Quarantine (C- or 1.5/4 stars)
A television news reporter & her cameraman are trapped inside an apartment building and quarantined by the CDC in ...'Quarantine', a horror flick directed by John Erick Dowdle. They are quarantined after the sudden outbreak of a mysterious rabies-like virus which turns humans into bloodthirsty zombies. We've seen this type of movie before. Using the faux-documentary shaky hand-held technique (a la the far more engrossing Cloverfield), this film aims to chill, thrill & nauseate us. I enjoyed the first 20 minutes. The pacing is fine. But the film is ridiculously loud. And I just wasn't very scared by its content.
The film begins by introducing us to Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter, The Exorcism of Emily Rose), who is preparing to do an in-depth report on the local firefighters in L.A. Recording her is her faithful (VERY faithful) cameraman, Scott (Steve Harris). Always wanting to be a firefighter herself, Angela jumps at the opportunity to shadow Jake & Fletcher (Jay Hernandez, Johnathon Schaech) while catering to a 911 call. They enter a small tenement house & hear bloodcurdling screams. An elderly woman has been 'infected' by something. And mayhem ensues. Resident by resident is viciously attacked. Some huddle in corners, some try to escape. All communication systems have been shut down. And we watch it all unfold via the hand-held camera ... oh, what joy.
I liked the 1st 20 minutes or so. Angela Vidal seems like a normal girl; trying to get the scoop. The cameraman is funny & amiable. The firefighters are kinda sleazy. Various attempts to humanize these random characters are made. But after the firefighters try to deal with the screaming Mrs. Espinosa, the movie goes down the tubes. Look, 'Quarantine' DOES offer some credible jolts. How could it not? What we witness for 65 min. is a blurrying, dizzying combination of shadows, lights, random faces, bloodied shirts, shrieking screams, loud bumps, heavy breathing (Blair Witch Project anyone?), lots of running around in circles, etc.. At some point, you're gonna be creeped out, freaked out, or both. Because they're all confined, the claustrophobia level goes up, & we feel the effect, as well.
But none of this was thrilling, per say. In fact, it was mostly ANNOYING. As each minute passed, I became more & more restless, over-familiarized to the situation, & uninterested. For large portions of the film, people are yelling & screaming, and we don't see what they see (or feel). It's impossible to get a grasp on things. Jennifer Carpenter (so good in Emily Rose) is standard here. She whimpers, shrieks & crawls awful well. But there are no other noteworthy performances. One last thing, I think my fellow critic Kevin has noted in the past (on films of this ilk): what is the likelihood of a cameraman continuing to film when he/she really should be running for his life!?!? Stupid. All in all, 'Quarantine' isn't atrocious. But hysterics & unintentional humor eclipse pure fright as you watch it.
The film begins by introducing us to Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter, The Exorcism of Emily Rose), who is preparing to do an in-depth report on the local firefighters in L.A. Recording her is her faithful (VERY faithful) cameraman, Scott (Steve Harris). Always wanting to be a firefighter herself, Angela jumps at the opportunity to shadow Jake & Fletcher (Jay Hernandez, Johnathon Schaech) while catering to a 911 call. They enter a small tenement house & hear bloodcurdling screams. An elderly woman has been 'infected' by something. And mayhem ensues. Resident by resident is viciously attacked. Some huddle in corners, some try to escape. All communication systems have been shut down. And we watch it all unfold via the hand-held camera ... oh, what joy.
I liked the 1st 20 minutes or so. Angela Vidal seems like a normal girl; trying to get the scoop. The cameraman is funny & amiable. The firefighters are kinda sleazy. Various attempts to humanize these random characters are made. But after the firefighters try to deal with the screaming Mrs. Espinosa, the movie goes down the tubes. Look, 'Quarantine' DOES offer some credible jolts. How could it not? What we witness for 65 min. is a blurrying, dizzying combination of shadows, lights, random faces, bloodied shirts, shrieking screams, loud bumps, heavy breathing (Blair Witch Project anyone?), lots of running around in circles, etc.. At some point, you're gonna be creeped out, freaked out, or both. Because they're all confined, the claustrophobia level goes up, & we feel the effect, as well.
But none of this was thrilling, per say. In fact, it was mostly ANNOYING. As each minute passed, I became more & more restless, over-familiarized to the situation, & uninterested. For large portions of the film, people are yelling & screaming, and we don't see what they see (or feel). It's impossible to get a grasp on things. Jennifer Carpenter (so good in Emily Rose) is standard here. She whimpers, shrieks & crawls awful well. But there are no other noteworthy performances. One last thing, I think my fellow critic Kevin has noted in the past (on films of this ilk): what is the likelihood of a cameraman continuing to film when he/she really should be running for his life!?!? Stupid. All in all, 'Quarantine' isn't atrocious. But hysterics & unintentional humor eclipse pure fright as you watch it.