Staci Layne Wilson [1] reporting

Most Hollywood premieres feature a red carpet, velvet ropes, and lots of fawning. But last night the press was subjected to barking orders as we arrived on scene, interrogation, a temporary quarantine, a blind bus ride to nowhere, and invasive examinations to make sure we weren't "infected" -- it was all apropos for the special screening of The Crazies, a ramped-up 2010 remake of a low budget George Romero flick about a small town plagued by a strange and mysterious virus which turns its inhabitants into crazed killers.

After the film was shown (click here [2]for my review of the film), we were herded in the dark and rain into... a big party with hot chocolate and dessert! It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.

As we entered the soundstage-turned-party palace, this is the first thing we saw: A man hanging from a rope. And, as it turned out, a harness. Guests were allowed to try it for themselves, along with green-screen shenanigans and the chance to get "infected" via makeup by effects wizards at Almost Human [3].

In order to gain entrance, we had to be "tagged"...

...but at least we weren't slabbed, like this guy (who presumably gave the movie a bad review)

The leads from the film, Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell, were on hand to meet and greet the press -- here they are "before" and "after"

That's it, folks! The Crazies opens nationwide on Friday, February 26 2010.

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Visit THE CRAZIES official website here for more pictures, videos clips, and special downloads [4]