The Crazies (2010 film)
Encyclopedia
The Crazies is a 2010 American horror film
directed by Breck Eisner
. Written by Scott Kosar
and Ray Wright, the film is a remake
of the 1973 film of the same name by George A. Romero
, who is also the executive producer and co-writer of the remake.
The Crazies stars Timothy Olyphant
and Radha Mitchell
. The film takes place in the fictional town of Ogden Marsh, Pierce County, Iowa
, "friendliest place on Earth," whose town water supply is accidentally infected with the "Trixie" virus
. After an incubation period
of 48 hours, this virus gradually transforms the mental state of the infected into that of cold, calculating, depraved, bloodthirsty killers, who then prey on family and neighbors alike.
The film was released on February 26, 2010 to largely positive reviews from critics, and was a box office success both domestically and internationally.
, David (Timothy Olyphant
), the local sheriff enjoys a baseball game. His deputy, Russell (Joe Anderson), spots Rory Hamill, a local resident, entering the outfield holding a shotgun. David is forced to shoot and kill the unresponsive Rory. David and his wife Judy (Radha Mitchell
), the community doctor, begin to notice other town residents exhibiting bizarre behavior. The next night, a local farmer burns his house down with his wife and son trapped inside, killing them.
While investigating the discovery of a pilot's body in a swamp, David and Russell discover a cargo plane submerged under the water. Communication services are lost, and soldiers arrive to take all residents to quarantine at the high school. Everyone is examined for symptoms of infection. Judy does not pass the examination and is separated from David. She explains her fever is due to pregnancy, but is sedated anyway. She wakes strapped to a gurney
as the perimeter of the facility is breached by the infected. The military personnel evacuate, abandoning Judy and the other civilians. David is nearing evacuation, but escapes and rejoins Russell. They rescue Judy and her hospital assistant, Becca (Danielle Panabaker
).
David, Judy, Russell, and Becca make their way out of town on foot, unable to find a working vehicle. They encounter Becca's boyfriend, Scotty, when they pass through his farm. Soldiers raid the farm, shoot Scotty and his mother, and burn the bodies. They learn that the soldiers have been ordered to shoot all civilians who have potentially been exposed. The group repair a patrol car, and, once on the road, are spotted by an attack helicopter and drive into a car wash for cover. Infected attack and kill Becca, and the helicopter destroys the car. On foot, Russell disables a passing government SUV with a police spike strip
. The driver, presumably a government agent, reveals the cargo plane contained "Trixie," a "Rhabdoviridae
prototype" biological weapon. Enraged, Russell shoots the driver and threatens Judy and David. When confronted about his behavior, Russell realizes he is infected and, after being disarmed, begs to go on with Judy and David. He later dies while distracting soldiers at a blockade, so that Judy and David can sneak past.
David and Judy arrive at a truck stop to search for a vehicle, discovering the military also executed those who were evacuated. Fending off infected, they escape in a semitruck. Ogden Marsh is destroyed in a massive explosion as they flee, and their truck flips in the passing shockwave. As the couple walk towards Cedar Rapids
, a view from a military satellite highlights first the couple, then the city, and the words "Initiate containment protocol" appear, signifying a new containment attempt.
In the credits, a news clip is shown in which the newscaster Bruce Aune of KCRG-TV 9 News reports that an explosion originating from the Dakon Pendrill chemical plant started a massive fire in Ogden Marsh, "with eyewitness reports of a 400-foot fireball that lit up the sky." He goes on to report a second explosion at a nearby truck fueling station, alluding to the truck stop. He says a perimeter has been set and civilians are not being allowed into the area. After that, the news clip cuts to a soldier with his rifle brandished, then to a snarling crazy, and then cuts out completely as the signal is lost.
, with settings including the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Priester's Pecans in Perry, Georgia
, the Fountain Car Wash in Macon, Georgia
, areas in Dublin, Georgia
, Peach County High School in Fort Valley, Georgia
, and areas of Cordele, Georgia (the truck stop used during filming is an old TravelCenters of America site). The film was produced and distributed by Overture Films
. The special effects were created by Robert Green Hall.
