DVD Review: Quarantine
Quarantine (2008)
Studio: Sony Studios
DVD Release Date: February 17, 2008
Directed By: John Erick Dowdle
Cast: Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris, Jay Hernandez, Rade Serbedzija & Joey King
Brutal As Hell Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 stars
Review By: Annie Riordan
It’s just a run-of-the-mill news night for Los Angeles fluff reporter Angela Vidal. Tonight’s assignment has Angie and her faithful camera man Scott hanging around the fire department, shadowing the firefighters, goofing around with the pole and hoping for a call so that L.A.’s civilian population can catch a glimpse of their helmeted heroes in action. Finally, after an uneventful couple of hours hanging around the station, a call comes in and both Angela and Scott eagerly hope aboard the fire truck, hoping for some action.
At first, it seems like a routine call to an old, dilapidated apartment house. An elderly female resident is apparently ill and needs assistance. But when said elderly woman suddenly freaks out and attacks a police officer, biting him in a foamy-mouthed frenzy and causing several serious injuries, it soon becomes apparent that something is not right. When Angela and the firefighters attempt to exit the building, they find themselves trapped within. Outside, the police, SWAT and the Center for Disease Control have quarantined the entire building and are releasing false reports to the media that all within have been evacuated. As the contagion quickly spreads, turning the infected into violently rabid zombies, Angela, Scott and the dwindling circle of survivors realize that no one is coming to save them, and that they have, in fact, been left to die.
I haven’t seen [REC], the original Spanish horror flick that inspired this remake. I do plan on seeing it ASAP, but I’m actually rather glad about the fact that I was able to watch this remake without any pre-conceived notions or prejudices. As it stands, I found Quarantine very enjoyable and quite frightening, and I’m not a person who scares easily. The plot is a mix of 28 Days Later and Dawn Of The Dead, with a Blair Witch/Cloverfield you-are-there filming technique which – honestly – became rather nauseating after a while.
However, despite the constant bouncing, spinning and jiggling (sounds like I’m describing an Annie Sprinkle performance, for gods sake), Quarantine is quite tense and realistic, aided in no small part by Jennifer Carpenter’s performance (I admit it – I love her!) and a supporting cast of characters who all look like real people as opposed to airbrushed actors.
Quarantine just seems like it could really happen, anywhere and at anytime. It’s very satisfactorily bloody, scary and oh-my-god horrifying. I now cannot wait to see [REC], but I’m not sorry I saw this remake first.
