I own the new one (haven’t watched it yet) but I figured i should know the original before the remake. Seeing as how Romero’s name is attached to this one, I already knew what I was getting into.
The Crazies is about a town, a quaint little town with a problem. You see there was a plane crash just outside of town, but not just any old plane. This plane was carrying a biological weapon. This weapon then “leaked” into the water supply of the town and has started to drive the locals mad. The Army has been called in to quarantine the town and try to control the population. Shockingly enough, the population is not that into it.
Stripping away all the blood and death, this movie is really just about boundaries and what happens when they are crossed. No one likes to be ordered around, and when it’s done at gun point by people that you are supposed to trust, it’s ten times worse.
By the end of the movie the main characters pregnant wife is goes mad with the virus (named Trixie apparently). The hero of the film is then taken into custody and put in with the rest of “The Crazies” in the local high school. The scene that follows is very quick but very poignant. As he is brought into the school he locks eyes with the Army Col. in charge. He just been told that they are shipping him off to St. Louis to try to stop another outbreak there. As they see each other, one coming in one going out, it’s like they are the same person. Both caught up in the madness surrounding the outbreaks and each just giving in and going with it. Neither wants to be in the situation they are in, but they are both powerless to control it. Like I said, it’s a very very brief scene but it makes a solid point.
When you see Romero’s name attached to anything, it brings with it a certain stigma. His movies aren’t really known for being happy and full of rainbows. This was the first one that I have seen that actually made a good point about society as a whole. I’m pretty curious now to see if the remake actually keeps with the same message.
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