, Frankenfish
and Prom Night
. Director Breck Eisner's first visions of what the infected would look like were zombies. He and the makeup crew made many molds and sketches of what the infected should look like, with deformities and skin hanging off and so forth. Eventually, he grew tired of the "zombie" look which he believed to be too cliché and decided to go for a more realistic "go under the skin," in which the blood vessels would appear to be bursting forth and face and neck muscles and tendons tight and wrought. Eisner has described this look as "hyper alive."
The director's one and only rule for the makeup design was that they would have to research in medical books and consult medical professionals for the design of the infected. Lead make-up artist Rob Hall said "If we were to pitch something to Breck, about, if you know, one side of his face should look like this, Breck would immediately want to know what disease it came from, and what version of reality it could be implemented into Trixie. But the most important thing was to make sure it felt real. Make it feel like you could get it, too." The basis of the makeup the crew used was mainly rabies
, tetanus
and Stevens–Johnson syndrome.
Each "Crazie" design has about 21 separate pieces that took over three hours to apply for the final effect seen in the film. Robert stated the final effect in the film seen was not just the makeup, but the lighting, camera angles, and post-production effects were the main factor. The main theme for the design was "stress." He has stated he wanted the "Crazies" to look stressed out. The veins and eyes were the main focus of the design. The contact lenses covered the actors' entire eyes and required eyedrops every five minutes to prevent permanent eye damage.
and received a wide release in the North America
on February 26, 2010. The Canadian DVD and Blu-ray Disc were released June 29, 2010. The DVD and Blu-ray Disc + Digital Copy
combo pack was released in the North America on June 29, 2010 and in the UK on July 19.
, the film has an overall approval rating of 71%, with an average score of 6.4/10. The site's consensus states the film is "Tense, nicely shot, and uncommonly intelligent, The Crazies is the rare horror remake that works." By contrast, Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a "mixed or average" score of 55% based on 30 reviews.
Michael Phillips
of The Chicago Tribune awarded the film 3½ stars of 4 commenting that he "greatly prefer this cleverly sustained and efficiently relentless remake to the '73 edition. It is lean and simple." Eric M. Armstrong of The Moving Arts Film Journal
wrote that "The Crazies is a solid B-movie
and one of the few remakes that actually surpasses the original." Ty Burr
of The Boston Globe
gave the film 3/4 stars touting the film as "extremely solid stuff – about as good as you could hope from a B-movie
retread." Variety
film critic Dennis Harvey also praised the film, writing "While not a slam dunk, this revamp by helmer Breck Eisner (of the enjoyable but underperforming Sahara
) emerges an above-average genre piece that's equal parts horror-meller and doomsday action thriller.
However, Owen Gleiberman
of Entertainment Weekly
graded the film a C, writing, "I don't care how this premise has been dressed up, we've seen it a jillion times before." Mike Hale of The New York Times
wrote a mixed review stating "The filmmakers seem so determined to make a serious, respectable horror movie that they have only the bare minimum of fun." Amy Biancolli, writing for San Francisco Chronicle
, wrote that the remake "boasts less of the plot and fewer characters than the original, but the hairdos are spiffier and the special effects have graduated from cheapo stage blood to the extravagant gross-outs that horror audiences now routinely expect."
released a graphic novel adaptation of the film. A comic book was also released chronicling how the virus was spread. It went on for four issues.
released a Facebook
game based on the film.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Breck Eisner
Breck Eisner
Michael "Breck" Eisner is an American television and film director.-Early life:Eisner was born Michael Eisner in California, the son of Jane Breckenridge, a business advisor and computer programmer, and Michael Eisner, the former Walt Disney Company chief executive...
. Written by Scott Kosar
Scott Kosar
Scott Kosar is a screenwriter whose films include The Machinist, the 2003 remake of the classic horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and the 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror.-Life and career:...
and Ray Wright, the film is a remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of the 1973 film of the same name by George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
, who is also the executive producer and co-writer of the remake.
