Though it shares some small-town horror elements with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968), THE CRAZIES is broader in scope and deals with Evans City, a small PA town north of Pittsburgh faced with an unexpected disaster. When a military plane crashes nearby and releases its deadly cargo into the water supply, those exposed either die or, well, go crazy. After the Army moves in to cut off the town and prevent the virus from spreading across the country, a band of locals finds themselves on the run.
Had Romero kept the story focused on their struggle to survive/escape, THE CRAZIES might be more successful. Unfortunately, he tries to juggle a half-dozen storylines, including frustrated military personnel, government brass wrestling with the idea of having to nuke the town, a scientist searching for a cure, and squads of gas-mask-clad soldiers trying to round up the locals who are becoming more and more resistant. The result is a lot of shouting, overacting, and dialogue filtered through radio speakers or muffled gas masks.
Eventually, THE CRAZIES finds its footing and focuses on buddies Dave and Clank, and Dave’s pregnant girlfriend, Judy, a nurse for the local doctor. Can they get past the Army’s tightening perimeter? Will the military seal off Evans City and find a cure? Will the politicians really nuke a small town in order to save their own ass?
THE CRAZIES is as ambitious as hell but may have been better suited to Romero’s “studio” days after the cult success of DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978). (It was remade in 2010 with Timothy Olyphant and Danielle Panabaker.) There are definite seeds of DAWN in the film’s core relationship—the levelheaded hero and his increasingly loose-cannon sidekick—but by the time you care about them it’s a bit too late. — Dan Taylor
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