THE CRAZIES (1973 - Cert 18)

I like to consider myself a fan of George A Romero's catalogue. Although my patience has been tried by some of his more recent offerings, The Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, in particular, are two big favourites of mine. Having said that, I must admit that The Crazies, made back in 1973, passed me by. It wasn't until recently, when I saw a trailer for the recent remake (for which Romero was an executive producer) that I really became aware of it's existence. I've had the remake on my 'high priority' list with Lovefilm for months now, but they seem completely unwilling to let me see it. So as I pottered around HMV in Selfridges I saw, for the small sum of £7, the original and the remake, packaged together. I immediately grabbed it and headed straight to the counter.

Wanting to be seen to do the right thing, I decided to watch the almost forty year old original first. You have to do these things properly don't you?



As a fan of Romero's gift of creating horror films, that not only shock, but also have the ability to generate laughter and also make not exactly subtle political statements, I knew I was on safe and familiar ground five minutes in. Set in a small rural American town, the film shows how the military try to contain a man-made, biological weapon, virus and prevent an nationwide epidemic. When I say virus, we aren't talking about Dustin Hoffman and Rene Russo chasing monkey here. What we have here is something that has no effect on the appearance of those infected, but it drives it's victims mad, their brains might turn to mush or they might turn into bloodthirsty murderers. I know what you're thinking, sounds a bit like Zombies. The set up might sound similar, but this is a very different beast.

There are effectively two separate things going on in The Crazies. The first is the unsettling thought of your friends and family looking fine on the surface but ultimately going 'postal' and coming after you or just going absolutely potty. The opening scene is a cracking and disturbing way to kicks things off. Two kids peering round the corner watching their dad lose the plot, smashing the place up. Without giving anything away, once that scene is over, you know that this is a movie, and a film maker, that isn't going to play by the rules.

The other thing that the film focuses on is the part played by the army. The Crazies was made at a time when America was involved in the Vietnam war and you can tell, without being an expert on the subject, that this was very much on Romero's mind when he made it. The military wade in with no plan, a policy of 'shoot first, think second'. Consequently things don't exactly go to plan and the population of the town fight back and the army have no idea who 'the crazies' are. Romero captures the panic perfectly, no one knows what is happening, people want answers and the army just keep rounding people up. A doctor is sent straight to the infected zone with no thought, or equipment, and is left totally useless. For large parts of the 90 minute running time, it isn't a horror film at all, but a violent farce, a satirical critique of American military policy. What is interesting is that almost four decades on, the film is still applicable, all be it to a different conflict in a different part of the world.

It isn't pretty, not by a long chalk. It's rough and ready, the acting is far from great, the effects are dated, but that is something that can be said of a lot of Romero's films. 'It's the thought that counts' - I know it's an age old expression, but I really think it's appropriate for him and his films. With that in mind, it's classic Romero and is up there with Dawn of the Dead, although a lot more serious in tone without the cheeky black humour. It also has one of the most eerie endings to a film I've seen in a long time, that is still floating around my head a week since I saw it. There is no big victory at the end for mankind or the army, it's very matter-of-fact, and one final damning verdict on the military might of Uncle Sam.