The Crazies stars Timothy Olyphant
Timothy Olyphant
Timothy David Olyphant is an American actor whose notable roles in television drama series include Deadwood as Seth Bullock, Justified as Raylan Givens, The Office as Danny Cordray, and Damages as Wes Krulik...
and Radha Mitchell
Radha Mitchell
Radha Rani Amber Indigo Anunda Mitchell is an Australian actress. Her film roles include Finding Neverland, Phone Booth, Man on Fire, Silent Hill, and the The Crazies-Early life:...
. The film takes place in the fictional town of Ogden Marsh, Pierce County, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, "friendliest place on Earth," whose town water supply is accidentally infected with the "Trixie" virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
. After an incubation period
Incubation period
Incubation period is the time elapsed between exposure to a pathogenic organism, a chemical or radiation, and when symptoms and signs are first apparent...
of 48 hours, this virus gradually transforms the mental state of the infected into that of cold, calculating, depraved, bloodthirsty killers, who then prey on family and neighbors alike.
The film was released on February 26, 2010 to largely positive reviews from critics, and was a box office success both domestically and internationally.
Plot
In the town of Ogden Marsh, IowaIowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, David (Timothy Olyphant
Timothy Olyphant
Timothy David Olyphant is an American actor whose notable roles in television drama series include Deadwood as Seth Bullock, Justified as Raylan Givens, The Office as Danny Cordray, and Damages as Wes Krulik...
), the local sheriff enjoys a baseball game. His deputy, Russell (Joe Anderson), spots Rory Hamill, a local resident, entering the outfield holding a shotgun. David is forced to shoot and kill the unresponsive Rory. David and his wife Judy (Radha Mitchell
Radha Mitchell
Radha Rani Amber Indigo Anunda Mitchell is an Australian actress. Her film roles include Finding Neverland, Phone Booth, Man on Fire, Silent Hill, and the The Crazies-Early life:...
), the community doctor, begin to notice other town residents exhibiting bizarre behavior. The next night, a local farmer burns his house down with his wife and son trapped inside, killing them.
While investigating the discovery of a pilot's body in a swamp, David and Russell discover a cargo plane submerged under the water. Communication services are lost, and soldiers arrive to take all residents to quarantine at the high school. Everyone is examined for symptoms of infection. Judy does not pass the examination and is separated from David. She explains her fever is due to pregnancy, but is sedated anyway. She wakes strapped to a gurney
Gurney
A gurney, known as a trolley in British medical context, is the U.S. term for a type of stretcher used in modern hospitals and ambulances in developed areas. A hospital gurney is a kind of narrow bed on a wheeled frame which may be adjustable in height. For ambulances, a collapsible gurney is a...
as the perimeter of the facility is breached by the infected. The military personnel evacuate, abandoning Judy and the other civilians. David is nearing evacuation, but escapes and rejoins Russell. They rescue Judy and her hospital assistant, Becca (Danielle Panabaker
Danielle Panabaker
Danielle Nicole Panabaker is an American actress. She was a cast member in the CBS drama Shark, and appeared in the films Mr. Brooks, Sky High, The Crazies and Friday the 13th, among other projects...
).
David, Judy, Russell, and Becca make their way out of town on foot, unable to find a working vehicle. They encounter Becca's boyfriend, Scotty, when they pass through his farm. Soldiers raid the farm, shoot Scotty and his mother, and burn the bodies. They learn that the soldiers have been ordered to shoot all civilians who have potentially been exposed. The group repair a patrol car, and, once on the road, are spotted by an attack helicopter and drive into a car wash for cover. Infected attack and kill Becca, and the helicopter destroys the car. On foot, Russell disables a passing government SUV with a police spike strip
Spike strip
A spike strip is a device used to impede or stop the movement of wheeled vehicles by puncturing their tires...
