The Crazies

The Crazies (1973) is a sci-fi horror film directed by George Romero — watch it online on iFILM. A military plane goes down near the small Pennsylvania town of Evans. The crash contaminates the water supply with a classified biological agent. Within days, residents start behaving in ways that range from confused to violently unhinged.

The Army seals off the town fast, soldiers in white hazmat suits moving door to door. No one tells the locals what is happening or why. Romero builds the film around two overlapping threats: the infected, who have lost control of themselves, and the military response, which treats every civilian as expendable. The soldiers are not villains exactly — they are following orders from people who don't have answers either. That ambiguity is what made the film uncomfortable in 1973 and still does.

Made on a tight budget shortly after Night of the Living Dead, The Crazies barely found an audience on release but earned a reputation as one of the sharpest political horror films of its decade — a direct look at government opacity and the machinery of crisis management. A 2010 remake followed, but Romero's original is rawer and considerably more unsettling. Stream The Crazies (1973) in full on iFILM.