Release Date:
Friday, October 10, 2008
Directed by: John Erick Dowdle
The Skinny: An English-language remake of the Spanish film REC, Quarantine is about a news reporter (Jennifer Carpenter) and her camera man (Steve Harris) doing a "ride along" with the LAFD. They respond to a call at an apartment building to find that the residents are being infected by a rapidly-spreading disease that's turning them into feral killing machines. Making matters worse, the Center for Disease Control has sealed them all up inside.
The Good: Although the concept of "lost" footage and a single camera recording the horrific events has become a cliche faster than you can say YouTube, Quarantine, for the most part, does it well enough. The movie is helped by some very natural, un-actorly performances by the leads (especially in the early, "calm" scenes) and a truly unsettling sense of danger and dread. Oh, and the movie leaves no chance for a happy ending.
The Bad: Again, the single camera concept strains a bit, especially since there's no way A) The cameraman would possible keep filming the entire time and B) the camera could withstand being dropped multiple times and used as a weapon without falling apart. Hell, the battery doesn't even wane. Also, two "big reveals" couldn't have been more painfully obvious if they were spray-painted in neon on the apartment walls. Hmmm think the "man in the attic" whom no one has seen "for months" might have something to do with all this?
Night, night: It's officialthe "night vision" setting on cameras never, ever reveals anything good. Can we just all agree never to use it?
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? It's not bad if you want to venture out, but we feel this'll probably be a perfect "scary movie night" rental.
The Skinny: An English-language remake of the Spanish film REC, Quarantine is about a news reporter (Jennifer Carpenter) and her camera man (Steve Harris) doing a "ride along" with the LAFD. They respond to a call at an apartment building to find that the residents are being infected by a rapidly-spreading disease that's turning them into feral killing machines. Making matters worse, the Center for Disease Control has sealed them all up inside.
The Good: Although the concept of "lost" footage and a single camera recording the horrific events has become a cliche faster than you can say YouTube, Quarantine, for the most part, does it well enough. The movie is helped by some very natural, un-actorly performances by the leads (especially in the early, "calm" scenes) and a truly unsettling sense of danger and dread. Oh, and the movie leaves no chance for a happy ending.
The Bad: Again, the single camera concept strains a bit, especially since there's no way A) The cameraman would possible keep filming the entire time and B) the camera could withstand being dropped multiple times and used as a weapon without falling apart. Hell, the battery doesn't even wane. Also, two "big reveals" couldn't have been more painfully obvious if they were spray-painted in neon on the apartment walls. Hmmm think the "man in the attic" whom no one has seen "for months" might have something to do with all this?
Night, night: It's officialthe "night vision" setting on cameras never, ever reveals anything good. Can we just all agree never to use it?
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? It's not bad if you want to venture out, but we feel this'll probably be a perfect "scary movie night" rental.