. The driver, presumably a government agent, reveals the cargo plane contained "Trixie," a "Rhabdoviridae
Rhabdoviridae
Rhabdoviruses are viruses belonging to the family Rhabdoviridae, which is in the order Mononegavirales. The name is derived from the Greek rhabdos meaning rod referring to the shape of the viral particles. Rhabdoviruses infect a broad range of hosts throughout the animal and plant kingdoms...
prototype" biological weapon. Enraged, Russell shoots the driver and threatens Judy and David. When confronted about his behavior, Russell realizes he is infected and, after being disarmed, begs to go on with Judy and David. He later dies while distracting soldiers at a blockade, so that Judy and David can sneak past.
David and Judy arrive at a truck stop to search for a vehicle, discovering the military also executed those who were evacuated. Fending off infected, they escape in a semitruck. Ogden Marsh is destroyed in a massive explosion as they flee, and their truck flips in the passing shockwave. As the couple walk towards Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
, a view from a military satellite highlights first the couple, then the city, and the words "Initiate containment protocol" appear, signifying a new containment attempt.
In the credits, a news clip is shown in which the newscaster Bruce Aune of KCRG-TV 9 News reports that an explosion originating from the Dakon Pendrill chemical plant started a massive fire in Ogden Marsh, "with eyewitness reports of a 400-foot fireball that lit up the sky." He goes on to report a second explosion at a nearby truck fueling station, alluding to the truck stop. He says a perimeter has been set and civilians are not being allowed into the area. After that, the news clip cuts to a soldier with his rifle brandished, then to a snarling crazy, and then cuts out completely as the signal is lost.
Cast
- Timothy OlyphantTimothy OlyphantTimothy David Olyphant is an American actor whose notable roles in television drama series include Deadwood as Seth Bullock, Justified as Raylan Givens, The Office as Danny Cordray, and Damages as Wes Krulik...
as David - Radha MitchellRadha MitchellRadha Rani Amber Indigo Anunda Mitchell is an Australian actress. Her film roles include Finding Neverland, Phone Booth, Man on Fire, Silent Hill, and the The Crazies-Early life:...
as Judy - Joe Anderson as Russell
- Danielle PanabakerDanielle PanabakerDanielle Nicole Panabaker is an American actress. She was a cast member in the CBS drama Shark, and appeared in the films Mr. Brooks, Sky High, The Crazies and Friday the 13th, among other projects...
as Becca - Christie Lynn Smith as Deardra Farnum
- Brett Rickaby as Bill Farnum
- Preston BaileyPreston BaileyPreston Bailey is an American child actor who started acting at the age of two. He is probably most known for appearing in the Showtime TV series Dexter and for starring in such as films Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, Children of the Corn, and The Crazies.-Biography:Bailey was born in...
as Nicholas - John AylwardJohn AylwardJohn Aylward is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the former DNC chairman Barry Goodwin on the NBC television series The West Wing and for playing Dr. Donald Anspaugh on the NBC television series ER. He also supplied his voice for Dr. Arne Magnusson in Half-Life 2: Episode...
as Mayor Hobbs - Joe Reegan as Pvt. Billy Babcock
- Glenn MorshowerGlenn MorshowerGlenn Grove Morshower is an American actor best known for playing Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce on the Fox action thriller drama series 24...
as Intelligence Officer - Larry CedarLarry CedarLarry Cedar is an American actor and a voice actor best known as one of the players of the highly-acclaimed Children's Television Workshop mathematics show, Square One TV on PBS from 1987 to 1994. He also played Alex the Butcher in a series of commercials for Kroger in 1989...
as Ben Sandborn - Gregory SporlederGregory SporlederGregory Sporleder is an American actor notable for playing military men in films such as The Rock, Black Hawk Down and Renaissance Man, as well as Calvin Norris in the HBO series True Blood- Personal Life :...
as Travis Quinn - Mike Hickman as Rory Hamill
- Lisa K. WyattLisa K. WyattLisa K. Wyatt is an actress and comedian. According to the biography on her official site, she has appeared in more than 150 film, television and regional theatre credits. She is currently appearing in a recurring role as Lynne, the love interest of Kevin Malone, in NBC's The Office.-Life and...
