Cast:
Lane Carroll (Judy), Will McMillan (David), Harold Wayne Jones (Clank), Lloyd Hollar (Colonel Peckem), Lynn Lowry (Kathy), Richard Liberty (Artie), Richard France (Dr. Watts), Harry Spillman (Major Ryder), Will Disney (Dr. Brookmyre), and Edith Bell (Lab Technician) Directed by George A. Romero (#738 - Night of the Living Dead (1968), #1155 - Dawn of the Dead (1978), and #1588 - Day of the Dead)
Review:
If I gave you a couple of guesses as to what George A. Romero directed after Night of the Living Dead (1968), you probably would struggle a bit before giving up. Go figure, the two films that followed them were not horror films. There's Always Vanilla was released in 1971 as his only romantic comedy, and Season of the Witch was released in 1972 as a feminist film that got cut into a softcore porn film (never doubt the gall of independent releasers). And then of course this film followed those, a horror film that was shot for $275,000 in the towns of Evans City and Zelienople in Pennsylvania. The film is based on a screenplay called "The Mad People" that Paul McCollough had written. There was interest from both the producer and Romero to make the film, albeit with changes made by Romero. The screenplay did have a bioweapon released on accident in a small town with a coverup and revolt, but apparently the screenplay was more existential than horror, since it focused on the townspeople rather than the military. I can definitely see where the interest may lie better with trying to cut to the chase in chaos rather than focusing on implications. There was a mix of both professional and nonprofessional actors (such having the special effects technician play the husband acting against the kids of the cinematographer in the opening sequence) that did their own stunts while a good deal of the audio mixing was done in post-production. The movie was a failure at the box office, owing in part due to ineffective marketing (the movie was released as "Code Name: Trixie" in some markets). A remake was commissioned in 2010, released in the middle of other movies involving threats of sickness in Outbreak (1995) and Contagion (2011), and Romero served as an executive producer. Romero followed this film with the thriller The Amusement Park (premiered in 1975 to one festival and nothing else) and two horror films with Martin (1978) and Dawn of the Dead (1978).
It is the raw immediacy of the film when it comes to mixing both social subtext and horror that makes it a curious cult classic, one that looks better and better for what it reaches for in the horror of chaos rather than something made with glossy or lofty ambition. It certainly helps that the ending doesn't play it particularly safe by the time it finishes its 103-minute runtime. In crisis, you really can't tell who the crazy one is, as one sees in a movie wrapped in paranoia and perhaps a bit of dark comedy, where people will either recess into their darkest desires or end up shooting at tons of folks in the name of order. One can look at it something quite relevant to now or look upon the possible comparisons to the Vietnam War, at least when you think about the fact that one of the characters is depicted lighting themselves on fire. It inspires flashes of debate over what side you find yourself on in perspective when it comes to people trying to do their job with plenty of resistance versus townspeople who are thrust into chaos with a lack of timing and everything (so yes, do you find favor with folks who get stabbed by old ladies or people who get shot if they resist and run?). In a nutshell: When things go to hell, they really can go to hell in a hurry. As with Living Dead, the acting is fairly suitable in mild expression when compared to the surrounding terror. McMillan, Carroll, and Jones make up the key trio that meet their task head on in frantic timing that works to the pacing of the movie rather than bog it down, where their drama does seem to matter. The beleaguered Hollar is one of the highlights, one that carries tension on his shoulders with righteous timing to make a quality tragic role. France (an occasional actor when not writing plays or reviews) generates the irritated confidence required here as the sane man in hell, while Liberty and Lowry close out the general focus decently. The climax is bittersweet and utterly dead-on with leaving things where they are for the audience to use their imagination (cynical or not) rather than play it easy. It does play a bit loose with its pacing at times, but the moments of horror (blood or not) do help to keep things with steam, and I think it qualifies as something that works the right angle in wry observation without pandering or cheap tricks. It may have been under-appreciated in its time, but a near half-century since the release of this film has only served to make it better and better to look upon in the documents of horror, imperfect or not.
Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.
