pumpktoberfest #25 - you so crazy.

film: the crazies
beer: chelsea brewing co. pumpkin pie ale

for the next film of the pumpktoberfest season, after an evening out last friday, i sat down & watched a zombie-esque picture that came out this past february called the crazies, a remake of the 1973 film with the same name by horror legend george romero. while the original didn't do too well at the box office, it eventually became a cult classic & people are going nuts for zombie-esque creatures these days, so a remake was in order. it's directed by breck eisner, who's best known for directing one of the worst flops in hollywood history, sahara. at the moment, he's on board to direct the 3D version of flash gordon, so maybe things are turning around for him. it stars timothy olyphant (justified, deadwood) as sheriff david dutton, radha mitchell (the non-ally sheedy star of high art) as his wife judy & joe anderson as deputy russell clank.

the story takes place in ogden marsh, iowa, a fictional town whose water supply gets accidentally infected by a biological weapon. when people drink the water, they get infected with a virus called "trixie" that, within 48 hours, turns them into psycho killers..."crazies." after one town resident interrupts a baseball game by walking onto the field with a shotgun & another resident burns down his house with his wife & son inside, sheriff dutton suspects that something's not right. when local hunters discover a dead pilot in the swamp & while investigating it the sheriff stumbles across a downed plane in the same swamp, he's all "OH SHIT. something's definitely up." things start getting crazier & crazier in ogden marsh & soon after, the military shows up & starts quarantining the residents into a facility at the high school.

eventually, the crazies become too much for the military to contain so they take off, abandoning the quarantine facility. for the remainder of the film, the sheriff, his wife, the deputy & becca, another ogden marsh citizen played by danielle panabaker, are on the run from both the crazies & the military. unfortunately, they can't flee the town because the military has it on lockdown & pretty much every vehicle in the town has been rendered inoperable anyhow. as they wander through the fiery remains of ogden marsh trying to find a way out, horror abounds.

it's a damn freaky film. as they note in the DVD extras, the film's scary because it's something that could actually happen & it's happening to people who, until they've gone crazy, are just the people in your neighborhood. as killers, the townsfolk mean BIZNESS & when they set their minds on killing someone, they manage to do so in the creepiest way possible. i'm not too big on recent horror films, but i liked this one a ton. as of may, the film had taken in $50 million worldwide, so i'm apparently not the only one who enjoyed it. if you haven't seen it, i'd suggest that you do. if nothing, you'll get a better idea of how to deal with pitchfork-wielding, virus-infused maniacs when they take over your town.

in celebration of one of the nyc neighborhoods with the most crazies per capita, my friday evening began in chelsea, where i met a friend at chelsea brewing co. to try out their brand new addition to the menu, the chelsea brewing co. pumpkin pie ale. chelsea brewing co, which is housed on the west side of nyc on pier 59, has been brewing their own beer & serving it to hip new yorkers since back in 1995. while the pumpkin pie ale is a seasonal, they have a handful of beers on tap at all times, favorites like their checker cab blond ale & their sunset red ale. despite being located in chelsea, it's an ok place to grab a few beers, especially during the warmer months, when you can fully enjoy the waterfront location. even though i LOVE beer & have been in the city for almost a decade, this was only my second visit to the brewery thus far.

since it's called "pumpkin pie," going in i was expecting a pumpkin beer that's full of spices & it definitely lived up to my expectations. usually tons of spices is a killer for me when it comes to pumpkin beers, but in this case it was actually pretty good. there's nutmeg & cinnamon & some other spices in it and when combined with a sweet pumpkin flavor, you're left with a tasty beer that resembles pumpkin pie more than any beer i've tried thus far. it's got a light orange color & a hazy complexion & overall it's a very drinkable beer. if you're not in nyc, your chances of trying it are pretty much nil, but if you are here in the city it's worth taking a trip over to chelsea brewing co. & having yourself a heaping helping of pumpkin pie...now in liquid form!