as Peggy Hamill - Justin WelbornJustin WelbornJustin Welborn is an actor and singer best known for his roles in the films The Signal, Dance of the Dead, and The Final Destination.- Filmography :- Television :- Video :*2008 - MGS: Acquiescence - Stunt...
as Curt Hamill - Chet Grissom as Kevin Miller
- Tahmus Rounds as Nathan
- Brett Wagner as Jesse
- Alex Van as Red
- Anthony Winters as Town Pastor
- Frank Hoyt Taylor as Mortician Charles Finley
- Justin Miles as Scotty McGregor
- Marian GreenMarian GreenMarian Green is an author who has been working in the field of ceremonial and folk magic since the early 1960s. She has also organized a conference every March since 1968 to bring together writers and their readers, the Quest Conference. She has written more than a dozen books on ceremonial magic...
as Mrs. McGregor - E. Roger Mitchell as Tom
- Bruce Aune as News Anchor
Production
Much of the film was shot in Middle Georgia, and Lenox, IowaLenox, Iowa
Lenox is a city in Adams and Taylor counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 1,401 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lenox is located at ....
, with settings including the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Priester's Pecans in Perry, Georgia
Perry, Georgia
Perry is a city in Houston county in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Warner Robins, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,600 at the 2000 census. This town is the county seat of Houston County...
, the Fountain Car Wash in Macon, Georgia
Macon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
, areas in Dublin, Georgia
Dublin, Georgia
Dublin is a city in Laurens County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 16,201. The city is the county seat of Laurens County.-History:The original settlement was named after the city Dublin, Ireland....
, Peach County High School in Fort Valley, Georgia
Fort Valley, Georgia
Fort Valley is a city in and the county seat of Peach County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 9,815.Fort Valley is the corporate headquarters of the Blue Bird Corporation, a large manufacturer of buses...
, and areas of Cordele, Georgia (the truck stop used during filming is an old TravelCenters of America site). The film was produced and distributed by Overture Films
Overture Films
Overture Films, LLC is an American film production and distribution company. It is a subsidiary of Liberty Media ....
. The special effects were created by Robert Green Hall.
Make-up
The make-up for the film was designed by Almost Human Studios, who also did makeup for other horror films such as QuarantineQuarantine (film)
Quarantine is a 2008 American horror film, directed by John Erick Dowdle and starring Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Columbus Short, Steve Harris, Rade Šerbedžija, Greg Germann, Bernard White, and Johnathon Schaech. The film is a remake of the Spanish horror film REC with a few exceptions such...
, Frankenfish
Frankenfish
Frankenfish is a 2004 creature horror movie dealing with genetically engineered fish in the bayou. The film was based on the snakehead fish incident in a Crofton, Maryland, pond...
and Prom Night
Prom Night (2008 film)
Prom Night is a 2008 horror film from Screen Gems directed by Nelson McCormick and starring Brittany Snow. The film is a re-imagining of the 1980 Canadian horror film of the same name.-Plot:...
. Director Breck Eisner's first visions of what the infected would look like were zombies. He and the makeup crew made many molds and sketches of what the infected should look like, with deformities and skin hanging off and so forth. Eventually, he grew tired of the "zombie" look which he believed to be too cliché and decided to go for a more realistic "go under the skin," in which the blood vessels would appear to be bursting forth and face and neck muscles and tendons tight and wrought. Eisner has described this look as "hyper alive."
The director's one and only rule for the makeup design was that they would have to research in medical books and consult medical professionals for the design of the infected. Lead make-up artist Rob Hall said "If we were to pitch something to Breck, about, if you know, one side of his face should look like this, Breck would immediately want to know what disease it came from, and what version of reality it could be implemented into Trixie. But the most important thing was to make sure it felt real. Make it feel like you could get it, too." The basis of the makeup the crew used was mainly rabies
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
, tetanus
Tetanus
Tetanus is a medical condition characterized by a prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle fibers. The primary symptoms are caused by tetanospasmin, a neurotoxin produced by the Gram-positive, rod-shaped, obligate anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani...
and Stevens–Johnson syndrome.
