Running time: 89 minutes
Starring: Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris, Jay Hernandez, Johnathon Schaech, Columbus Short
Rating 6 out of 10
Quarantine is the (some would say inevitable) Hollywood remake of the successful Spanish thriller-cum-horror [rec] which caused something of a stir during its 2007 release. A mix of The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield, its low-budget, handheld feel will leave some quaking in fear and some shaking in disappointment.
Jennifer Carpenter - a regular on TV's Dexter and here impressive in the lead role - stars as Angela, a local TV reporter in an unnamed American town, who is sent to cover a typical nightshift at the local firestation. Expecting at best to go out with one of the crews when they attend a fire, she flirts, laughs and entertains through the opening twenty minutes which suggest that nothing extraordinary is about to happen.
But when the crew is finally called out, and Angela goes with them, something extraordinary does happen. Upon entering the building where the call has come from, they encounter a ghoulish woman showing signs of some rabies-like infection. Within minutes the block is surrounded by scarily-dressed emergency services who announce that they have been placed in quarantine, and the firemen and Angela themselves become trapped in the building.
All this is of course captured in real time through the lens of Angela's ever-present camera, and there are enough shocks and scares to keep the unwitting viewer interested. However, some of these are of the cheap variety and there's only so much horror that can be wrenched out of what is essentially a one-trick pony of a film.
Paul Hurley
Jennifer Carpenter - a regular on TV's Dexter and here impressive in the lead role - stars as Angela, a local TV reporter in an unnamed American town, who is sent to cover a typical nightshift at the local firestation. Expecting at best to go out with one of the crews when they attend a fire, she flirts, laughs and entertains through the opening twenty minutes which suggest that nothing extraordinary is about to happen.
But when the crew is finally called out, and Angela goes with them, something extraordinary does happen. Upon entering the building where the call has come from, they encounter a ghoulish woman showing signs of some rabies-like infection. Within minutes the block is surrounded by scarily-dressed emergency services who announce that they have been placed in quarantine, and the firemen and Angela themselves become trapped in the building.
All this is of course captured in real time through the lens of Angela's ever-present camera, and there are enough shocks and scares to keep the unwitting viewer interested. However, some of these are of the cheap variety and there's only so much horror that can be wrenched out of what is essentially a one-trick pony of a film.
Paul Hurley
