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"THE CRAZIES" (2010) (Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Minor Extreme Extreme Extreme Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Heavy Heavy Extreme None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Minor Minor Extreme Heavy Extreme QUICK TAKE: Horror: Residents of a small Iowa town must not only contend with their water being contaminated by a toxin that turns most of them into homicidal maniacs, but also the military attempting to contain them and the spread of the contagion. PLOT: Ogden Marsh Township is a small Iowa locale with a population of just 1,260 residents where the law is represented by Sheriff David Dutton (TIMOTHY OLYPHANT) and his deputy, Russell Clank (JOE ANDERSON), while medical services are provided by David's physician wife, Judy (RADHA MITCHELL). It's life pretty much like that in any small town across America, where the worst kept secret is that Judy's teenage assistant, Becca Darling (DANIELLE PANABAKER), is head over heels for Scotty McGregor (JUSTIN MILES), the pitcher for the high school baseball team. Things change, however, when a seemingly deranged resident enters the baseball outfield during a game wielding a shotgun. David and Russell spring into action, believing the man to be drunk, but the sheriff has no recourse but to shoot him dead when the man tries to do the same to him. Soon, other residents begin behaving in peculiar ways, and David and Russell eventually pinpoint the culprit as some sort of toxin contaminating the water supply from an unreported plane crash. It's not long before various residents also turn into homicidal maniacs, a development complicated by the arrival of military forces that want to contain them and the outbreak, mainly by not allowing anyone to leave Ogden Marsh and quarantining both the non-infected and infected. When the latter end up escaping, the military pulls out, leaving David, Judy, Russell and a handful of others to fend for themselves and try to make their way to safety. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into zombie-type horror films and/or are fans of anyone in the cast, they might be interested. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For bloody violence and language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: TIMOTHY OLYPHANT plays the local sheriff who tries to get a handle on the worsening condition, but must resort to killing (and avoid being killed by) the various infected and homicidal residents. He worries about his pregnant wife, uses strong profanity, and does what he can to get them and the few other survivors to safety. RADHA MITCHELL plays his pregnant wife, the local physician. She has similar goals and also uses profanity. JOE ANDERSON plays David's deputy who must also deal with the outbreak and ends up shooting many of his infected, fellow townsfolk. He uses strong profanity and becomes progressively unhinged as the situation unfolds. DANIELLE PANABAKER plays Judy's teenage assistant, a high school student who just wants to get to her boyfriend (played by JUSTIN MILES) to make sure he's okay. She uses some profanity. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated horror film. Profanity consists of at least 39 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Many people are killed by various means (mostly gunfire, but also stabbing, being burned alive, etc.) and much of that has extremely bloody/gory results. Those scenes, the sight of deranged people and various moments of potential peril could be unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary for various viewers, particularly the very young and those sensitive to such material. Some behavior might be enticing for kids to imitate, while bad attitudes are present, as is tense family material. Very brief smoking occurs, while a character is noted as being drunk, but that turns out to be incorrect. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there's some of that from fire flicker and then a near strobe like flashing light late in the film. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there are varying amounts of handheld camerawork (sometimes quite bouncy) throughout the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE David believes a deranged man carrying a shotgun into a baseball game is drunk, but his wife later claims he hasn't had any in years, and toxicology reports indicate no alcohol was in his blood. BLOOD/GORE A deranged man has a bloody nose. Some hunters find a parachute tangled in trees in a swamp, and when they pull on the ropes they pull up a decomposed body. We see blood on a jail cell wall, floor and on a prisoner inside the cell. We see the above decomposed body again, this time in a funeral home where David uncovers another dead body (we just see the head and shoulders). He then finds the mortician whose eyes and mouth have been stitched shut, while a bloody and crazed man then attacks him. The latter tries to get him