The camera bounces along, its path blocked frequently by the back of some fleeing figure, so that you're never quite sure where you are, where you're going or what you're looking at...
Quarantine (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:76
Fresh:45
Rotten:31
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: Quarantine uses effective atmosphere and consistent scares to stand above the crop of recent horror films.
Australian Rating: MA15+ [See Full Rating] Strong horror violence
Runtime: 89 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Australian Theatrical Release:
Nov 27, 2008 Wide
US Box Office: $31,691,811
Synopsis: A faithful adaptation of the 2007 Spanish film REC, QUARANTINE chronicles the outbreak of a rabies-like disease in a Los Angeles apartment building and the struggle of the unaffected residents to... A faithful adaptation of the 2007 Spanish film REC, QUARANTINE chronicles the outbreak of a rabies-like disease in a Los Angeles apartment building and the struggle of the unaffected residents to stay alive after the authorities trap them inside in an effort to contain it. Equal parts BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and 28 DAYS LATER, the film is presented through the eye of a video camera, putting the audience in the middle of the action and creating a heightened level of intensity and realism. Television reporter Angela (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman, Scott (Steve Harris), are covering the goings-on at a firehouse for a program about night shift workers. As she clowns around with two flirty firemen (Jonathan Schaech and Jay Hernandez), an alarm sounds, and a truck is dispatched--with Angela and Scott on board---to an apartment building where an old woman has seemingly lost her mind. The woman bites one of the firemen and is soon killed, but when more tenants turn up with the same disorder, it's clear that a chain reaction is occurring. Unfortunately for Angela and the rest of the uninfected residents, the authorities have quarantined the building---but she and Scott continue to document the tragic and terrifying events inside the building as those inside are one by one transformed into bloodthirsty monsters. Director John Eric Dowdle, whose film THE POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES also used a pseudo-documentary approach in detailing the crimes of a serial killer, creates a sustained level of chaos and fear that will have all but the most seasoned horror fan cowering in the corner. Though the shaky camerawork may be difficult to take for those prone to motion sickness, it--along with a complete absence of music--gives the film a startling realism and immediacy to accompany its stomach-churning descent into full-on hopelessness and dread. [More]
Starring: Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Columbus Short, Greg Germann
Starring: Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Columbus Short, Greg Germann, Steve Harris, Dania Ramirez, Rade Sherbedgia, Johnathon Schaech
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Screenwriter: John Erick Dowdle, Drew Dowdle
Producer: Doug Davison, Roy Lee, Sergio Aguero
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Reviews for Quarantine
It's one of those rare movies where you can't quite ascertain as to whether the filmmakers are trying to create scares or laughs.
Delivers a pleasingly high quota of decent jolts as the body count mounts and the TV airhead becomes increasingly hysterical.
The Spanish film worked better than John Erick Dowdle's remake, which is, if possible, even more chaotically filmed to the point that you often haven't got the slightest idea what's happening -- you just know that it's nasty.
Jennifer Carpenter is terrific as the news reporter who gets swallowed up in her own story, and leads an excellent cast, all of whom bring a veracity to this remake in the hands of the talented Dowdle brothers
Despite the Cronenbergian themes, the film is relentless and singleminded: It just wants to scare you, and it succeeds.
Quarantine fails to correct some of the problems evident in its predecessor while also incorporating a few defects of its own.
When the month's horror options boil down to a modestly clever exercise like this or yet another Saw sequel, you know you could do worse.
Quarantine isn't an awful film--just an unnecessary one. It may well be the most pointless remake since Gus Van Sant's Psycho
Despite Quarantine's theft from nearly every film in the subgenre, there are parts of the film that just plain work, no matter how much it doesn't seem like they should.
Good news for those who missed the Spanish zombie horror [REC] when it opened here a few months back. Here comes the inevitable fast-tracked Hollywood remake, which covers the same ground without the burden of all those subtitled hysterics.
'Quarantine' is a solid horror movie and one of the better to be released this year. The last 15 minutes is hardcore suspense that redeem any cheap movie making flaws.
Horror movie fans can enjoy the visceral experience. The core purpose %u2013 to make people jump out of their seats %u2013 is executed with intense precision.
Quarantine, yet another pseudo-documentary horror movie, delivers the heebie-jeebies with solid acting and perfectly calibrated shocks.
Quarantine is a lucrative steal by Dowdle. The Spanish original is arguably the best vérité fright movie since The Blair Witch Project. The American version is not quite in the same league.
Rather too hysterical to be coherent, but it's still jittery and thoroughly unnerving
Quarantine director John Erick Dowdle and co-writing brother Drew wisely stick close to the told-from-the-cameraman's point-of-view template of the terrific original.
Good Halloween-type fun for the fans of adult thrillers, 'Quarantine' is a cleverly done scare flickt aht will keep you wondering who's going to get it next.
Too much information in the trailer spoiled some of the suspense of the film
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