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'Quarantine’ is a scream
Movie Review: Quarantine
By Rachel Shepard
Special to 2theadvocate.com
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PLAY OFFICIAL TRAILER
out of 4 stars.
Television reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman, Scott Percival (Steve Harris), go on location to a Los Angeles Fire Department to shadow local firemen for a story. When the station gets a late night 911 call, the pair hops aboard one of the trucks and follows the firemen to a small apartment building. On arrival, they find members of the police department with residents who heard blood-curdling screams coming from a woman in a unit upstairs.
As they assess the situation and record everything on tape, the Center for Disease Control suddenly quarantines everyone in the building and cuts off all the electricity, cable and cell phones. No one is given any information about what is happening to them. Those trapped in the building are also unprepared for what they find happened to the woman and what ultimately will happen to them.
“Quarantine” is like your basic zombie movie in which you know what’s coming, but you jump anyway.
Most of the film you’ll find yourself saying, “Don’t open that closet!” or “Don’t go up the stairs!” yet the expected still surprises you. That being said, the film is not quite as horrifying as it is jumpy.
The entire film is shot in a photojournalistic style, with Scott’s one camera capturing everything as it happens to him. Although the concept is nothing new and has become an overused trend in recent films, it really works for ‘Quarantine.’ Experiencing the thrills as the character sees them makes the film. Whether director John Erick Dowdle did it for popularity’s sake or simply because it just worked for the concept, he made the right choice.
As for the acting, Carpenter did a decent job playing the role of the reporter, but I’m pretty sure she got the part for her scream. She only did an average acting job, but she was able to scream and hyperventilate for so long, it almost became annoying. At one point, not only are the characters in the movie trying to calm her down, but the audience seemed to want to slap her and tell her to get it together as well.
As for the plot, John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle adapted the screenplay straight from the 2007 Spanish film “REC,” so you can’t really give them too much credit or blame for the stereotypical cinematic tricks or the well-written, realistic portrayal of insanity.
If you like being on the edge of your seat and enjoy the thrill of a good, easy scare, you won’t be disappointed with “Quarantine.” There is enough gore to satisfy those who enjoy bloody messes, but not so much that it takes away from the film for those who don’t. It is definitely one of the better horror films out this year and even though the concept is nothing new, it will leave you screaming.
