A reformatted remake of George A. Romero’s 1973 thriller of the same name, The Crazies tells the story of a military designed virus that accidentally contaminates a small towns’ drinking water, infecting the citizens with a maddening disease. The film follows four individuals as they try to escape their infected town.

CAN I HELP YOU, SIR? Timothy Olyphant plays David, a sheriff trying to escape the horrifically diseased citizens of his town.

The Crazies is a surprisingly well done film, with beautiful cinematography, a quick-paced storyline and outstanding performances from its actors. This film uses gore and violence combined with an unobtrusive score to produce a marriage of disparity and horror.

The cinematography is unusual for a horror film as Eisner — for the most part — strays away from the overused shaky hand-held camera and short, quick shots typical of the genre. Instead, the majority of the film’s clear, focused shots result in some desktop worthy backgrounds.

Most horror scripts struggle to instill dramatic appeal into the film and end up complicating the narrative or slowing down the pace. The plot for The Crazies hardly falters or regresses with unnecessary character development, but rather lets the story unfold naturally.

The cast is mainly comprised of B-List actors, many unrecognizable. But overall the acting is believable, with actors each getting a chance to slay some diseased creep lurking in the shadows. Anderson — previously seen in Across the Universe — delivers a great performance as Russell Clank, while Olyphant and Mitchell give decent performances as married couple David and Judy Dutton.

Mark Isham’s original score does a good job in creating ambience and evoking sadness and distress, with the music enhancing each scene rather than overpowering it.

However, the film isn’t without its flaws. The beginning seems somewhat melodramatic and a bit slow as it attempts to introduce the conflict. It also enlists predictable horror film techniques such as sudden movements and loud shrieking noises. The continuous bombardment of near death experiences makes parts of the film seem redundant.

Compared to Romero’s original conception of The Crazies, the remake is much more relaxed when addressing the political points, revamping and veiling them with blood and gore.

The Crazies is one of Eisner’s first films to go mainstream, and it is an impressive result for a relatively amateur director. It not only focuses on scare tactics, but it also devotes effort to the visual presentation of the film and soundtrack.

It should come as no surprise the violence is graphic and considering the subject matter, the film is perhaps not the best choice for a hypochondriac or those afraid of the dark.