The Crazies - Splurge of the Week

By: Brandon Sites ( http://www.bigdaddyhorrorreviews.com/ )

Remake of the 1973 George A. Romero film could have just as easily been another Michael Bay remake with it's slick production values and solid acting, but just like the remakes Bay puts out this one is seriously lacking in originality and creativity. It's bland, by the numbers stuff. Another small town finds themselves at the center of a virus that is turning the residents into crazed killers. The military comes in to contain the virus even if that means killing everyone. Comes off as a cross between 28 Days Later and the George A. Romero zombies, but their is nothing new for these zombies to do then just run or drag about killing one victim after another. Mr. Romero always finds some new innovation for his creatures to engage in, a quality lacking here. And when it comes time for the film's main characters to fight off these monsters, every movement is telegraphed well in advance. A character is token by surprise by a crazy. Crazy and character struggle. Crazy manages to get a few licks in. Main character turns the tables. The roles are reversed, crazy is now winning the fight. Crazy is about to kill main character. Out of nowhere another main character shows up to blast the crazy to death with shotgun blasts. The obvious quality to these sequences removes a lot of the film's suspense. Then there is the main characters themselves, they aren't really all that smart or resourceful. They just happen to always be saved by someone else at the last min. At the end of the day, we know about this much about these characters, their profession and that one of them is carrying a child. When you can't becomes involved with the film's proceedings because there is no suspense and when there is no involvement with the characters, what exactly is the point? Who cares about anything that happens in the film? This is one time when it is best to not splurge and hold onto those $20 hard earned dollars!