The Crazies

George Romero's legend as a genre filmmaker is secure; his repertoire is less sure, as his movies can be hit or miss. I admit I started watching 'The crazies' with expectations of something different than what we actually get. However, while the narrative starts slowly, it nonetheless ends up being duly engaging. What begins as a disordered effort to contain an outbreak gradually spirals out into a deepening crisis, and the spotlight on a handful of recalcitrant townspeople humanizes the course of events and a strong overarching theme of distrust in the military. The premise is disquieting, the story as it transpires is often unsettling, and in the midst of all the chaos, what scenes of violence we get are acutely jarring. The sense of horror here is broadly more thematic and conceptual than concrete, but even at that, this is a reasonably worthwhile classic.

The detail in the production design is somewhat impressive considering especially that this was only Romero's fourth film, a few short years after 'Night of the living dead.' The vehicles, props, and costume design presumably ate a fair portion of the budget, joined in that spread by special effects including blood. In general there's not much to speak of in terms of dialogue or characters, but the scene writing is pretty swell. And though never wholly captivating, or engaging to the extent we'd hope, the overall narrative is fairly solid.

Moments that could be emphasized with gravity or emotional weight are passed over with the same detached observer's eye that otherwise captures the unfolding events. With this in mind, the assembled cast get to explore their parts mostly only in instances of worsening infection - but they all inhabit their roles well to tell the story. And this rather summarizes 'The crazies' as a whole: the storytelling and film-making are fine, demonstrating Romero's practiced hand in the genre - and that's about it. Nothing about the movie is bad, but nor is anything exceptional to the point of demanding praise. It's modestly gripping, but not necessarily satisfying; entertaining, but not outright stimulating.

One shouldn't necessarily go out of their way to find this, but it's sufficiently deserving of consideration as to be worth watching if you come across it. As a horror film, and as a George Romero picture, 'The crazies' isn't the most essential slice of cinema, but it's a good time all the same.

Though as a lifelong resident of the greater Pittsburgh area, the idea of anything noteworthy coming out of Evans City, like a classic movie, is still a laugh.