One of the better horror films of last year, and certainly one of the best horror remakes of recent memory, this American remake of Spanish horror pic '[Rec]' (not yet released here in the States) is nasty, efficient and achieves what it sets out to do - namely to scare the bejesus out of you.
I have yet to see the original Spanish pic but buzz amongst the horror crowd was high and there was even word that an audience member at a New Zealand screening soiled themselves out of fright.
Now, if this remake followed the original pretty closely (and I heard it had), then I can safely say that nothing here stopped my undies from being dry at the end, but that doesn't take away from a handful of highly effective scares (and to be fair...I did borrow my daughter's 'bubby' bear for comfort).
Given the whole hand-held treatment now in vogue again with 'Cloverfield' and this film's closest peer, Romero's 'Diary of the Dead', I thought I had reached my quota of P.O.V. pics after taking in the mediocre Romero pic but found that it can still be an useful device as long as it's done well.
'Quarantine' starts us off with following TV reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter, the slightly annoying headliner of 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose’) through the eyes of her cameraman Scott (Steve Harris) as she does a story on the everyday routines of a Los Angeles fire station.
Sliding down poles…ahem, playing a little basketball and meeting the station Dalmatian all play out as Angela is guided around by firefighters Jake (Jay Hernandez) and George (Johnathon Schaech, rocking one heck of a mustache).
With the exception of some shameless flirting, it seems to be a pretty ho-hum night at the station until a call comes in that seems to be routine: a disturbance at an apartment building downtown.
With Angela and Scott in tow, the firefighters head that direction in a fairly lively manner. Arriving just after a pair of cops, they investigate to find that the tenants placed a call on an older lady who keeps shrieking from her apartment.
Assuming the lady needs medical attention, they break the door down to find the lady in a bloody, drooling, hyperactive mess. Just thinking she might be insane; she then tears after them and almost tears the throat out of one of the firefighters.
Holding her down, they try to get the hurt firefighter to a hospital but find that the whole building has been locked down and the windows covered up with voices from the loudspeakers outside threatening death if they attempt to leave. They've been quarantined in the building and something is spreading.
What 'Quarantine' does really well is establish atmosphere and tension almost immediately upon entry of the apartment building with most characters reacting within a believable spectrum; a necessity for this type of picture. And while the dialogue is a bit inane, and even irritating at points (maybe even improvised for the most part), nothing rings false or took me out of the film.
Jennifer Carpenter was a bit grating (as TV reporters tend to be) but the integral cast was filled with somewhat established actors like Hernandez ('Hostel II'), Schaech ('That Thing You Do!') and Greg Germann ('Ally McBeal') that can give a little weight to mostly throw-away lines. Compare this to the almost exclusively green cast that made up 'Diary of the Dead' where newbies were falling flat on the line readings/improv left and right.
A mostly well-done effort from 'Poughkeepsie Tapes' director John Erick Dowdle who co-wrote with brother Drew, the film does suffer a bit when it comes to explanation time and the nihilist ending was predictably stale but for a fun, suspenseful 85-minutes, you won't be able to do much better.
The film is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and the results are as expected when considering the almost exclusively dark settings and P.O.V. format. Special Features include 'Locked In: The Making of 'Quarantine', a ten-minute EPK piece, 'Anatomy of a Stunt' which is an extremely quick look at one particular stunt, 'Dressing the Infected: Robert Hall's Make-up Design' and an audio commentary by director John Erick Dowdle and bro Drew Dowdle.
Special Features are a bit blah and surprisingly light but just looking at the film; 'Quarantine' is an easy recommend for horror fans with a quick pace, some clever jolts and a hefty helping of tension and atmosphere. Don't let the remake label put you off, this is the rare remake that works.
Quarantine is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a March 12th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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