Roses Have Thoughts

Breck Eisner’s The Crazies is a film that succeeds where many horror remakes stumble, it modernizes the original without losing its pulse-pounding, small-town terror. Based on George A. Romero’s 1973 film of the same name, this version tightens the screws on the tension, trading the rough-hewn edges of its predecessor for slicker, more polished thrills. It’s one of the stronger “zombie” movies that came out around the early ’00s and showcases what a genre remake can do when it embraces the core spirit of the original while updating it for a contemporary audience.

Set in the fictional town of Ogden Marsh, Iowa, the film quickly drops us into a nightmare. A strange toxin, leaking into the town’s water supply, turns ordinary citizens into violent, emotionless killers. Sheriff David Dutton (Olyphant) and his wife Judy (Radha Mitchell) find themselves at the centre of this spiralling chaos as the military enforces a brutal quarantine, and their neighbours, friends, and even loved ones succumb to the madness.

What The Crazies does so well is its pacing. Eisner doesn’t let the audience catch its breath, but unlike the frenetic, ADHD-style editing of many modern horror films, this one knows how to balance explosive action with quieter, dread-filled moments. The opening scenes are particularly effective, Eisner sets up Ogden Marsh as a quintessential Midwestern town, the kind of place where nothing bad is supposed to happen. But the film quickly dispels that illusion as the first signs of infection emerge. There’s something genuinely unsettling about watching such normalcy crack and splinter into uncontrollable violence.

The performances are a key factor in grounding the horror. Timothy Olyphant is the perfect everyman hero, a sheriff trying to maintain order when everything he knows is collapsing. Olyphant plays it with just the right mix of stoic resolve and barely contained panic. Radha Mitchell brings an emotional heft to her role as Judy, especially as she finds herself in increasingly desperate situations. Together, they give the film a human centre amid the chaos, which keeps us invested in their survival.

Where The Crazies really excels is in its set pieces, many of which are genuinely terrifying. A scene in a pitch-black car wash, where the infected emerge from the shadows, stands out as a masterclass in tension, while another sequence involving a combined harvester underscores Eisner’s ability to wring suspense out of the simplest situations. The film’s sound design, all nerve-rattling silences punctuated by sudden bursts of violence, heightens the atmosphere of mounting dread.

However, where The Crazies falls slightly short is in its reliance on conventional horror tropes. While it delivers thrills, some of the plot beats feel too familiar, namely government conspiracies, shady military interventions, and the ticking clock of contamination. The film flirts with deeper themes, such as the mistrust between citizens and authority, but it doesn’t explore them with the same incisiveness as Romero’s original, which had a sharper political edge.

That said, Eisner’s film is more interested in action and suspense than in making a profound statement about society, and in that regard, it delivers in spades. The tension builds relentlessly, and the stakes feel real. It’s a survival horror movie that understands the importance of atmosphere without sacrificing momentum.

In conclusion, The Crazies is a slick, suspenseful, and worthy remake that honours its source material while standing on its own as a modern horror thriller. It’s an entertaining film that grips you with its relentless pacing and visceral scares. It may not have the raw bite of Romero’s original, but it brings a fresh, polished energy to the tale of a small town unravelling under the weight of its own paranoia and fear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7w9uWFIMBs

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