The Crazies (1973)

(In French, On Cable TV, September 2019) Considering that much of the 2005–2015 decade felt like an overdose of zombie movies in theatres under every permutation, including a remake of The Crazies, I hope to be forgiven if I’m less than impressed by the original 1973 film. Cheap and dirty, this George A. Romero film does take its cues from Night of the Living Dead, but delivers its nightmare in colour and early 1970s atmosphere. Taking place in dingy government offices and the homely décors of small Midwestern towns, The Crazies portrays the earnest response when a deadly biological weapon contaminates the water system of a small town—government is early on the ground and all too eager to contain the threat by all means necessary, which means that our heroes in the quarantine zone don’t get much of a chance. It’s all gloomy and fatalistic and not much fun at all and, of course, that was the mood in the early 1970s. There’s an inherent grittiness to the result that works decently, but overall, it does feel like something that’s been done later in more successful ways. The film may have been ahead of its time, but that doesn’t make it any easier to watch today.