The Crazies
Overture Films | Release Date: February 26, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
13
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
I greatly prefer this cleverly sustained and efficiently relentless remake to the '73 edition. It is lean and simple. Read full review
83
ConsequenceScout TafoyaMar 31, 2020
It’s a thrilling rollercoaster designed for the theatre made by one of the few working directors who truly knows how to make movies for a theatre. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJohn Anderson
The big difference between Mr. Romero's film and Mr. Eisner's--which is so intelligent you fear the fanboys will scatter--is that Mr. Eisner never gives us the military's point of view. All we know is what David and Judy and Russell know, which for a long time isn't much. And The Crazies is all the scarier for it. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
You may not remember The Crazies in a month, but you'll have a grand time watching it. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Does what an exploitation movie should: It gets in, it scares you silly, and it gets out, all while playing fair by the audience. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
Despite a midfilm lull of his own, Eisner stages a series of nifty action sequences, nearly all of which feature a moment of surprise, as well as gruesome wit. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz
A lot of fun for horror fans, a nice little jaunt through paranoia and conspiracy theories. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
Part zombie movie, part apocalyptic bioterror, part military conspiracy thriller, the refit hybrid doesn't stint on the visceral kicks demanded by contemporary audiences while remaining reasonably true to those Romero roots. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis Harvey
Delivers the essential suspense goods with overall skill and a modicum of intelligence. Read full review
70
SlateDana Stevens
It lacks the fevered sincerity (and the political timeliness) of Romero's original, but it's tightly scripted, cleverly cast, consistently scary, occasionally funny--everything you could ask from a well-made and completely unnecessary remake. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorAndy Klein
While it loses the charm of Romero’s low-budget clunkiness, it is in all other regards superior. Unfortunately, it’s not better than “28 Days Later...,” which is close enough to count as an unofficial remake. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A perfectly competent genre film in a genre that has exhausted its interest for me, the Zombie Film. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Olyphant has a cool, amiable vibe, kind of postmodern Jimmy Stewart, while Mitchell brings intelligence and quietude to yet another role that doesn't deserve such consideration. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The Crazies is imperfect but it's made with a degree of assurance that will limit fidgeting and keep most horror-lovers involved for a majority of its running length. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Familiar B-movie fare, but it's also lively fun and presented with well-paced flair. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazinePete Hammond
An entertaining fright movie that’s crazy fun and full of genuine scares. Read full review
60
TimeRichard Corliss
It's an efficient thriller, with scare weapons ranging from the primitive (a pitchfork) to the apocalyptic (an A bomb). The acting is only horror-film-functional, and you might wish that our trio of renegades knew a few basic laws of the genre. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith Uhlich
Unlike Romero’s film, what’s missing is a trenchant sense of connection to our historical moment. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
The crazies themselves could be a lot more terrifying. Without the rotting ickiness of proper zombies, they just seem like methed-out Iowans looking for a fix. That’s scary, but not scary enough. Read full review
50
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
After "Zombieland," The Crazies struggles to find novelty and laughs, and must battle the overwhelming sense that we’ve been here, seen this too often and too recently to experience any real surprises. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesRobert Abele
The Crazies only ever amounts to genre-regimented madness. Read full review
50
The New York TimesMike Hale
Mr. Romero is executive producer of the new film. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have his style or sense of humor. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Here's what I can say for sure about the humanoid attackers in the new version of The Crazies: They're not very interesting. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
It’s been not so much remade as restrained – tamed and dumbed-down and with any sharp political edges safely filed off. Read full review
50
Washington PostDan Kois
What's disappointing about The Crazies, though, is the lack of care that Eisner and screenwriters Scott Kosar and Ray Wright put into their film's atmosphere. There's little in the way of Romero-esque dread; Eisner substitutes a grim lack of humor and frequent splashes of gore. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Poor distribution doomed the original movie, though Romero has stuck around long enough to serve as executive producer of this respectable update by Breck Eisner. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
To call The Crazies the most original horror film in a long while only serves to point out just how lousy mainstream, studio-released horror has become. It's a solid thriller, sure, but there's precious little in it that hasn't been seen countless times before, and in the end it plays it safe … by not playing it safe. Read full review
40
NPRIan Buckwalter
The incoherence is made all the more disappointing because Eisner displays a great deal of raw talent for the genre's tone and set pieces. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
Even for a horror movie, The Crazies is a bore, and we're talking about the most boring genre this side of dysfunctional-family indie drama. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleAmy Biancolli
Eisner has almost nothing on his mind, no political rumblings, nothing behind the urge to upgrade vintage trash. Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
Has warmed-over chills and a muddled, zombie-like execution. Read full review
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