In 1968, a then-little-known filmmaker by the name of George A. Romero was on his way to becoming a Horror icon with the release of Night of the Living Dead. Considering one of the greatest and most influential Horror films of all time, in the years to follow Night of the Living Dead, Romero worked on several other projects, including 1971’s There’s Always Vanilla and 1972’s Season of the Witch. However, in 1973, he returned to the Horror realm with his often-overlooked film The Crazies. Although not a wide release but more a limited release in theaters, this month in Horror movie history, back in 1973, The Crazies arrived.
Originally released in theaters on March 16, 1973, The Crazies would find Romero tackling the idea of survival and how people react in the face of adversity. Inspired by Paul McCollough’s story The Mad People, The Crazies screenplay by Romero morphed a bit from his original draft of survival, more toward focusing upon a plot where a small town is affected by a biological weapon that drives them into deranged violence, which results in Martial Law and military occupancy of their town.
A bit of a social commentary, like most Romero films, in The Crazies, you have the terror of both being infected by a manmade virus that drives you mad, but also the impending doom of being obliterated by a nuclear weapon set off by the military to eradicate the problem. With high tension all around, The Crazies has a good pace and a compelling story. It also has some solid acting, with a cast of Will McMillian (who starred in 1976’s The Enforcer, among other films), Lana Carroll, Lloyd Hollar, Harold Wayne Jones, Richard France (who was also featured in Romero’s 1978 classic Dawn of the Dead), as well as Lynn Lowry (a Horror icon with countless credits including 1975’s Shivers and 1982’s Cat People).
With this team in place, The Crazies was filmed outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in Evans City and Zelienople. Similar to other Romero films, which are almost always filmed in the surrounding Pittsburgh area, The Crazies was also underscored by Romero’s ability to make everyone feel like an important part of the team. In fact, film star Lynn Lowry stated in a 2019 interview with Cryptic Rock Magazine –
“It was wonderful to work with George and get to know him over the years. I did a few conventions with George, and I kind of learned from watching him how he treated the fans. He was so humble and so appreciative. He had enormously long lines of people; he would spend time with each person, shake their hands, look them in the eyes, and answer their questions. It was really inspiring to see that. I loved working with George!“
Unfortunately, The Crazies was not a major success at the box office, and this could have largely been due to poor distribution, which limited its exposure to larger audiences. Either way, the film is quite enjoyable, and some could see it as a prelude to what Romero did five years later with the stunning 1978 classic Dawn of the Dead.
Beyond the initial theatrical release, The Crazies eventually jumped to VHS and Betamax in the 1980s. Leaping forward to 2003, a DVD release arrived before a Blu-ray release in 2010 (both from Blue Underground). Then, it was offered as a 4K restoration in 2017 by Arrow Video as part of their George A. Romero: Between Night and Dawn set before the company put out the most complete edition of the film ever in 2018 as a lovely standalone 4K UHD Blu-ray.
This has allowed people plenty of chances to catch the film and give it a longer shelf life. Also, let us not forget that The Crazies was also remade for a theatrical release in 2010. Having Romero as the executive producer, the remake scored very well among audiences. With that being said, in the eyes of more dedicated Horror fans, nothing will ever beat Romero’s original.
Overall, 1973’s The Crazies is a lost gem from George A. Romero’s collection worth going a little wild for.
){kind=link}
No comment