Review of Televisions The Gates

From the opening scene at the local baseball game in the 2010 remake of the 1973 horror flick The Crazies I was hooked. Not being a great lover of zombies in general I was very leery of this movie but was pleasantly surprised by the great acting and emotions the main characters gave to the film. I actually had chill bumps when Sherriff David Dutton played by Timothy Olyphant had to gun down Rory the town drunk when he carried a shotgun onto the crowded baseball field.

Far from being the gore fest that I expected, the movie actually had a plot and poignant scenes that at times brought tears to my eyes. The biggest standing out in my mind being the scene where Rory's family held a shotgun to the sheriff's pregnant wife Judy Dutton's, played by Radha Mitchell, head to right the wrongs done them.

As the town goes berserk and it's once peaceful citizens turn on each other the main characters figure out that the town water supply has been contaminated by a crashed plane filled with toxins. As Judy, the Sheriff and his deputy fight to stay alive the military descends, hell bent on concealing the evidence of its screw up and destroying the town.

There were a few tense moments and some chills as a crazed man dragging a pitch fork through the hospital where Judy, Becca and others were strapped to tables by the military slowly and methodically killed them one by one.

But in my opinion the movie was stolen by Joe Anderson who played Deputy Russell Clank. His performance as the good, country cop gone insane was creepy but tear inspiring at the same time. From the opening scene where he is with the sheriff at the ball field until the scene where he sacrifices himself so that the Dutton's can get away I was hooked. His talent and the passion he brought to the role brought tears to viewer's eyes more than once during the movie.

For a remake and a zombie remake at that, I really enjoyed The Crazies. It was well paced and the actors did a terrific job of bringing the story to life. For from being a mindless horror fest, this movie was well thought out and directed. I would give it five stars and recommend it to anyone who likes horror without needless gore. Also keep an eye out for Joe Anderson; this is a talent to watch. All in all this is one of the best movies I have seen in a very long time. I would recommend it to anyone.