Quarantine [Movie Review]

Quarantine is a new horror movie shot with a handicam; in the same vein as Blair Witch Project, Diary of the Dead and Cloverfield--what the camera sees is what you see.

The film follows reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter of Dexter) and her cameraman, as they ride along with a team of firefighters to an apartment complex where an old women was heard screaming, and suffering a horrible fall.

What they find, is a growing zombie-like epidemic of super rabies that begins to spread from person to person, pet to pet, forcing the rescue-workers and residents to try and flee the scene, but soon after they arrive, a SWAT team and the CDC barricade the building with Plexiglas, posting armed gunman at every exit.

The people inside are forced to try and survive by fighting away the infected.

This film manages to pull off the guerrilla style shooting with some ease, everything captured looks somewhat believable, and there aren't any annoying moments when the camera shuts off, or we miss what happens. While the camerawork may be smart, the main characters are not, constantly venturing upstairs into the zombie infested hallways instead of staying downstairs by the door like they are told.

Their risky behavior definitely warrants some scream-at -the-screen moments.

While all of the characters' actions are not always believable, their emotions are, the characters behave in a way fitting of such a extreme, unbelievable situation, even if their screaming and panting gets a little annoying.


I will say, this film has the kind of ending that I hate, an ending that really put a damper on a pretty enjoyable horror flick, but maybe I'm alone in my disdain for this particular breed of horror conclusion.

Over all, this was a good way to kill an hour and a half, its no instant classic but its no dud either.



C+