It's nuts to say so, but The Crazies actually delivers

[This is more of a drive-by thumbs-up than an a typical review. Back to our usual programming this week!]

How exactly would a crowd react if a regular Joe wandered onto the field of a youth baseball game with a shotgun in tow and a blank stare leading his way? Director Breck Eisner handles this scenario and many other “not right” elements of The Crazies with surprising dexterity and evenness. While not a one-to-one remake of George Romero’s 1973 original, Eisner’s Crazies quietly tears at your sense of domestic security and calm with all the precision and destructiveness of a rusty scalpel. Call it a spontaneous outbreak of talent and inspiration. You wouldn’t expect the director of Sahara and writers of recent lame remakes (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Amityville Horror) to create a warmed-over scare that actually scares. Don’t let the bad rep for horror remakes keep you from checking out The Crazies this weekend.