The Crazies

There have definitely been alot of horror remakes out in the last couple years. Everything from great (My Bloody Valentine) to the not so great (Wolfman), but this year perhaps the best horror remake has arrived. I am talking about non other than the new release starring Timothy Olyphant and Rhada Mitchell, The Crazies. This is a remake of a George Romero horror movie made in 1973. The original was made during the time of the Vietnam war and the public outcry about our governments activities and that backdrop was used as juxtaposition to tell the story about the unraveling of society. The remake directed by Breck Eisner deals with the issues of government surveillance and how far the government would go to cover-up and hide a disaster.
The story deals with a small Utah town where the residents seem to be going crazy and killing each other. Without giving to much away, it is traced back to a government engineered biological weapon aboard a plane that crashed nearby. One by one the townspeople start to act weird and the government comes in to quarantine. The Crazies is a very intelligent horror movie, with top notch performances. Unlike many of todays horror movies, The Crazies is violent, bloody and gory without reveling in the bloodshed and becoming horror porn (like the Saw movies). Not that I'm complaining, being a big fan of the Saw series but it is a refreshing treat to see a horror movie that relies on the tension of the situation to creep you out and send shivers down your spine rather than extended, cringe inducing gore to make you uncomfortable. The movie starts out with a bang, and never lets up. The pacing is brisk and you never question the actions of the characters or the progression of the story. In this day and age of technology and unauthorized government surveillance the story never seems unbelievable and part of the scares from the movie. I can't say it enough, go see this movie.