If there’s one thing scarier than a classic horror movie, it’s when Hollywood dares to try to remake them. In some cases, legendary big-screen nightmares have had their reputations tarnished by foolhardy attempts to replicate the terror of the original through remakes. Occasionally, that has paid off, with updated iterations matching or even surpassing the original versions. One director whose work has been revisited a lot is George A. Romero, the zombie king, whose scarefest staples like “Night of the Living Dead” and “Dawn of the Dead” have been remade with fairly impressive results, with the latter notably getting remade by Zack Snyder. Besides setting the standard for essential zombie movies, other filmmakers have followed in his shuffling footsteps, giving their own takes that have been successful in their own right. However, there’s one movie in Romero’s back catalog from 1973 that didn’t keep quite the same reputation as his other films, but got an impressive upgrade in 2010.
“The Crazies” was a shoestring horror movie about another lethal virus that, rather than bringing the dead back to life as in other zombie movies, turned those who caught the bug into homicidal monsters. Lacking the kind of focus and groundbreaking impact that his other films made, director Breck Eisner saw enough potential in Romero’s overlooked film to create a remake of his own, and the outcome still is a blood-curdling watch more than a decade later. It also served as a great stepping stone for a rising star.
The Crazies is an underappreciated horror remake
Still standing with a commendable 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, “The Crazies” was a great upgrade from Romero’s original film, with an entertaining trio at center. Coming off his stint as sheriff in HBO’s western series, “Deadwood,” Timothy Olyphant made for a great modern-day lawman, David, trying to figure out why the locals of his town are starting to look a little off. In fact, look close enough and the glimmers of his other beloved law enforcer, Raylan Givens from “Justified,” were already present.
Joining him in the chaos are Radha Mitchell as his on-screen wife, Judy, and Joe Anderson as David’s deputy, Russell. They all work great together as they try to reach the border of their town without being hunted down by fired-up friends and neighbors, or the gas-mask-wearing military set on covering up this little mishap. Naturally, their mission hits some very scary snags, leading to some harrowing sequences that might get their hooks in a little deeper in our post-pandemic world.
Even years on, the trailer (see above) might chill the bones of some fans of this underrated remake. If not, feel free to brave this overlooked, doomsday-like entry and see where else Timothy Olyphant gave the world his super-cool sheriff strut, which often turns into a panicked sprint here (not that we blame him). Maybe not, though. Maybe we’re just crazy.