with a rotary saw and does slice his chest with that (with bloody results), but David fights him off, resulting in the saw repeatedly cutting into the deranged man, killing him and sending blood spraying onto a wall and on the floor, etc. As Judy, Becca and others are tied down to gurneys, they hear and then see a deranged and bloody man slowly enter their area, dragging a pitchfork across the floor. He then goes to one person and drives that down through their torso, with very bloody results. He then does the same to another person (with similar results with repeated jabs) and then goes to Becca, raising the pitchfork. Judy's scream stops him, but he then goes over to her and prepares to do the same, but is shot dead by David and Russell at the last second (with bloody results). We see many dead and bloody bodies on the ground. We see blood coming from the back of a pickup truck and then see that's from various dead bodies piled in the bed. We see some blood on Judy's pajama top. We see the charred bodies of a teen and his mom. David and Judy must contend with a deranged woman and her son, both of whom are bloody. A fight breaks out, with the woman stabbing a knife into David's hand, impaling it to the floor (with very bloody results). He then yanks that out and stabs the knife (still through his hand) into the mother's neck, killing her (with bloody results). He then painfully pulls the knife from his hand, while the young man is bloody after being shot by Russell. Russell then enters the room, sees that one of the attackers is barely alive, and shoots both bodies multiple times (we see pools of blood on the floor by them). Various deranged people are bloody both before and after they're shot, while David has bloody cuts on his face and Becca has a little blood from her mouth after an attack. Russell shoots an already bloody man in the head, killing him, with bloody results. Russell's nose is bloody (either from being punched or possibly being infected). To act as a diversion for others, a man approaches military types and then pulls his handgun. They riddle him with bullets, bloodying and downing him. Judy spots a large truck filled with dead and bloody bodies (and we see one charred arm in close-up). We then see more bloody bodies, followed by Judy having to hide among the same while trying to avoid being found by a deranged man. A dead and bloody body falls from a truck when the door is opened. A deranged man breaks a window and opens fire on Judy who's in the cab of a semi. He then looks inside for her, but she shoots him in the head (with bloody results). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE While infected with the toxin, various residents unintentionally become homicidal maniacs. The government/military has a bad attitude for quarantining and killing (or attempting to kill) all of the residents (to prevent the contagion from spreading). As the situation worsens, David and Russell end up at odds with each other. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. The sight of the various infected people (bloody, veins protruding beneath the skin, etc.) might also be unsettling for similar viewers. A seemingly deranged man walks into the outfield of a baseball game carrying a shotgun. David immediately confronts him and believes he's drunk, but when the man raises the shotgun, David shoots him dead with his handgun. David spots the high school baseball coach who appears in a trance (like an armed man earlier), but the man comes out of that and nothing happens. The wife of a man who's been acting strangely hears noises from the barn at night and thus goes to investigate. She finds the massive combine running, with its big blades spinning, and she stands directly in front of that, yelling for her husband. She then realizes the machine is empty and turns it off, only to hear her son scream from back inside the house. She races there and finds the scared boy, who states his father is armed with a knife, and thus he and his mom hide in the closet as we see the husband slowly ascending the stairs, kitchen knife in hand. He passes by and the wife slowly peers through the key hole, only to be shocked by his eye appearing there. The husband then locks that door, pours gasoline down the steps, and then lights that on fire from outside the house. We see the flames race up the steps and hear the wife and son screaming, but don't see their deaths. David realizes they've been cut off when the Internet, cell phones and such no longer work. David hears noises coming from inside the local funeral home and enters, cautiously looking around, gun in hand. We see a decomposed body again, while David pulls the sheet back from another dead body (we just see the head and shoulders). He then sees movement from under another sheet and finds the mortician whose eyes and mouth have been stitched shut, while a bloody and crazed man then attacks him. The latter tries to get him with a rotary saw that he pushes down toward him on the floor, and does