Breck Eisner's “The Crazies”
This is a remake of a 1973 film of the same name. The story revolves around the sheriff of a small rural town in Iowa, whose residents start becoming violent after being accidentally exposed to unknown toxin introduced into the water supply via a crashed military plane.
It had some decent suspense, some moments that made you jump a little, and a plot that wasn't totally devoid of substance. However, it was entirely predictable. Nothing happened in the story that was unexpected, and the people who died definitely had it coming from a mile away.
There weren't any moments that had me on the edge of my seat, and there were a few scenes that really seemed like filler to pad up the last half of the movie, which was about walking from point A to point B. I also could have done without the screaming teenage girls in the seats behind me.
This is further testament to exactly why I don't like to going to movies as soon as they come out. The theatres are always filled with jackasses, and you can never find a seat you like. One of my friends can't understand why I like to go to movies on closing night for the late show when absolutely nobody is there, but seriously, which would you rather sit through, screaming teenagers, or have a theatre all to yourself?
My overall rating for The Crazies is:
5.5/10
It gains points for having an okay plot, some suspense, and a few memorable moments, as well as once scene that had me audibly saying “Oh no! That's a terrible idea, don't do that!”
It loses big points though for being predictable. This movie had nothing in it that surprised or shocked me. There was a scene that takes place in a car-wash, and the entire time I just zoned out. It was obvious filler, and nothing important happened. I'm not a fan of the horror genre, and while this is far from being a perfect example of why I don't like the genre, it pretty much punctuated my thoughts about scary movies perfectly. But this one looked okay from the previews which is why when I got invited to see the movie, I jumped at the chance. It's watchable, make no mistake, but otherwise isn't noteworthy.
What would have really picked this movie up, is if there was some government intrigue over this crashed plane that's poisoning people, rather than the quick write-off explanation the movie gave. There was a lot of potential here, but it failed to deliver.
In summary, if you like horror movies, this is one I can recommend to you. If not, you should do what I did the next evening to cleanse my palate, and go watch The Usual Suspects; A movie whose plot has more twists than a bag of Old Dutch Popcorn Twists.
And believe you me, that's a lot of twists.
2 comments:
yeh i generally don't go to movies opening night. But you have stupid people in a theatre any night you go too.
Going to a movie opening night is awesome! Nobody's seen the movie yet. The place is packed and everyone's excited! There's a sense of camaraderie I suppose since we're all there for the same purpose.
On the downside, going to a movie opening night means that unless you are at the front of the line, you'll get stuck with bad seats and have to crane your neck up and to the side to see anything.
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