just faded into the background. The cast certainly needed to be better here.

There are indeed some pretty impressive scenes. I really enjoyed the opening scene at the baseball field, and there are some chilling scenes of the empty town. There was a moment right near the end of the film- I won't say anything else because I don't want to spoil it- but it was visually stunning and unforgettable. Still, this was one scene among many more forgettable ones. That is the biggest problem here- for a movie that tried to look modern and chilling, the film was surprisingly full of cliches and tired horror movie moments. I was shocked by how many recycled moments occured throughout this movie. It made the whole thing feel cheap and rushed.

The Crazies was a step in the right direction. If I wanted to watch a "zombie" movie, this is the kind of movie I want to watch. However, this film squandered its potential. As a result, I simply couldn't get too excited about it. In fact, despite the fact that this is a pretty decent movie, I was still disappointed in it. That is a shame, because I really thought this could have been a great one.


Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Crazies (1973), Dawn of the Dead, Hitman, Silent Hill