slice his chest with that (with bloody results). But David fights him off (and avoids wild swings of the saw at him), resulting in the saw repeatedly cutting into the deranged man, killing him and sending blood spraying onto a wall and on the floor, etc. The still running saw then skitters across the floor toward David who tries to scramble backwards on the floor as it comes toward his crotch, stopping just short of that (from Russell stepping on the cord). Judy thinks she saw someone outside at night, so David goes to investigate, slowly entering his dimly lit barn, gun in hand. He then hears Judy scream and starts to rush back to her, only to be grabbed by various military figures. Hearing someone coming, David rushes to load his handgun, only to find it's Russell who aims his shotgun at him, but then lowers it. As Judy, Becca and others are tied down to gurneys, they hear and then see a deranged and bloody man slowly enter their area, dragging a pitchfork across the floor. He then goes to one person and drives that down through their torso, with very bloody results. He then does the same to another person (with similar results with repeated jabs) and then goes to Becca, raising the pitchfork. Judy's scream stops him, but he then goes over to her and prepares to do the same, but is shot dead by David and Russell at the last second (with bloody results). David, Judy, Russell and Becca take refuge behind a vehicle as several deranged hunters follow and then shoot and kill a man (with bloody results) trying to run away from them. They then drag the body back to their pickup truck and its bed that contains other dead bodies. Scotty aims his rifle at Russell who aims his gun back at him, with both unsure of the other. Scotty then gives up when David aims his handgun at the teen's head. David, Judy, Russell, Becca and Scotty hide in the latter's barn when they hear and then see military types arrive. When those men pull Scotty's mom from her house, the teen runs out, but is shot. They then shoot the mom and then use a flamethrower on both of the bodies. As Judy enters her future nursery, she doesn't see the deranged woman standing behind her. David goes upstairs to find Judy bound and gagged in a chair. He's then hit and has a cord wrapped around his neck, with a young deranged man trying to strangle him. He tries to reach his dropped gun, but that man's equally deranged mother stabs a knife down through his hand into the floor, picks up the gun, and then aims that at Judy and then David. David then yanks his hand (with the knife still in it) off the floor, hits the son, and then stabs that knife into the mother's neck, killing her (he then painfully pulls the knife from his own hand). He then spots the son aiming the handgun at him, but a shot rings out and that young man falls to the floor dead, having been shot through the window by Russell down on the ground. Russell then enters the room, sees that one of the attackers is barely alive, and shoots both bodies multiple times. A military chopper suddenly flies directly over David's car, and he drives that (with Judy, Russell and Becca inside) into a car wash for protection. That then starts running, meaning they can't escape when they think they see people inside the tunnel. Russell fires shots out the window, while a deranged man smashes the window by David, partially yanks him out, and the two fight (machinery ends up hitting that man). At the same time, a figure comes through the front and grabs Judy who repeatedly slams his head to the dash. They eventually gain traction and escape, only to have a man on the roof wrap a cable around Becca and yank her out, hanging her from the car wash ceiling. David and Russell shoot various deranged people and then rush to Becca, but it's too late. Just then, their empty car explodes outside the wash from the chopper shooting it with a missile. Possibly beginning to be deranged, Russell holds his gun on David and Judy and then follows behind them as they walk down the road. David has finally had enough and confronts him, with Russell aiming his gun at him, threatening to shoot his boss where he stands. David talks him down, but then punches him in the face, knocking him to the road. Separated from David in a rest stop, Judy hears and then sees deranged men approaching, and thus hides among a pile of dead and bloody bodies. One then comes back and looks closer through those bodies, but doesn't see her. SPOILER ALERT: David and Judy race away from town in a semi as they hear a countdown over a communications radio. A nuclear blast then goes off behind them, with the shockwave then catching and tumbling the truck. The two manage to climb out, wounded but alive. GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Rifles/Shotguns/Automatic weapons/Knives/Helicopter Gunship/Missile/Nuclear bomb: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details. We see hunters carrying rifles in the woods, and David reminds them that hunting season is over. Hearing someone coming, David rushes to load his handgun, only to find it's Russell who aims his shotgun at him, but then lowers it. Scotty aims his rifle at Russell who aims his gun back at him, with both unsure of the other. Scotty then gives up when David aims his handgun at the teen's head. