The Crazies (2010)

Prior to watching this film, I had no idea that it was a remake. After watching this, I am actually quite interested in seeing the original film. This film, in a lot of ways, reminded me of Fear the Walking Dead (2015)--particularly the first season. From the general confusion of the outbreak to the insane military presence, much of what took place over the course of the first few seasons of Fear the Walking Dead is represented in this film. Making this connection makes me wonder if any themes, ideas and/or scenes from FTWD were in any way inspired by this film. I thought the acting in this film, from the star (Timothy Olyphant) to even the uncredited extras, was done superbly. Even with this strange story and with all of the insane things taking place from start to finish, the actors made everything believable. I thought that Joe Anderson’s Russell was the most enjoyable character in the film. While, for a good portion of the film, Russell was a pain in the behind, his character was possibly the most relatable. During an outbreak such as the one in the film, most people would be unable to play the hero and would likely deal with anxiety and would not necessarily be themselves throughout the entire process; Anderson’s character encompassed all of that. Moreover, even with his downside, he was the one that was able to eventually do what was necessary to save the people he cared about. There is one scene in which Russell is changing the tires on a vehicle and he is “removing” the lug nuts by turning them clockwise. While this is minor, it was just something small that I felt shouldn’t have been overlooked. With the exception of this minor oversight, I thought that the film was done exceptionally well and that (even though I have not yet seen the original) Breck Eisner, Scott Kosar and Ray Wright did the original justice. If I had to find one more thing to complain about, it could potentially be the very end of the film. What happens is left completely up to discussion. I choose, however, not to complain because I enjoy that there are a number of possibilities left up to the audience. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455407/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1