In Pierce County, Iowa, the Sheriff David (Timothy Olyphant) is forced to kill the local Rory Hamill (Mike Hickman) that is threatening the community in a baseball game with a rifle and an insane behavior. Then his wife Dr. Judy (Radha Mitchell) examines another local, Bill Farnum (Brett Rickaby),who has a strange behavior. In the night, Bill traps his wife and son in the room and then he burns their house to the ground. On the next morning, David and his Deputy Russell Clank (Joe Anderson) are called by three hunters that had found a dead pilot in the Hopman Bog. David and Russell find a big airplane in the bottom of the bog. Sooner the army seals off the town and imprisons the population in tents and concentration camps. David, Russell, Judy and her assistant Becca (Danielle Panabaker) escape and sooner they discover that the plane was airborne with a biological weapon and crashed contaminating the water supply of the population. Further, there is no antidote for the victims that are doomed to die or become incurably mad. The quartet tries to find a breach in the containment to reach the next town, but the escapees are hunted by the army.

I usually hate remakes, but "The Crazies" (2010) is a rare case when the remake is better than the original film of George Romero. The tense plot is slightly different from the original story of 1973 that reflected the paranoia of those years of Cold War. Further, the plot focuses in the personal drama of David and Judy and not in the military action like in the 1973 movie. The screenplay, direction and performances are above average and this film worth watching. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Epidemia" ("The Epidemics")

Let's face it, George Romero's '70s toxic-infection movie THE CRAZIES isn't one of his best movies. In fact it's an instantly forgettable piece that holds nothing like the same kind of power as his living dead trilogy. A good choice, then, for a remake, with the chance to improve on the flaws.

Except THE CRAZIES remake is no improvement. It is an equally forgettable movie, one which seems to possess no originality or unique features of its own. The story, about townsfolk becoming infected by some pollution, is predictable and the film that plays out is entirely familiar. Although the infected aren't technically zombies, this might as well be a zombie movie for all the difference it makes.

The faults definitely lie with the script, which took about three guys to write (always a bad sign). The production values are decent, and the film bags a great leading actor in Timothy Olyphant (much better in his everyman role here than in the ludicrous Hit-man). A shame that so much is so overly familiar, then. Radha Mitchell's whiny, screaming wife fares particularly badly - why are we still getting female roles like this in modern cinema? And that ending - really?

Overall, the movie isn't particularly bad, and if you've never seen a film like this before then you'll probably be shocked, surprised and caught up in a genuinely exciting thriller. If, like me, you've seen it all before, you'll probably sit back at the end and wish for Hollywood movies that contain interesting characters for a change, not the routine hero/villain types played out here. How about making the main character a coward who abandons his family and colleagues in fear? I'd pay to see that...

Very rarely I find a good horror that I can watch over and over! This certainly is one a rare one. I have watched this about a dozen times now and it keeps me interested each time. Now that is a good story line!!! They have combined two of my favourite types of movies in one. Just won't spoil it for you! Enjoy.......