Quarantine (2008)

Dir: John Erick Dowdle

L.A. reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE) and her cameraman Scott Percival (Steve Harris 12 ROUNDS) are spending the night at a fire house as part of a local flavour news piece. They interview the chief, capture footage of the firetrucks, slide down the fire pole, interrupt dinner and whatever else they can think of to kill time until the team they are partnered with, Jake (Jay Hernandez HOSTEL) and Fletcher (Johnathon Schaech LAID TO REST) receive a call.

Angela and the start of a very long night

A call finally comes in. A call for both police and fire to respond to a report of a woman screaming in her apartment.

Arriving on the scene at an apartment building, the police, firefighters and television crew are met by the apartment owner (Rade Serbedzija THE FOG remake) who leads them to the door of the elderly woman who was making the racket. She looks very ill, drooling copious amounts of mucus, and is frightened by the interlopers to her home. But she warms up to her guests and demonstrates how spry she is by attacking a cop and chomping onto his flesh and tearing off a big ol' bloody chunk to nosh on.

Then all hell breaks loose.

The elderly woman was infected and anyone attacked by the infected and has their blood contaminated by the rabies like virus via bite or open wound turns into a flesh craving maniac. The denizens must quickly learn survival skills if they wish to make it through the night. And the gub'ment ain't about to help. Alerted to one of the apartment renter's dog getting all freaky and killing off pets at a veterinary hospital earlier in the day, the police, SWAT and CDC quarantine the building and will not let anyone out. Cable, Internet and mobile phone services are all cut. The sharpshooters positioned on top of adjacent buildings are all too willing to show off their skills on anyone attempting to sneak out.

I first learned of the found footage film QUARANTINE in the pages of Fangoria magazine. It was curious that a Spanish film [REC], which hadn't even been released yet, was being remade by American film makers. What's the point of that? Why not just see the original? I'll argue that QUARANTINE is a damn fine film that may not surpass the original but is a thrilling and tense view. QUARANTINE does away with the supernatural overtones of [REC] and changes a few other details and events but its foundation is the same. And even though I knew what was about to unfold because I had seen it unfold in [REC], I was still figuratively on the edge of my seat.

The acting is well done, with Jennifer Carpenter putting in a nice performance as the lead character who is not as strong as she thinks she is. The deaths of main characters are affecting, not just done for the sake of the script or a cheap scare. This shouldn't be a surprise, but the characters, caught up in a terrifying situation, act like real people rather than clods. They are believable. The bane of many a found footage film, the shaky cam, is kept to a minimum and never distracting or vomit inducing. Yes, the camera just happens to be in a perfect spot to capture all the action at times, but I'll forgive that employment of an oft-used trope of this sub-genre as not once did I see a camera angle that was impossible.

See the original and then watch the remake. It is worth it.

***1/2 out of ****