The Crazies (1973)

Excellent but underrated film

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Romero once again does a good job of telling a compelling story full of social commentary, all the while getting good performances out of his actors. The stand-outs for me were Lloyd Hollar and Richard France, both of whom give intense performances, as their characters are constantly at each others throats. Will MacMillan is fairly straight-lace as the hero, and Lane Caroll is sweet and likable as the love-interest (she also shows off her titties in the beginning) - the ending is where they get to shine, in a tear-jerking scene. My only gripe is the lack of 'crazies', where as in contrast, Romero's zombie movies are full of said menace. Still, the threat of the 'crazy-virus' looms over the entire story, enough to imbue a sense of urgency to everything. This movie is an interesting foot-note in the zombie dominated career of the legendary Mr. Romero, and should not be overlooked.

THE CRAZIES is not(!) a horror movie, as it is frequently marketed because it deals with a Zombie-ish theme and is made by George A. Romero. This 70's flick is much better described as a military or action movie. And oh me oh my does it have a high body count! There's gun fights galore! Constant shooting.The plot surrounds a small town in the US that is quarantined by the US army to contain a disease that makes people "crazy", hence the title. We're following a group of city dwellers who are trying to survive and escape the army. While the characters are principally relatable, they're also not particularly deep and I felt myself not caring about them too much. This means that the suspense was, at some point about half-way through the movie, lost for me.It starts off with a rapid pace and has, for a 70's movie, some surprisingly rapid cuts. There's a lot of government officials and army folks shouting loudly at each other, and constant snare drums playing in the background. At times the cinematography could even be described as experimental. This movie has some interesting components from a historical perspective, and it might be interesting to folks who want to explore Romero's oeuvre for completeness sake... but other than that I don't necessarily recommend it.

Following in the wake of his pretentious and boring SEASON OF THE WITCH, THE CRAZIES finds director George Romero in familiar territory with this story of a town's folk turned incurably insane through the intervention of a chemical weapon transferred through the town's water supply - a story which has minor conspiracy-theory implications which firmly sets it in the paranoid world of '70s cinema. Right from the arresting opening, in which a father attempts to murder his entire family, Romero's fast-paced movie never lets up, leading us from one scene of bloodshed and chaos to the next with little time to think or breathe. Once again, as with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DADand his following movies, Romero's low budget adds to the gritty realism of the film which makes it a cut above the rest - indeed I feel this is much stronger, and far more affecting stuff than the likes of OUTBREAK and other "disease of the week" thrillers of the '90s.Despite a longer-than-average running time, THE CRAZIES never becomes boring or tired - instead it keeps you gripped throughout until the predictably downbeat conclusion. The film expertly weaves two plot strands - the efforts of a small group of people to survive, and the efforts of the people in charge to contain the outbreak - together into one satisfying whole and the themes and storyline are often impressive. I especially like the way in which the intervention of the soldiers in contamination suits eventually becomes even more dangerous for our survivors than the disease itself, and Romero dots the film with memorable disturbing images - my 'favourite' being when a vicar dowses himself in petrol and burns himself kneeling in front of his church - so that it can easily be classed as a horror film as well as a sci-fi-style thriller.As well as this, THE CRAZIES has a ton of shoot-outs and gun battles to make it watchable for the action-orientated crowd too. The highlight is a tense scene in which a crazed man, Clank, takes on a pack of soldiers in the woods. The film recalls NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD in scenes of the soldiers roaming through the countryside, gunning down those that are infected, and the madness back at the army's base in town - with various parties ranting at each other - is a subject Romero returned to with the opening scenes of DAWN OF THE DEAD. The tension is racked up as the film progresses, as our party of survivors who hope to escape gradually dwindles and their chances are repeatedly dashed.The acting is especially strong from the unknown cast, with female lead Lane Carroll particularly affecting as the pregnant mother caught up in the chaos and trying only to escape with her husband. The husband, played by John Saxon-lookalike Will MacMillan, is also a strong and this time heroic character who you end up rooting for. Also memorable are Harold Wayne Jones as 'Clank', the friend who ends up turning crazy himself in memorable style, whilst the various colonels and doctors involved also have strong roles. Fans of Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD may spot Richard Liberty (the Doc) in this film as a family man turned insane, who ends up desiring his beautiful elfin daughter Kathy (Lynn Lowry, who plays Kathy, is tragic and disturbing at the same time). Regular Romero collaborator Bill Hinzman is also in there somewhere too, although I didn't spot him.THE CRAZIES is a strong piece of adult film making which expertly achieves the atmosphere of confusion and chaos that it sets out to put across - a world in which the character's lives are turned upside down and their existence becomes a brutal and often bloody struggle for survival against the overwhelming odds of the US army. Despite it's pessimism and bleakness, this is an entertaining and gripping movie to watch and another feather in the hat for Romero.

Poorly acted, poorly filmed, no production value, and very, very, very BORING! I've definitely had my fill of people running around in whites and gas masks for another millennium! Nothing actually happens in this film! It's all just a bunch of bureaucrats sitting around at a command post and talking about things happening elsewhere!Plot: A guy with "brains" and only one eyebrow is caught in an epidemic of insanity, which mainly causes a bunch of non-paid extras to lolly-gag around trying to decide whether they are drunk or just happy to be part of a movie. The film is a bunch of really bad actors following a really bad script while being filmed as cheaply as possible.Some relevant observations:Antibiotics are not prescribed to treat viruses!People do not always hit someone every time they fire a weapon!Cheap sets and fx are not a virtue!People have no peripheral vision while wearing a gas mask!While they had the chance, the producers of this film would have served humanity better by dropping a real nuclear bomb on Pittsburg, Pa.!This is one of the worst films I have ever watched from beginning to end.The only reason I watched it all was because I thought something interesting might actually happen before it ended; boy was I wrong!George Romero is not a genius, he's a one-hit-wonder!Even "Dawn" was better as a remake. Only "Night" was better in the original.This film is hard to find for a good reason—it stinks! If you haven't been able to watch it, be thankful for the wisdom and kindness of divine providence!