Ask anyone who’s a film fan and they’ll tell you that George A. Romero gets credited with starting the zombie genre. Although zombie films are my guilty pleasure, his sequels are starting to get a little thin and tired but it’s awesome to how his films have inspired the likes of other “zead” aficionados like Simon Pegg and Ruben Fleischer. One (supposedly) flattering thing about the generation of people he’s influenced is that his films seem fit for a re-imagining by up and coming filmmakers. In 2004 Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) remade Dawn of the Dead to great success, not only launching his career but very properly paying homage to Romero.
Well, following suit is the upcoming remake of another one of old George’s fan favorites, The Crazies. While I haven’t seen the original, his movies more or less follow the same plot lines. Although this film is more about a viral outbreak than a typical zombie epidemic, Romero does the whole “mass hysteria and turmoil” bit very very well. The first trailer came out some weeks ago and it looked pretty impressive (check it out). This latest trailer looks like a step down (mainly because it doesn’t have the over-used cover of “Mad World”) and doesn’t look like anything we haven’t seen before. However, I’m a sucker for these types of films, plus it’s got Timothy Olyphant (who I’ve been a big fan of since Go) so I guess I’m in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEMZwQulT1Q
Crazies is being helmed by Breck Eisner, of Sahara and was the producer on A Sound of Thunder so that’s not giving me a lot of hope. But I figure every director will get their day eventually, right? If this works out well, I will be looking forward to the Flash Gordon remake in 2012, but let’s take this one step at a time. Here’s hoping the Romero inspired plot (and possible fan base) helps this one out. The Crazies will be released on February 26, 2010…anyone interested??
