johnlink re-ranks THE CRAZIES (2010)
At the beginning of the year, I mentioned that I would probably re-rank films I had written about in the past two years. It took me until the end of October to watch something I had seen that recently. So here it is, my first re-ranking. When I do these, I plan to read my original article, but not look at the scores I gave it. I don’t want to repeat myself in the article, but I don’t want my previous numbers to effect my decision on what to score the title. SPOILERS below, so see my first article for a spoiler free ranking.
I watched THE CRAZIES (2010) on 10.29.11. It was my second viewing of the film. Original article here.
In my original article I called this film ‘above-average if not spectacular’. While I may not go as far, still, to say that this is a spectacular classic, I would say that it is more than merely above-average. I appreciated much more on the second viewing. I would go far as to say it is my favorite horror flick made in the past five years or so. It has a high rewatchability factor, and it is a very solid flick.
A few observations. First, I like that in the writing of this film our four heroes aren’t just immune to the virus. While there is a question of who has it and when (does Becky have it, for example, or not. We never know), it is not as simple as the heroes are free of it.
Secondly, the shot selection in this is wonderful. I love a lot of the images that this movie provides us with, and consider this a success on a visual level.
Thirdly, I was trying to decide what I thought of the ending and why. SPOILER ALERT. Do not read this paragraph if you have not seen the film… When David and Judy walk into the city in the last moments, we see the satellite mark the city for destruction, the way it did for the small town at the film’s opening. The idea is that either one of them must be infected, or the computer (or the person monitoring it) is unwilling to risk the possibility that they might be. I like to think it is the second option, if only because I want so desperately for this couple to survive. I hate endings which merely kill the heroes, so I liked this film’s choice better than making that decision. But on first viewing, I didn’t feel the sense of ‘alright, here we go again’ in a good way like I did at the end of, say, RESIDENT EVIL when you know more is to come. On my first viewing I took that as a negative. But after watching this again, I take it as a positive. See, this film makes you care about the lead couple in a real way. I don’t want them to have to go through it all again, I worry they might not survive the ordeal. It’s not that I don’t want to see a sequel, it’s that I genuinely worry that another round of what they just went through would kill them. All of this leads me to realize just how much I like this movie, just how wrapped up in it I got.
Yes there are cliches. Liz pointed out a moment when a knife is in a perfectly convenient spot. And often times the virus-infected take too long to make a decision, but only when confronting a main character. Fair enough, those are the things you expect out of a horror flick. They stand out a little more in THE CRAZIES because so much of what goes on is so well done.
The music in this is absolutely great. Love the choices, starting with some Johnny Cash to introduce the folkiness of the small town.
I really like this movie. I’m glad I watched it again. I will certainly put it on my list of movies I’m willing to throw in at any time.
SCORES
FILM: 7; MOVIE: 9; ACTING: 7; WRITING: 6
7+9+7+6+0= 29
FINAL SCORE: 7.25
Now, looking back on what I originally scored it, I gave it
6;8;6;5;1, with a bonus for music. With a final score of 6.5
I guess the music didn’t strike me as a bonus point this time, though I do mention above that i really enjoyed it. But it is interesting that each category went up exactly one spot.
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