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The Crazies (1973) - (Blu-ray)
Few filmmakers over the course of their career have had the impact that George A. Romero has. But when you make classics of the genre like “Night of the Living Dead”, “Dawn of the Dead” and “Creepshow” it’s not really hard to understand why. But for some reason Romero has had a few really good films in his career basically fall under the radar for even horror fans one of those being his 1973 effort, “The Crazies”.
“The Crazies” is set in the small town of Evans City Pennsylvania (the real life town where Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” was shot) in which the whole town is thrown into a panic as people seem to be completely losing their minds and turning on their loved ones. It seems as if a chemical has been released in the town and is having damning effects on those who lived there. We are introduced to David, Clank, Judy, Kathie and Artie a group of people who escape military custody to find out just what is happening the whole time having to worry about the government agents looking for them, avoiding other “crazies” and attempting to make that they don’t contract the virus.
I know it’s getting cliche’ at this point to talk about the underlying subject matter of a George Romero film at this point, but that’s what “The Crazies” is all about. On the surface it’s a survival story, but underneath there’s some substance about how controlling and untrustworthy the government really is. But then again it smacks you right in the face watching it so I don’t really find it necessary to go into further detail in the review other than to say that it doesn’t detract in your enjoyment of the film.
Another major selling point for this film would have to be some of the cast members that are on display in this one. First off you get a incredibly underrated performance from actor Richard Liberty who would go on to work with Romero again in his 1985 zombie masterpiece “Day of the Dead”. Liberty plays the role of Artie a father in the film conflicted with his passion and desire a little bit more than he is trying to survive. His daughter in the film is played by cult favorite Lynn Lowry in what is probably her most popular role to date with genre fans. Unlike in the film “I Drink Your Blood” that she previously starred in Lowry actually gets to say some lines here and is more to the story than a pretty mute. She really does well and carries herself in a very realistic manner which reminds me of another character from the world of Romero (Judith O’Dea’s character of Barbara from the original “Night of the Living Dead” comes to mind).
The story and flow of “The Crazies” is rather frantic at times but in a movie of this type I think that adds to the way the story is perceived. That’s something that I’ve always enjoyed about “The Crazies” is that the panic going on in the film itself is conveyed very well on screen making it that much more effective.
Now since we’re talking about the Blu-ray edition from the fine folks at Blue Underground I would say that it’s about time we talk about the way this bad boy looks in the old Blu-ray player. At first I have to say that I wasn’t expecting much from this one. I mean it’s a lower budgeted movie from 1973 and I just didn’t think that much could be done with this one. Man oh man was I ever wrong about that. “The Crazies” looks stunning on Blu-ray and I mean stunning. The colors in the movie are as vivid and dazzling on the eyes and you can really get a glimpse into the filmmaker that was gearing up to make “Dawn of the Dead”. Because of this you really see the deep colors and definition that everything in the movie has and it’s really a different kind of experience. The red fire trucks at the beginning of the film look insane compared to watching this one on VHS or even DVD. The scenes toward the end of the film with Lynn Lowry running through a field looks heavenly and just about everything else in the middle looks great too. Blue Underground has really impressed me with the work being put into their Blu-ray releases and how great they look is proof of that. Kudos to them and nice to see that genre fans still have a company out there kicking ass for them!
The special features on the Blu-ray are the same pretty much to the features on the DVD and if that’s what’s going to make you upgrade then you probably aren’t going to be happy. It comes complete with commentary from George Romero, a featurette about Lynn Lowry called “The Cult Film Legacy of Lynn Lowry” (which is in standard def, but is totally worth a look if you’ve never seen it) as well as theatrical trailers and TV spots for the film as well.
Overall I love the movie “The Crazies” and completely recommend it to anyone out there who is into Romero films. Others can still enjoy this one as it’s a pretty well put together film with some important things to say. Plus if you’re a fan of Romero’s Dawn it’s safe to say that you need to do yourself a favor and see this one on Blu-ray. You’ll see the filmmaker you come to love because of Dawn, starting to mold into that filmmaker with this project. It’s pretty amazing honestly and is something I’ll be watching again and again over the years. RECOMMENDED.
Blu-ray Rating - ***
Film Rating - ***
-Ed Demko