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "What the f*ck /is going on (here)/was that/is that matter with you?" "Who are these f*ckers?" "Oh f*ck," "I f*cking shot him," "Shut the f*ck up," "F*ck it," "I will f*cking shoot you where you stand," "Boo-f*cking-yah," "F*ck you," "Let's get the f*ck out of here," "Oh sh*t," "On account of him being full of sh*t," "You're full of sh*t," "He's full of sh*t," "Ah sh*t," "Piece of sh*t," "Bullsh*t," "What the hell /are you doing/happened here?" "The same G*ddman look," "Bastards," "Nuts" (crazy), "It's a hell of a walk to..." "Don't be an asshole," "You crazy bitch" and "A big son of a bitch." Some/all of the violence, stunts and other action could be enticing for some kids to try to imitate. A miscellaneous man has a Mohawk haircut, and spits. JUMP SCENES Sudden music (on the soundtrack) might startle some viewers in a tense scene. A boy suddenly grabs his mom's shoulder, startling her. As a woman peers out of a door's key hole, a man's eye suddenly appears on the other side. Some hunters find a parachute tangled in trees in a swamp, and when they pull on the ropes they pull up a decomposed body. A deranged and bloody prisoner suddenly lunges at the jail cell bars holding him. Military figures suddenly grab David. A military chopper suddenly flies directly over David's car. Judy peeks out to look for deranged men and one is suddenly right there. As Judy peers out to look for the same, a hand suddenly grabs her around the mouth (but it's just David). MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 39 "f" words, 25 "s" words, 5 hells, 3 asses (used with "hole"), 1 crap, 1 S.O.B., 7 uses of "Oh my God," 6 of "G-damn," 4 of "Oh God," 2 of "Jesus Christ" and 1 use each of "Christ Almighty," "For Christ's sakes" and "Oh Jesus Christ." SEX/NUDITY Judy shows a little cleavage. We see the middle-aged male mayor in just his swim trunks. SMOKING A miscellaneous character smokes once. TENSE FAMILY SCENES David briefly meets the grieving widow and son of a man he's just shot dead in self-defense. The wife ends up slapping David as she leaves. The wife of a man who's been acting strangely hears noises from the barn at night and thus goes to investigate. She finds the massive combine running, with its big blades spinning, and she stands directly in front of that, yelling for her husband. She then realizes the machine is empty and turns it off, only to hear her son scream from back inside the house. She races there and finds the scared boy, who states his father is armed with a knife, and thus he and his mom hide in the closet as we see the husband slowly ascending the stairs, kitchen knife in hand. He passes by and the wife slowly peers through the key hole, only to be shocked by his eye appearing there. The husband then locks that door, pours gasoline down the steps, and then lights that on fire from outside the house. We see the flames race up the steps and hear the wife and son screaming, but don't see their deaths. A woman and her young child are separated by military figures. David and Judy are separated, with him worrying about her. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT How the government and/or military handle potentially contagious outbreaks. The rounding up and extermination of people. The role of sheriffs and deputies in small towns. Life in a small town. VIOLENCE We see a burning residence, cars and then the entire town after the outbreak has occurred. A seemingly deranged man walks into the outfield of a baseball game carrying a shotgun. David immediately confronts him and believes he's drunk, but when the man raises the shotgun, David shoots him dead with his handgun. David briefly meets the grieving widow and son of a man he's just shot dead in self-defense. The wife ends up slapping David as she leaves. A deranged man locks a closet door (behind which his wife and son are hiding), pours gasoline down the steps, and then lights that on fire from outside the house. We see the flames race up the steps and hear the wife and son screaming, but don't see their deaths. A bloody and crazed man attacks David and tries to get him with a rotary saw that he pushes down toward him on the floor, and does slice his chest with that (with bloody results). But David fights him off (and avoids wild swings of the saw at him), resulting in the saw repeatedly cutting into the deranged man, killing him and sending blood spraying onto a wall and on the floor, etc. A military figure strikes David, downing him. An SUV breaks through a barrier, resulting in a gun battle between the occupants and military types, with various people hit (seen from a distance). Others struggle with military figures and many manage to