The Crazies - The Inzomniac's Movie Madness Review.

The Crazies
USA 1973. Director: George A. Romero
Cast: Will MacMillan, Lane Carroll, Richard Liberty, Lynn Lowry
Aka: Codename: Trixie

I have always liked George Romero's The Crazies very much and when I see the newly remastered version recently put out on disc (courtesy of Anchor Bay) I can see exactly why. All of the Romero trademarks, which I always liked so much in his later movies, have their origin here. The frantic montagesque editing, the dark thoughtprovoking comic-book satire and the extraordinary sense for suspense.

The beginning of the film is like something straight out of Night of the Living Dead. Two kids, one whom is even seen doing the zombie-walk in the stairway, awakes one night by something moving in their house. It's their daddy, going berserk and destroying the house from the inside out.

A biological virus, Trixie, have by accident been unleashed into Evans City, a little small town. The virus turn ordinary people into insanity. Some are turned into sex-crazed maniacs, some are turning homicidal, some are just turning dead. Soon the town is under siege by the military who declares Martial Law, alowing no one to leave what is considered a war zone. Though a little group of people manage to escape from the zone and seek refuge on the countryside, they can't escape the virus. As the military is tightly on their tracks, the group must also fight their growing madness which slowly tears them apart.

When the film ends no solution to the virus problem have yet been found. The virus keeps spreading, the madness continues. Evans City is ultimately doomed, not necessarily because of the virus, but because of the madness of the government and the military and the scientists who can't work together, thus creating a chaotic situation where there's no other option left except dropping the Big One. "If the media asks, we'll just say the weapon went off."

Though the director, accordingly, didn't go out to make a social or political commentary about its time or about the Vietnam war, the film is nontheless influenced by it. There's the priest who sets himself on fire, the burning of flags etc. But The Crazies isn't about that, it's really about Romero learning his craft and he does it well considering how limited the budget must have been. The technical aspects are a bit crude (like the muffled direct sound), though effective. Especially the soundtrack with it's nightmarish drumbeat marching over all over the action. Obviously a forerunner to Dawn of the Dead (Richard France plays a smiliar role in both films) The Crazies is well-crafted enough to stand on its own. It's probably Romero's most underrated film, perhaps even his most accomplished aside his first two zombie flicks. In any case a must-have in any collection.