The Telescope

Issue Date: 3/8/10

'The Crazies' just crazy bad

By Kelley Foyt

Media Credit: Overture Films

Just like the zombies that plague his movies, George Romero's films just keep coming back.

Director Breck Eisner's remake of Romero's 1973 film "The Crazies" is just about as unwelcome as a zombie's return. While good for a cheap thrill, the film lacks originality and has a serious set of flaws that makes about 90 percent of the movie a waste of time.

After a plane crash contaminates a small town's water supply, citizens become infected with a virus that causes them to go crazy, and in turn, become murderers. The plot follows the town's sheriff and those around him as he tries to escape the small-town apocalypse.

In order to enjoy the movie, viewers have to totally suspend their disbelief, because in the 21st century, most water supplies have a purifying system. There are also smaller flaws that are easy to catch. For example, "The Crazies" is the type of movie where someone with their eyes sewn shut warns you that someone behind you is about to kill you.

Viewers will also find it hard to care about the characters. The problem isn't because of the actors, or even the casting, but instead in the root of the movie: the writing is just bad.

The movie starts out quickly, failing to strongly develop each character. Without that necessary character development the viewer is unattached to each person, and so during each scene, a viewer is desensitized to the danger and will find themselves not caring whether a character lives or dies.

The writers just couldn't seem to get it together. They had good ideas; the thought of zombie-like internment camp is intriguing, but in "The Crazies," it's badly executed.

A viewer will have to dig deeply and infer their own conclusions, which the writers may or may not have intended due to ambiguity of themes that the film presents.

"The Crazies" is unimaginative and does little to further its genre, the likes of which have inspired enough content for all four movies in the "Scary Movie" franchise.

Eisner reveals the fact that he's an amateur director with his overuse of cheap thrills. A suspenseful scene followed by a loud noise may make a viewer jump, but it doesn't mean that it was actually scary.

Unlike "The Crazies," recent films of the horror genre have taken chances.

The success of films like "Paranormal Activity" are due to the fact that the plot plays on a person's instinctive fear, and adds terror to ordinary circumstances. While "The Crazies" follows suit to a certain extent, at the end of the day, viewers will reach for a glass of water without a second thought.

Overall, "The Crazies" is just another unmemorable scary movie. It's entertaining to a certain extent, but the best parts of the movie are in the two and a half minute preview.

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