Nicholas and I attended our second (in what shall be a never-ending) movie of the week trip this Sunday. Last week we saw Blindness (the review is on the blog) and we both were glowing about it. This week, my love for horror movies (and my love for his shivers during them) lead us to see Quarantine. I didn't know until after the movie that it was in fact a remake of a film called Rec - from Japan of course. I am now intrigued to see that version as well.
Quarantine starts out pretty awful, I must admit. The story revolves around a reporter from a terrible news station (played by Jennifer Carpenter of The Exorcism of Emily Rose) and her cameraman, whom you never see because he films the entire thing. He is the narrator if you will. Carpenter tries a little too hard to be likable in the beginning and just comes off annoying. Honestly after a while I was ready for something bad to happen to her because she annoyed me so much. Her special report is on the local fire station, so she will be spending a night with the men (no women) of the fire department. It starts off low key, and we get bored watching these people tour the station, be idiotic, and walk in the shower rooms. However when the crew is dispatched to an emergency call at a local apartment complex, the movie finally takes a turn.
Suddenly everything about Quarantine gets better. The acting improves ten fold, as it is apparent that Jennifer Carpenter could be a scream queen (a comedian she is not). She is good at being terrified - and trust me - you will be too. I don't want to give away too much, but this movie just keeps unfolding and gets scarier by the minute. Apparently something has gone awry in the lavish apartment building, and tenants were worried when an elderly woman upstairs was screaming her lungs off, and wouldn't answer the door. The fire department is called in to "rescue" as it would a cat in a tree. However there is something much more sinister going on. And instead of taking the "zombie" road - Quarantine actually makes sense (which is rare and a welcome surprise to this type of horror genre).
When it is obvious that things aren't going to get better, the fire department, news crew, and tenants find themselves locked into the building, in effect in a quarantine so that the terror inside doesn't spread. Then you have about an hour left of the film, and its a non-stop thrill ride. This movie felt like I was on a horrific roller coaster. There's something around every turn, and it is a very uneasy watch. But at the same time its tons of fun. Definitely not for the light hearted, Quarantine packs some gory punches. If your significant other gets scared easily (as mine does) then this is a win win for you in a date situation. You're guaranteed to have him or her in your lap screaming the night away.
I would definately recommend Quarantine, despite its slow start. It is filmed similarly to Cloverfield (which I preferred to this) and has a bit of a Blaire Witch meets Night of the Living Dead vibe, which is always a good thing. If you want a good thrill to prepare for Halloween, then Quarantine is the movie for you.
***1/2 out of *****
1 comment:
Let the record show that I only screamed 3-5 times and sat relatively still. Don't get me wrong...I was scared out of my mind. But, at the same time, I did my best not to ruin the movie for the rest of the theater/embarass myself horribly in public.
Suspense and tension make me physically uncomfortable, and I usually end up trembling like an idiot and ruining any tense moment for anyone else:)
Great review babe!
Post a Comment