#21 - The Crazies (2010)


(dir. Breck Eisner)


After a military aircarft crashes near the small town of Ogden Marsh, several of the inhabitants begin to exhibit irrationally violent behavior.  It is soon discovered that the plane was carrying some kind of chemical weapon, which has since leaked into the town's water supply.  As more townspeople start to go berserk, the military moves in and quarantines the whole area, but they aren't exactly there to help.  This was a pretty interesting movie, combining elements of a zombie outbreak with "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"-style paranoia.

I thought that this was pretty good, although I didn't love it.  It hits all the right beats in terms of action, suspense, and scares, and features some very good acting.  The most effective parts of the film involved characters who were on the edge of turning "crazy" - the suspense of whether a loved one is about to turn on you is a really great and chilling idea.  However, I thought that the movie spent too much time focusing on the large scale military scenes, which weren't bad exactly, but not nearly as interesting as the tense drama happening on the small scale between the characters.

Even with that complaint, I did enjoy this one.  It's a very well made film with an interesting story, and it has some legitimately scary moments.  I haven't seen the original George A. Romero version yet, but I'm definitely interested in checking it out now.

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