The Crazies 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Crazies 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 20, 2025

This month's allotment of Lionsgate Limited releases has been at least a bit unusual, as was already mentioned in our Kick-Ass 4K Blu-ray review. That particular release was more or less simply a repackaging of a previous wide release of the film in 4K, while May was the first time to my recollection that Lionsgate Limited has offered a Vestron Video Collector's Series release (one only in 1080, another first). Now comes The Crazies, which in its own way may be the funniest example yet of what I've repeatedly joked is Lionsgate's strategy of offloading "remainder" 1080 discs with new 4K releases, often with exclusive SteelBook packaging. The reason this particular release may tickle some collectors' funny bones is that the 1080 disc is in fact the way old Starz / Anchor Bay outing from 2010.

As mentioned above, The Crazies had a previous 1080 release around a decade and a half ago (!), and Martin Liebman's The Crazies Blu-ray review of the edition provides plenty of plot detail, a list of supplements (most of which have been ported over to this release), and Marty's reaction to that disc's technical presentation.

The Crazies 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package, since screenshots sourced directly from the 4K UHD disc would need to be downscaled and in SDR by default.

The Crazies is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate's Lionsgate Limited boutique e-tailer with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. (Occasionally these new 4K releases are just slightly reframed to their correct 2.39:1, but while I didn't opt to use screenshots from the 4K UHD version as outlined above, I did take some and had our site pixel measuring tool do its stuff and still got 2.40:1.) Marty was pretty enthused about the original 1080 video presentation, but a 2010 4.5 might not warrant the same response in 2025, and indeed I found the 1080 presentation to be just slightly on the digital looking side, so have (in my ongoing "different reviewers means different opinions" diatribes) slightly downgraded the 1080 score. The 4K presentation is often outstanding, especially from a palette perspective courtesy of HDR / Dolby Vision. All sorts of new highlights can be spotted, though I found the most noticeable ones to be on the cooler end of the spectrum, in the blue, green and (no Pavlov responses to this term, please) teal areas in particular. That said, I was actually a bit surprised that HDR / Dolby Vision didn't really help to elucidate shadow definition in some very dimly lit scenes, as in an early bedroom encounter where virtually the entire frame is shrouded in darkness even in this 4K UHD edition. Grain can be quite heavy at times, especially against some of the brighter backdrops, but doesn't encounter any major compression issues. My score is 4.25.

The Crazies 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lionsgate Limited is to be commended for often revisiting the sound codecs for their SteelBook 4K releases, and that's once again the case here, with a really immersive Dolby Atmos track that makes full use of all the surround channels. All of the nearly constant activity that Marty mentioned in his review of the 1080 disc's LPCM 5.1 track is fully on display here, but there is an increased sense of being in the center of activity in any number of scenes, notably the baseball scene early in the film and the horrifying showdown in the hospital a good deal later. Throughout the track, though, even if there isn't "showy" Atmos activity, there's almost always clear engagement of the side and rear channels for ambient environmental effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

The Crazies 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: The 1080 disc in this package of course has all of the supplements detailed in Marty's review, linked to above. Several of those supplements are also included on the 4K UHD disc, as shown below, and more info on those can be gleaned in Marty's review. I've notated the new supplements with an asterisk (*).

• 2025 Audio Commentary with Director Breck Eisner*


• Establishing Shot with Director Breck Eisner* (HD; 3:55)


• Sculpting the Horror of The Crazies * (HD; 17:09) is an interview with Breck Eisner.


• The Crazies Alternate Ending* (HD; 3:21) features Eisner again introducing things.


• Storyboard to Screen: Car Wash Scene* (HD; 4:01)


• 2010 Audio Commentary with Breck Eisner


• Behind the Scenes with Director Breck Eisner (HD; 10:35)


• Paranormal Pandemics (HD; 9:41)


• The George A. Romero Template (HD; 9:56)


• Make-up Mastermind: Rob Hall in Action (HD; 11:27)


• Episodes 1 & 2 of The Crazies Motion Comic (HD; 27:25)


• Visual Effects in Motion (HD; 3:42)


• Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery (HD; 3:30)


• Teaser Trailer (HD; 00:43)


• Theatrical Trailers (HD; 4:35)


• The Crazies Motion Comic Trailer (HD; 2:25)

Lionsgate provides another really nicely designed SteelBook that should appeal to collectors. The Mylar O-ring features one of the spooky gasmask wearing characters, though you can spot two central characters played by Olyphant and Mitchell through the eye holes on the mask. Those characters are offered in all their glory (i.e., not just snippets of them) on the front panel, with Joe Anderson on the back panel, all rendered in yellowish tones with dirty green / gray backgrounds. The interior panels offers a rendering of one of the computer screens seen in the film. A digital copy is also included.

The Crazies 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is the rare reboot that may actually outshine the original, and fans of the film should certainly be, well, crazy for this release's generally great technical merits (especially audio), tons of supplements (including a wealth of new ones), and handsome SteelBook packaging. Highly recommended.