There’s a lot to like in the most recent of the remakes.  When George A. Romero first introduced viewers to The Crazies in 1973, he had a lot to say about the government and, in particular, how the United States government sent young people into the grinder of Vietnam.  With this latest version of the film, director Breck Eisner cares less about sociopolitical overtones than in exploring the scares that accompany friends and neighbors getting a healthy dose of the homicides.

Scripted by Scott Kosar (The Amityville Horror remake) and Ray Wright (Pulse remake), The Crazies starts with a glimpse of the nighttime streets of Ogden Marsh, Iowa, cars ablaze and the population seemingly gone.  When we flash back to two days prior, we find our hero, local sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant), watching over a local baseball game when the former town drunk appears on the field, shotgun in hand.  The situation escalates, leaving the poor sot dead and Sheriff Dutton with a mystery on his hands.  Fortunately for the viewer, this movie knows what we’re here for and doesn’t waste much time developing character when there’s action to be had.

Before long, it becomes clear that local water table has been tainted by a government bioweapon, leaving all the infected with the nasty habit of making those around them dead.  Sheriff Dutton and his deputy, Russell Clank (Joe Anderson), make like protagonists and go on a quest for David’s wife and local doctor, Judy (Radha Mitchell), with a few redshirt locals in tow.  Eisner stages several nice set pieces, including a scene with a runaway drill in a morgue, a particularly nasty bit of business in a car wash, and an abandoned truck stop.  He is familiar with the language of the horror film, and it shows.

Russell Clank (Joe Anderson), make like protagonists and go on a quest for David’s wife and local doctor, Judy (Radha Mitchell), with a few redshirt locals in tow.  Eisner stages several nice set pieces, including a scene with a runaway drill in a morgue, a particularly nasty bit of business in a car wash, and an abandoned truck stop.  He is familiar with the language of the horror film, and it shows.

While I hoped for some greater depth to this story, there is some subtext involving Holocaust-like disposal of the citizenry and a nice moment when a young soldier must come to terms with his orders, but that’s placed on the back burner in favor of providing some effective thrills.  Much like last year’s Orphan, this is a B-grade movie elevated by some strong performances, especially by Olyphant as the Sheriff determined to save his wife and unborn child at all costs and Anderson as the slyly funny sidekick.  Mitchell is left to handle the usual female lead work, and is sadly given less to do, though she is a fine presence onscreen.

The Crazies comes by its R-rating honestly, with some vicious effects work that comes in flashes, but lingers in the memory.  The fact that the movie isn’t afraid to leave a kid or two in its wake doesn’t hurt, either.  Sure this movie borrows heavily from 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake, but who cares when it fits?  This is slick, lean, satisfying entertainment with a wry wit and a penchant for the bloody.  Though by no means a classic, this is a movie that deserves to be seen in the theater to share the jumps and creeps that accompany some of the finer moments.  With Eisner slated to take the reins of the remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon, it’s encouraging to see a director take a film and do something qualitatively better than the usual reboot.  

The Crazies comes by its R-rating honestly, with some vicious effects work that comes in flashes, but lingers in the memory.  The fact that the movie isn’t afraid to leave a kid or two in its wake doesn’t hurt, either.  Sure this movie borrows heavily from 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake, but who cares when it fits?  This is slick, lean, satisfying entertainment with a wry wit and a penchant for the bloody.  Though by no means a classic, this is a movie that deserves to be seen in the theater to share the jumps and creeps that accompany some of the finer moments.  With Eisner slated to take the reins of the remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon, it’s encouraging to see a director take a film and do something qualitatively better than the usual reboot.