The Crazies(1973)

6.5/10 

George A. Romero is one of the most iconic directors in the horror business.  Being the creator of "Night Of the Living Dead" and many other hits, you could almost call him a pioneer in horror. He was one of the first directors to really make gruesome movies, and even though they're tame to today's standards, it is quite apparent that a mark was made in history with all of them.  This classic from 1973 is a little more obscure than the films I have watched so far.  I find it to be a good film, but not great. There's so many things that are awesome about it, but there are some weaknesses that really brought down my opinion on the film. 

Like the last film I reviewed "Children of the Corn" this film starts with a mindblowing beginning. It shows children witnessing the highly violent and destructive behavior of their father. It is not known why he is being so erratic, but he killed his wife, and set his house on fire.  I really love the terror of this scene, because there really is a mystery of what is happening, and the performances by the people portraying the family is great. The father is very aggressive, and brings a lot of suspense as he throws things around.  The children are very good, because they're kind of oblivious to what is happening, and it brings a chilling feel to the scene. 

The next scene goes to a couple in bed together. Judy is a nurse, and David is firefighter, and they are both sent off to their jobs because of emergencies arising. I find both of these characters to have a great chemistry with each other, and they're a totally realistic couple. The two of them are also pretty strong people, and smart too, which is a refreshing change to how the protagonist of horror often are.

After dropping off David to the fire station, Judy goes to the hospital she works at, and gets information from a doctor.  The problem is a virus called "Trixie," and it either kills a person, or makes them a homicidal maniac.  This now gives us an idea of why that man killed his wife, because it is very possible that he was a great man, but this virus took over his mind.  I really like this plot line, because it is very true to real life in a sense. It's not that viruses often make people kill, but the idea of a plague taking over a town is very relevant to now, being we have had many outbreaks, whether it's Ebola or H1N1. This is also a very original plot, because instead of people having a motive to killing, they don't have a choice. This really sets the film apart from many other horror movies, because it's not just some psycho going after people, but loved people being controlled. 

One of the things that really works in this film is the isolation. This virus is dangerous as can be, yet there is no way of escaping. After news of the outbreak comes out, the army takes over Evans City, and they put it on quarantine.  No one is allowed to leave, even if they are healthy.  The other part of this isolation that makes things crazy is that the army brings nuclear weapons about the town in case they have to destroy it.  That is absolutely genius for this film, because it brings so much terror. The idea that this disease makes people homicidal, yet people are forced to stay in the town it is spreading in is a whole different kind of horror. No this is not a graphic slasher film, but the psychological horrors really kick in, and make this a chilling film nonetheless.  

Most of this film's violence is done by guns. A lot of it is soldier shooting 'Crazies' and this isn't exactly horrifying. There are a couple slasher moments in the film though. One of the most shocking is when an old lady takes a sewing needle and stabs a soldier to death.  While the film doesn't hit the gory heights of other films I love, it does the violence very well, especially since the film was in 1973. Another scene that surprised me was a shooting scene where blood flew out of a soldier's eyes. This scene was extremely graphic, and it blows my mind that the censors weren't all over it. 

The 'Crazies' were portrayed very well in this film. Rather than just being angry people, there is an insane happiness that comes from them. In the scene I mentioned before with the old lady, she seems like a kind grandma with a huge smile on her face, and then she just stabs. This shows that the virus makes people sadistically violent. This is much more frightening than if she had a mean look on her face, or if she ran at him like a zombie. Some of the other 'crazies' are shown as very hyper and paranoid people that desperately complete the bad actions they do. 

I feel that the portrayal of the army was well done.  The guards of the quarantine were good most of the time, because they were very brutal at their job.  I really like the fact that they were the emergency suits, because you don't see their faces at all, which almost takes any emotional connection you could possibly have for them away. This works well, because you aren't really supposed to like them at all. You are supposed to feel bad for the townspeople, and partly because these guards are suppressing them.

Though the film is horror for the most part, I love that it also has traces of other genres, because it really gives the film a great amount of diversity to the films. You have the moments of terror that make horror iconic, you have the journey that the main characters go on that gives us the action, and then the whole technical side of the virus that gives us a scifi feel.

So far, I have given the good aspects of the film, but there are some big weaknesses too.  The first one being that there are quite a few dry scenes.  The worst of all is some of the dialogue scenes, whether it's between the main characters, the army generals, or the scientists, the scenes really drag on at times, and it makes me lose interest in the movie temporarily. Thankfully, this doesn't completely ruin the movie, because right after these boring scenes, something shocking will happen. Another problem I have with the film was that a lot of the supporting cast were weak. They weren't likable, and often their performances were monotonous.  Once again, this doesn't ruin the film, but I really wish that the casting would've been done a little bit more carefully. 

Honestly I thought the ending was mediocre. If they would've cut off the last two minutes, the film would've ended on a totally shocking turn, but they had to add more military dialogue, and I felt that was weak in a sense.  A film like this doesn't need a closing scene to sum everything up, it would've been better to just have that sudden "what the heck" ending.  

Overall, I liked this film. It had some really great scenes, and a fantastic plot. I just can't say I loved it, because there was too many times where it went too slow for me.  I would recommend it to people that like this kind of thing, but if you're looking for a more engaging film of the era, definitely watch Romero's original "Night of the Living Dead."