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Micro Review: The Crazies


A solid genre outing with the right balance of smarts, gore and suspense. This remake of the 1973 chiller is unlike almost every horror remake out there in one key way -- it's actually pretty good! The film's strength lies in allowing us to get to know, and therefor care, about the characters. It also acts as a cynical social commentary, believing the government would rather nuke a town out of existence than admit to its mistakes. I, for one, don't doubt that for a minute, which makes The Crazies all the scarier. A slick little thriller, earning a Good review from The Basement.
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  1. Michael StewartJuly 2, 2010 at 10:01 AM

    As a fan of horror films, and a fan of George Romero's horror films as well, I was intrigued by this remake... that and the cover of the DVD box was interesting.

    While Romero's films were commentaries on society's breakdown- either from free-thinking people into mindless consumbers (zombies), or from civilized people into anarchic, chaotic barbarians (crazies), this remake lacks that punch.

    This isn't to say that it's a bad movie. There were some elements I enjoyed. A few of the "stalking scenes" were suspenseful, and creepy, for instance... and I enjoyed the irony of the final little bit.

    The acting was a little stiff, and the characters a lacked depth and development. The pace was decent.

    While this movie wasn't a great horror film, it wasn't too bad.

    I would rate this as a "Bad"... with a caveat that it's still worth a see.

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