Timothy Olyphant’s The Crazies Still Holds Up as a Modern Classic

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Timothy Olyphant is a hugely popular actor today, and he’s built an impressive career over the past thirty years. Known for his cool, understated style and determined gaze, he’s excelled in all kinds of movies and TV shows. He started out playing tough villains in films like Scream 2 and action movies like Live Free or Die Hard, but later became known for his comedic and approachable roles in shows like Santa Clarita Diet and The Office. However, he’s probably most famous for playing two unforgettable Western lawmen: Sheriff Seth Bullock in Deadwood and US Marshal Raylan Givens in Justified – characters who, in many ways, represent two sides of the same personality.

Interestingly, in 2010 – the year Timothy Olyphant started playing Raylan Givens in FX’s excellent adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s work – he also returned to playing a lawman in a leading movie role. His powerful performance as Sheriff David Dutten in the remake of The Crazies remains one of the few times he’s been the central figure in a film. And he delivered brilliantly, helping to make the movie a standout modern horror classic – ruthless, efficient, and eerily ahead of its time.

The Crazies Took Its Cues From the Father of the Zombie Movie

I recently revisited Breck Eisner’s The Crazies, and it’s interesting to remember it’s a remake of a 1973 film. That original came from George A. Romero, who, of course, basically created the modern zombie movie with Night of the Living Dead in ’68. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that Romero wasn’t just about horror. He really tried to explore different genres early in his career. It’s almost unbelievable now, but his second film was a romantic comedy – There’s Always Vanilla – and his third, Jack’s Wife, was a drama centered on a housewife getting into witchcraft. He was clearly experimenting and trying to avoid being typecast.

The first two films didn’t gain much attention, so the creators aimed for a truly terrifying story with this fourth installment. It centers around a quiet American town accidentally exposed to a dangerous military bioweapon. When the virus, known as ‘Trixie’, contaminates the town’s water supply, residents become violently insane, turning on each other. As chaos erupts, an Army Colonel and a doctor race to find a cure, while one family struggles to survive the outbreak.

While the infected people in George A. Romero’s The Crazies weren’t technically zombies, the film is often mistakenly categorized as a zombie movie. Regardless of how you classify it, Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later appears to have drawn inspiration from The Crazies. Both films feature humans turned violent and aggressive by an infection – in 28 Days Later, it’s a rage virus. Interestingly, the success of 28 Days Later later led Paramount Pictures to produce a remake of The Crazies.

The Horror Remake Was Even More Bleak Than Romero’s Original Film

Scott Kosar and Ray Wright’s updated screenplay for The Crazies strips the story down to its most important elements. The film focuses solely on four characters: Olyphant’s character, David Dutten, his wife Judy, Deputy Russell, and Judy’s assistant, Becca. As these four try to escape their town, which is quickly falling into violent chaos, the movie stays entirely with their perspective. Unlike the original, there’s no secondary storyline involving a Colonel and scientist seeking a cure, which significantly alters the portrayal of the military.

In the movie, the military doesn’t try to help the town’s people. Instead, it’s shown as a secretive and intimidating presence that monitors the town, isolates those who survive, and brutally eliminates the infected. This portrayal of the military isn’t about rescue; it’s focused on containment and keeping the disaster a secret from the outside world.

Some viewers might find the complete lack of heroic figures in the military makes the new Crazies feel overwhelmingly dark and hopeless. But in a time when many people don’t trust the government or those in charge, this approach actually gives the film a powerful and unsettling edge. The audience quickly realizes that survivors are completely on their own – no help is coming. They have to find a way to survive and escape the town themselves. While the story is simple and direct, it’s also very engaging and thrilling because every scene involves realistic, life-or-death situations.

The Crazies Boasts Several Genuinely Shocking, Pulse-Pounding Set-Pieces

What always stands out about The Crazies is how completely the filmmakers commit to its dark and brutal atmosphere. This dedication actually makes the movie’s bleakness a strength, not a weakness. It’s clear from the very beginning – when Sheriff Dutten is forced to shoot and kill a man he’s known for years – that this film won’t pull any punches. The man unexpectedly appears on the baseball field with a shotgun during a game, leaving Dutten with no option but to use deadly force.

The film immediately gets your attention and creates a sense of unease. Shortly after, a shocking scene unfolds: a man deliberately sets fire to his farmhouse, killing his wife and child. This makes it clear the movie isn’t going to end well.

The movie really comes alive with some incredibly imaginative and intense action sequences. One particularly shocking scene shows Judy waking up tied to a hospital bed alongside many others, only to watch in horror as an infected person systematically attacks them with a pitchfork. Later, Dutten and his group find temporary safety in a car wash, but are quickly overwhelmed by the infected, who brutally pull Becca from the car and kill her. The film culminates in a dramatic and unsettling final image: the entire town being destroyed by a nuclear strike, leaving Dutten and Judy as the sole survivors.

I was so excited when The Crazies came out, and it really delivered at the box office – it made over $54 million with a budget of only $20 million! Some critics absolutely loved it, praising how skillfully made and impactful it was, especially considering its lower budget. Others weren’t as impressed, calling it just another zombie flick and saying it tried too hard to be serious. But I thought it was fantastic!

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2025-11-12 23:07