I viewed George A. Romero's "The Crazies" as part of my exposure therapy, or unhealthy obsession with, the current coronavirus pandemic, as the film is about a viral outbreak, which in this case turns people, well, crazy--oft, homicidally so. Unlike the 2010 remake, this one doesn't waste time with a gradual buildup to the action, jumping right into the lunacy, with a military quarantine and a rebellious townsfolk. There's the blatant allegory here to the Vietnam War and the political turmoil and distrust of the 1970s. All of that is lost in the remake. Moreover, there's the thrill here of the exploitation genre, of guerrilla filmmaking and with lots of blood splatter and a bit of gratuitous nudity. Whether an acute depiction of mass hysteria, or merely hysterical, "The Crazies" earns its status as a cult classic.
Review of The Crazies