Each "Crazie" design has about 21 separate pieces that took over three hours to apply for the final effect seen in the film. Robert stated the final effect in the film seen was not just the makeup, but the lighting, camera angles, and post-production effects were the main factor. The main theme for the design was "stress." He has stated he wanted the "Crazies" to look stressed out. The veins and eyes were the main focus of the design. The contact lenses covered the actors' entire eyes and required eyedrops every five minutes to prevent permanent eye damage.
Release
The film premiered on February 24, 2010 in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and received a wide release in the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on February 26, 2010. The Canadian DVD and Blu-ray Disc were released June 29, 2010. The DVD and Blu-ray Disc + Digital Copy
Digital copy
Digital Copy provides consumers who purchase a film on DVD or Blu-ray Disc with an additional, digital copy of the movie for devices capable of operating with a file in contrast to a DVD.-Features:...
combo pack was released in the North America on June 29, 2010 and in the UK on July 19.
Critical reception
Reviews for the film have been generally positive. Based on 137 reviews collected by Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, the film has an overall approval rating of 71%, with an average score of 6.4/10. The site's consensus states the film is "Tense, nicely shot, and uncommonly intelligent, The Crazies is the rare horror remake that works." By contrast, Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a "mixed or average" score of 55% based on 30 reviews.
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips (critic)
Michael Phillips is a film critic for the Chicago Tribune newspaper. Previously he was the drama critic of the Tribune; the Los Angeles Times; the St. Paul Pioneer Press; the San Diego Union-Tribune; and the Dallas Times Herald....
of The Chicago Tribune awarded the film 3½ stars of 4 commenting that he "greatly prefer this cleverly sustained and efficiently relentless remake to the '73 edition. It is lean and simple." Eric M. Armstrong of The Moving Arts Film Journal
The Moving Arts Film Journal
The Moving Arts Film Journal is an online film journal known for its academic essays on the cultural and societal relevance of film, often offering scathing reviews of movies perceived to be low-brow, while at the same time recognizing all forms of cinema as note-worthy including often neglected...
wrote that "The Crazies is a solid B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
and one of the few remakes that actually surpasses the original." Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Ty Burr has been a film critic for the Boston Globe since 2002 where he reviews films alongside Wesley Morris.Born in 1957, he studied film at Dartmouth College and New York University and has written three books: The Hundred Greatest Movies of All Time, The Hundred Greatest Stars of All Time and...
of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
gave the film 3/4 stars touting the film as "extremely solid stuff – about as good as you could hope from a B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
retread." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
film critic Dennis Harvey also praised the film, writing "While not a slam dunk, this revamp by helmer Breck Eisner (of the enjoyable but underperforming Sahara
Sahara (2005 film)
Sahara is a 2005 action-comedy adventure film directed by Breck Eisner and based on the best-selling book of the same name by Clive Cussler...
) emerges an above-average genre piece that's equal parts horror-meller and doomsday action thriller.
However, Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
graded the film a C, writing, "I don't care how this premise has been dressed up, we've seen it a jillion times before." Mike Hale of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote a mixed review stating "The filmmakers seem so determined to make a serious, respectable horror movie that they have only the bare minimum of fun." Amy Biancolli, writing for San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, wrote that the remake "boasts less of the plot and fewer characters than the original, but the hairdos are spiffier and the special effects have graduated from cheapo stage blood to the extravagant gross-outs that horror audiences now routinely expect."
Box office
The film opened at #3 behind Cop Out and Shutter Island with $16,067,552. By May 2010, the film has grossed an estimated $50 million worldwide.Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | People's Choice Award | Favorite Horror Movie |
Comic book
On February 17, 2010, iTunesITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
released a graphic novel adaptation of the film. A comic book was also released chronicling how the virus was spread. It went on for four issues.
Browser game
On February 24, 2010, Starz Digital MediaStarz!
Starz is an American premium subscription channel that features mainly first-run motion pictures, along with some original programming...
released a Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
game based on the film.