Watch The Crazies For Free

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Romero once again does a good job of telling a compelling story full of social commentary, all the while getting good performances out of his actors. The stand-outs for me were Lloyd Hollar and Richard France, both of whom give intense performances, as their characters are constantly at each others throats. Will MacMillan is fairly straight-lace as the hero, and Lane Caroll is sweet and likable as the love-interest (she also shows off her titties in the beginning) - the ending is where they get to shine, in a tear-jerking scene. My only gripe is the lack of 'crazies', where as in contrast, Romero's zombie movies are full of said menace. Still, the threat of the 'crazy-virus' looms over the entire story, enough to imbue a sense of urgency to everything. This movie is an interesting foot-note in the zombie dominated career of the legendary Mr. Romero, and should not be overlooked.

The military attempts to contain a man-made combat virus that causes death and permanent insanity in those infected, as it overtakes a small Pennsylvania town.This project began life with Paul McCollough, who authored a screenplay entitled The Mad People. The script dealt with a military bioweapon that was accidentally released into a small town, with the military subsequently trying to cover up the incident and the townspeople revolting. Romero revealed that the military subplot was only featured in the first act of the script, and the rest of the film focused on the survivors and their attempts to cope with what was happening. The director called McCollough's script "very existential and heady".The screenplay was read by Lee Hessel, a producer who owned Cambist Films (best known for 1960s sexploitation films) and with whom Romero had previously worked on "There's Always Vanilla" (1971). Hessel expressed interest in it and offered to finance it as Romero's next film, but only if the director would be willing to rewrite McCollough's screenplay to focus on what Hessel considered the most interesting ingredient of the story, namely the military takeover of the town, which occurred in the first 10 to 20 pages.This is the first film from Romero with a "real" budget of $270,000 and the first time he employed a cinematographer other than himself (Bill Hinzman, best known as the first zombie in "Night of the Living Dead").In retrospect, the best casting decision was Lynn Lowry. At this point, she had made "I Drink Your Blood" (1970) and Oliver Stone's "Sugar Cookies" (1973), more or less getting discovered by a young Lloyd Kaufman. She would go on to become a horror icon, and is part of the reason "The Crazies" is better remembered today than the other Romero films of the 1970s. Co-star Will McMillan was fairly new, having just wrapped on the forgotten "White Rat" (1972). Today, horror fans may recognize him from "Christmas Evil" (1980).some of the film anticipates both "Dawn" and "Day", such as the group dynamics and the questionable, less-than-heroic portrayal of the military. We also get an early appearance from Michael Gornick, who would be a regular Romero team member going into the 1980s. And music from Bruce Roberts, who would go on to be a major writer of disco songs; this was his first of many film credits. Richard Liberty would return in "Day".Arrow Films Blu-ray full of interviews with the likes of Lynn Lowry (covering her entire early career), and an audio commentary by Travis Crawford. The commentary is delivered so fast, you get enough factoids for three commentary tracks. Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz takes us on a guided tour of Evans City, Pennsylvania. There is an audio interview with producer Lee Hessel (who seems somewhat incoherent) and behind-the-scenes footage with optional commentary by Lawrence DeVincentz. Oh, and that 4K scan? Holy smokes! I had no idea the film could look this good.

Although this is a motion picture very much of its era, it is still one of the finest cautionary tales ever filmed regarding the threat of biological warfare and the terror of an unknown rampaging virus. Director George Romero uses his camera in a scalpel-like manner as he shocks the audience out of their senses and brings the unholy horror to life in graphic detail. This is truly a nearly brilliant movie that is bound to chill your very blood as the characters portrayed superbly by a gifted cast face one of human kind's most seminal fears: contagion spreading like wildfire. Not only one of the greatest horror films ever made and a Romero masterpiece, The Crazies retains its power even all these years after its original production. Unrelenting suspense, unforgettable imagery, and stunning fear. These are only a few of the elements that will assault you as you become engulfed by the breathtaking horror that is The Crazies.

George Romero is probably most famous for his 1978 film 'Dawn of the Dead' which was the second in a series of zombie movies which each reflected society at the time. With The Crazies, instead of zombies eating live humans, this movie is more along the lines of I Drink Your Blood (1970) and Warning Sign (1985). Romero creates a disturbing, cautionary story of a virus known as Trixie which turns people from a small town into psychopathic murderers bent on killing everyone in sight, whether it be their husbands, wives, children, neighbors, it quickly becomes a fight for survival, if survival is even possible. Luckily a small number of people are escaping the epidemic, but along the way they lose support from everyone, including the military, which was responsible for engineering the virus in the first place.The Crazies is exciting, non-stop suspense, and unlike horror movies made today, in this movie you actually get attached to the characters and want them to escape the terror, it definitely keeps you watching 'till the end. It has eerie soundtrack, decent acting (Lynn Lowry from I Drink Your Blood is actually in it as well). It has that grainy, nostalgic feel to it because it was filmed back in '73, I miss that look of old films.Once again Romero has made his mark in the horror genre with a movie that is timeless and exciting and creepy all at once. I'd recommend it to any horror fan, it's definitely worth it!