COVID and The Crazies
During this pandemic, many of us have had to look to movies as our only escape. While some look to uplifting tales or raunchy comedies to take their minds off the world around us, we horror fans can delve into some deep and dark places. As the pandemic continued, I found myself watching more and more films that related to the subject at hand, at least in someway.
Zombie films gave off the sense of an infected apocalypse, and viral outbreak movies definitely struck more than a few chords. While each had some added terror due to the current situation at hand, one movie in particular seemed to be the calling card for a movie meant to be seen during these times. That movie?
The 1973 George Romero film The Crazies (AKA Code Name: Trixie).
What about this film really hit home with me? Well, there were some visuals, violence and some key Romero moments that really made it feel like this movie could be set right now and I wouldn't blink an eye.
The plot is fairly straightforward. A military plane carrying a biological weapon, which as the one of the films titles implies is code named Trixie, gets into the local water supply of a Pennsylvania town. What follows is a terrifying quarantine attempt by the military and the subsequent spread of the biological agent. Trixie causes hysteria and madness among its victims, and that alone with the quarantine atmosphere are what I'd like to touch on here.
First is the quarantine. It happens so sudden and quick. Before the town has time to react, the military is swarming the city. People are not given clear answers, and the panic and paranoia begin to ripple out into the community. The human reaction to wanting answers, wanting to know you are going to be safe, and the general fear and unease that comes with a lockdown like this really was overwhelming for me watching this here in 2020. It was all too easy to understand their plights, and to know that what I’m watching on film I could easily see on the news later that night.
Along with the quarantine comes the military and government dealing with this outbreak. The film deals with a military based bio weapon, but the government side storyline felt that it too could be what is going on behind closed doors. While the debate rages on how to contain the virus, the public is kept in the dark, and eventually dire measures are prepared as the town itself might be sacrificed. All of this can invoke some heavy emotions, but as I watched it, its sent more chills down my spine than I was prepared for.
As we move on to the people and the disease, we find another aspect of the film that told a truly sad and brutal story. It is impossible to tell who is infected until almost too late, and the consequence of that is usually death all around. Aside from this, there is another part of the story that I found so interesting; the madness that Trixie caused. Normal and average neighbors, friends, and a close knit community became feral and lashed out at itself in ways no one could expect. Another parallel that once again struck me deeply.
As Romero often does, his social commentary in his films often comes out like a dark joke with the sad reality of his films being a mockery of the truth we live with everyday. Such things as the scientist, toiling all movie to find a cure, does just that. But as he goes to reveal his work, he is mistaken for a "Crazie" and is penned up with the infected, eventually losing the cure and his life while being so close to being able to save the day. How a scene from a 1973 horror film can speak so much to the current state of life is amazing to me, but that's what great storytellers do.
The end of the film also offers up a too close to home moment of nothing actually being solved, and the possible chance of there being a spread of Trixie is the cherry on top that left me really feeling like this movie had punched me in the gut. It has always been on of my favorite Romero films, but watching it at this time, it may have moved up to being my top Romero film, just because I will never forget the impact I had watching it now, and that will always linger with any future viewings of it.
There are probably other films like this that maybe you have watched, and have felt similar feelings. Each person might be able to find their own film that helps them to remember how they got through these tough times. The Crazies will be forever be mine. Which one will be yours?
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