ComplainerMan

“The Crazies” is a zombie movie with a twist. The twist is that there are no zombies. The monsters are just people who have gone homicidal after being exposed to a biological weapon that was accidentally released into a small farming community. They are killed reasonably easily and don’t come back to life afterward. Of course they are hiding around every corner, and the dwindling group of survivors never seem to catch on to the fact that they should be careful when going into dark rooms. Surprise! Another zombie. Ok, another “crazy.”

“The Crazies” is not original or particularly scary, but does have a gross-out and gore factor that will help some ignore the horribly stupid plot holes. Why would the military dispose of a dangerous biological warfare agent by flying it over populated farming communities with large bodies of drinking water, so they could incinerate it? Is dropping a nuclear bomb on a US city really an effective means of cover up?

Directed by George Romero, who is responsible for the classic “Dawn of the Dead,” this movie is a formulaic sleepwalk to some box office cash. Stuck between the crazy homicidal non-zombies and the ruthless military tasked with the clean-up of the situation, the band of would-be survivors are picked off one in a most predictable manner. The would-be drama never connects. The characters never develop. Don’t waste your time.