The Crazies
In the town of Ogden Marsh, Iowa, local sheriff David Dutten (Timothy Olyphant) is enjoying a baseball game when it is interrupted by a local resident (known as the town drunk) Rory Hamill, who enters the outfield with a shotgun. David attempts to dissuade Rory, but is forced to kill him when he raises his weapon. David and his wife Judy (Radha Mitchell), the community doctor, begin to notice other town residents exhibiting bizarre behavior, including listlessness and repetitive speech. The next night, a local farmer Judy had seen just that morning for his behavior locks his wife and son inside their house and burns it down.
Learning of a pilot's body found in a swamp, David and his deputy Russell Clank (Joe Anderson) investigate it. They discover a military aircraft that crashed into the river a few days before. Suspecting a link between the contaminated water to the residents' odd behavior, David attempts to have the town's water supply shut off, but is denied.
Soon after, all communication services are lost in town and David realizes they are in trouble. He begs his wife to leave and go to her parents' house, but she refuses. Soon after, soldiers arrive to take all residents to quarantine at the high school. Everyone is examined for symptoms of infection. Judy does not pass the examination and is separated from David. David escapes evacuation and heads back to his office, encountering Russell. The two head for the school to free Judy. At the school, the infected townspeople breach the perimeter, and the military personnel evacuate, abandoning the civilians. Judy wakes up strapped to a gurney, and helplessly watches as a crazed school director kills quarantined people one by one. David and Russell save her in time, and also find Becca (Danielle Panabaker), a hospital assistant.
Unable to find a working vehicle, the four make their way out of town on foot. They encounter Becca's boyfriend, Scotty, at his farm. Soldiers raid the farm, shoot Scotty and his mother, and burn the bodies. They learn that the soldiers have been ordered to shoot all civilians. The group repair an older patrol car in David's garage, and are ambushed by the infected family of Rory. After a struggle, Russell furiously shoots the infected multiple times. This greatly disturbs Judy, who argues with David about Russell's state of mind. On the road, they are spotted by an attack helicopter and drive into a car wash for cover. The workers attack the car and drag Becca out with a wrapped hose, breaking her neck. When the rest of the group leaves the car to help her, the helicopter destroys the car.
Russell disables a passing government car with a police spike strip. The driver reveals the cargo plane contained "Trixie," a "Rhabdoviridae prototype" biological weapon. It was en route to Texas to be destroyed when the plane crashed. Enraged, Russell shoots the driver and threatens Judy and David. When confronted about his behavior, Russell realizes he is infected and, after being disarmed, begs to go on with Judy and David. At a roadblock, Russel volunteers to distract the soldiers so that Judy and David can sneak past. He calls out the soldiers on their actions and gets killed.
David and Judy arrive at a truck stop to search for a vehicle, discovering that the military have also executed those who were evacuated. Fending off three infected, they escape in a semi-truck. As they drive away, a massive explosion destroys Ogden Marsh and causes a shock wave that flips over their vehicle. As the couple walk towards Cedar Rapids, a view from a military satellite highlights first the couple, then the city, and the words "Initiate containment protocol" appear, signifying a new containment attempt.
In the credits, Bruce Aune, a real newscaster from KCRG-TV 9 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa reports that an explosion originating from the Dakon Pendrill chemical plant started a massive fire in Ogden Marsh. He says a perimeter has been set and civilians are not being allowed into the area. A Trixie-infected individual appears on camera just before the signal is lost.
mystery, murder, cult, violence, insanity, revenge