Blu-ray of the Day: The Crazies

Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker.
Director: Breck Eisner.
Screenplay: Scott Kosar, Ray Wright.
Score: Mark Isham.
Cinematography: Maxime Alexandre.

This is a riveting re-make of George A Romero’s 1973 horror movie of the same name, about the citizens of a small town in Iowa who are quarantined by the military after being infected with a virus that turns them into homicidal maniacs. It sounds like the premise for yet another zombie meat derby but the filmmakers exercise unusual intelligence, restraint and craftsmanship, making The Crazies, with its Invasion of the Body Snatchers overtones, a fun and suspenseful cut above its ilk. The Blu-ray transfer is exceptional while the solid extras include a concise director’s commentary, an excellent visual effects demo and a tribute to the political horror sub-genre that’s generously credited to Romero (some of whose classics, including Night of the Living Dead, are about to be released on Blu-ray).

Movie: 😀 😀 😀 😀
Image: 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
Extras: 😀 😀 😀 😀

Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Danielle Panabaker, Joe Russell.