The Sci-Fi Horror Viral Outbreak Classic From A Master Filmmaker, Stream Without Netflix

The Crazies begins when a rural farmer seems to lose his mind. Firefighters David (Will McMillan) and Clank (Harold Wayne Jones) are dispatched to the country home to extinguish the house fire set by the farmer after the unstable man murdered his wife.

The Crazies reveals that just before the homicide, a military plane loaded with chemical weapons crashed near the rural Pennsylvania town’s water supply and infected the resource with a new bioweapon.

The weapon is a virus that will work to quickly kill some of those who catch it, while some of the infected will survive and be driven to be unhinged killers.

A local doctor’s office is stormed by military troops under the command of Major Ryder (Harry Spillman). Martial law is declared over the area as the doctor who created the virus is flown in to help concoct a cure for what is driving the townsfolk to murder. The little community sees its people rounded up and herded into the local high school as anyone who attempts to flee is shot dead on site.

As bombers are flying above awaiting possible orders to destroy the town, The Crazies follows David, his girlfriend Judy (Lane Carroll), Clank, and a handful of others that manage to escape the soldiers as they try to find a way out of the area on foot.

The race to find a cure is offset by the growing fury among the quarantined townspeople and the number of infected that are roaming the area.

Director George Romero perfectly captures the paranoia of a viral outbreak in a rural community with his efforts to bring The Crazies onto theater screens.

The rage of the locals at the idea of martial law nearly equates to the level of murderous insanity exhibited by those infected by the virus and works to make for a film with chilling psychological terror.

The Crazies had a low budget, but still does well in the special effects department. Not that the film needed much to evoke fear.

The legions of troops in HAZMAT gear throughout the runtime and the soldiers executing civilians go further in generating terror than any level of high-quality movie makeup on any movie monster.

In true George Romero style, The Crazies uses a great balance of monstrous antagonists and man-versus-man conflict to create a real thriller.

While the survivors are certainly in fear of the virus, they are equally terrified of being caught by the soldiers who have orders to shoot to kill.

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In 2010, director Breck Eisner gave audiences a big-budget remake of the Romero Classic. The modern adaptation of The Crazies starred Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, and Joe Anderson, and was a modest box office success.

The film has been lauded by critics for the great special effects makeup, acting, and set design, though it doesn’t quite have the unnerving and paranoid edge of its source material.

You can stream The Crazies for free on Tubi.