escape. Military types shoot more civilians, while some of the latter manage to grab and struggle with their oppressors. As Judy, Becca and others are tied down to gurneys, they hear and then see a deranged and bloody man slowly enter their area, dragging a pitchfork across the floor. He then goes to one person and drives that down through their torso, with very bloody results. He then does the same to another person (with similar results with repeated jabs) and then goes to Becca, raising the pitchfork. Judy's scream stops him, but he then goes over to her and prepares to do the same, but is shot dead by David and Russell at the last second (with bloody results). David, Judy, Russell and Becca take refuge behind a vehicle as several deranged hunters follow and then shoot and kill a man (with bloody results) trying to run away from them. They then drag the body back to their pickup truck and its bed that contains other dead bodies. David, Judy, Russell, Becca and Scotty hide in the latter's barn when they hear and then see military types arrive. When those men pull Scotty's mom from her house, the teen runs out, but is shot. They then shoot the mom and then use a flamethrower on both of the bodies. Russell hits a young soldier as he enters a barn and he and David then drag the young man off. David goes upstairs to find Judy bound and gagged in a chair. He's then hit and has a cord wrapped around his neck, with a young deranged man trying to strangle him. He tries to reach his dropped gun, but that man's equally deranged mother stabs a knife down through his hand into the floor, picks up the gun, and then aims that at Judy and then David. David then yanks his hand (with the knife still in it) off the floor, hits the son, and then stabs that knife into the mother's neck, killing her (he then painfully pulls the knife from his own hand). He then spots the son aiming the handgun at him, but a shot rings out and that young man falls to the floor dead, having been shot through the window by Russell down on the ground. Russell then enters the room, sees that one of the attackers is barely alive, and shoots both bodies multiple times. A military chopper suddenly flies directly over David's car, and he drives that (with Judy, Russell and Becca inside) into a car wash for protection. That then starts running, meaning they can't escape when they think they see people inside the tunnel. Russell fires shots out the window, while a deranged man smashes the window by David, partially yanks him out, and the two fight (machinery ends up hitting that man). At the same time, a figure comes through the front and grabs Judy who repeatedly slams his head to the dash. They eventually gain traction and escape, only to have a man on the roof wrap a cable around Becca and yank her out, hanging her from the car wash ceiling. David and Russell shoot various deranged people and then rush to Becca, but it's too late. Just then, their empty car explodes outside the wash from the chopper shooting it with a missile. Russell throws a tire piercing strip in front of an SUV as it races toward David who's aiming his handgun at it. The SUV then has a bad crash, flipping, etc. down the road, with the driver then out and bloody. David punches the man while interrogating him, followed by Russell unexpectedly shooting the man in the head, killing him (with bloody results). Possibly beginning to be deranged, Russell holds his gun on David and Judy and then follows behind them as they walk down the road. David has finally had enough and confronts him, with Russell aiming his gun at him, threatening to shoot his boss where he stands. David talks him down, but then punches him in the face, knocking him to the road. To act as a diversion for others, a man approaches military types and then pulls his handgun. They riddle him with bullets, bloodying and downing him. We then hear but don't see the final kill shot. Judy spots a large truck filled with dead and bloody bodies (and we see one charred arm in close-up), from unseen violence. A dead and bloody body falls from a truck when the door is opened (from unseen violence). David is yanked down hard into an oil change pit in a truck stop where he battles a large and deranged man (who gets the better of him, but David does whack that man in the head with a large wrench). He then slides a large metal piece into the man who aims a gun at him, but David ignites the oil or something similar, thus engulfing that man in fire. A deranged man breaks a window and opens fire on Judy who's in the cab of a semi. He then looks inside for her, but she shoots him in the head (with bloody results). SPOILER ALERT: David and Judy race away from town in a semi as they hear a countdown over a communications radio. A nuclear blast then goes off behind them, with the shockwave then catching and tumbling the truck. The two manage to climb out, wounded but alive. Reviewed February 23, 2010 / Posted February 26, 2010

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