The Crazies

Synopsis: A small town’s water supply is contaminated and turns the townspeople into lunatics.

Release Date: February 26, 2010     MPAA Rating: PG-13

Genre(s): Horror, Drama

Film Review

There’s something in the water and it’s giving this small town in Iowa something to scream about, though I doubt you’ll be screaming with them. The water supply in the small town of Ogden Marsh has been mysteriously contaminated and it is making those who drink it unexplainably violent and mutinous crazies. The sheriff of this small town, David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant), his wife Judy (Radha Mitchell), and his trusty deputy Russell (Joe Anderson) attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery and protect the townspeople who have not yet gone crazy. When the military gets involved and puts the town on lock down, it becomes clear that the story is much bigger than the water supply. “The Crazies” has a potentially disturbing and horrific plot; a town’s population becomes violent and zombie-like and begin turning on each other. However, because nothing in the filmic world is firmly established, there are essentially no rules, discernible causality or tension. For instance, the crazies themselves are never fully defined or consistent; sometimes they are zombie-like and sometimes they are coherent, sometimes they can die and sometimes they cannot. The lack of establishment makes for a rather uninteresting, one-layered film that only works on the level of cheap horror thrills.

The use of sound was extremely detailed and made even the most mundane action seem threatening; however it could have been used with some discretion. By using sound to create so many potentially horrific moments, the viewer no longer knows what to be afraid of. If sound was used sparingly and with more control, it could have resulted in increased cohesion of the narrative arc.

What we have in this film is frightening images attached to a very loose narrative. There are moments that do cause you to jump and even to close your eyes but because the film never establishes what we should be afraid of, these moments exist solely within themselves and do not build upon each other.

Cast and Crew

• Director(s): Breck Eisner
• Producer(s): Scott KosarRay WrightTimothy Olyphant (David)
• Screenwriter(s): Radha Mitchell (Judy)Joe Anderson (Russell)Danielle Panabaker (Becca)
• Story: 
• Cast:  Billy FoxMaxime AlexandreAndrew Menzies
• Editor(s): George L. Little
• Cinematographer: Mark IshamAlmost Human
• Production Designer(s):
• Costume Designer: 
• Casting Director(s): 
• Music Score: 
• Music Performed By: 
• Country Of Origin: USAUnited Arab Emirates