The Crazies : Narrative Structure

The Crazies (2010) - Narrative

"Anarchy reigns when an unknown toxin turns the peaceful citizens of Ogden Marsh into bloodthirsty lunatics. In an effort to contain the spread of the infection, authorities blockade the town and use deadly force to keep anyone from getting in or out. Now trapped among killers, Sheriff Dutten (Timothy Olyphant) and his wife (Radha Mitchell) and two companions must band together to find a way out before madness and death overtake them."

An example of two events that cause later events in the film, but occur before the film 'starts' is the government of which are experimenting with chemicals and toxins and must have created a 'crazie' virus, this then lead to the plane falling into the water and infecting the citizens of Ogden Marsh.The second significant event is Judy becoming pregnant, we do not see that, we only see people such as Russel commenting on it "About time!" hinting that they must have bee trying for some time. This becomes significant when she appears to have a high temperature due to pregnancy, however it is mistaken as symptoms for the 'crazies' virus. 

Some events happen within the same time as the film, however are not shown. Such as Russell driving away to escape the contamination however his car getting spiked and him being unable to leave. The second event is the citizens leaving to "safety" but actually leaving to be burned which is discovered at the end by Judy and David. 

ACT ONE: Normality

At the start, the film opens with the town going about their lives a normal. A baseball games begins and beck leaves early to see her boyfriend play. The Sheriff and Deputy both watch it from behind the fence.

ACT TWO: Disruption

The disruption begins by the "town drunk" being shot due to him pointing a gun at people, this is only the start as others start to show the same odd behaviour and suddenly a house is on fire and people are killing each other. The government seems to come in to try and handle the situation.

ACT THREE: Resolution

Towards the end of the film, the sheriff and his wife have survived the "crazies" and the whole town seems to be blown up by the government. Their truck seems to be blown to the side, but they both come out unscathed and walk towards the next town over, however the end scene creduits leave us believing instead of the simple resolution, the next town is being targeted with a much bigger population.