Quarantine

Far better than the previews would lead you to believe.
Quarantine is a much better movie than its previews would lead you to believe. Previews make it look like people are trapped in an old building with zombies running amok in it. Maybe they came up from the sewers.

In fact it follows a reality TV reporter who is following an LA fire crew on calls. They go to a building when neighbors have reported screams coming from the apartment of an old lady. What follows is the outbreak of a savage, mind destroying disease where tenants and first responders find them sealed in with those already infected, by the CDC.

Like Cloverfield and Blair Witch, the film is shot from the single camera view of the reality reporter's camera man. Unlike those films the camera work is clean and does not distract the viewer. Watch the long shot when a call comes as the camera man has to follow the reporter down a hall, a flight of stairs and into a truck and realize it was all done in one take without cuts. The first 20 minutes of the film are...

Reality TV...
A Los Angeles reporter (Jennifer Carpenter) and her trusty cameraman do an on-site interview w/ the fire department that goes from routine banter to terrifying fight for survival. Carpenter is especially well-suited for her role as perky TV personalty-turned shattered victim of chaotic disaster. She carries a large chunk of the movie. The camerawork goes from controlled to frantic to insane! The horror builds slowly, allowing us to have some fun and get to know the characters (a bit) before plunging us into increasing anarchy. There are some memorable, heart-freezing moments in QUARANTINE that stick w/ me, like the old lady, the little girl, and that firefighter w/ the broken leg! Brrrr! Enjoy...

Good, but a shot-by-shot remake of the Spanish [REC]
A film team led by reporter Angela Vidale [Jennifer Carpenter] follows a fire crew for the night as part of a documentary for a light news show. When they get a call out, it's not to a fire, but a woman in distress. So begins a night of terror; the woman, and many other residents of the apartment building are infected with a virus that acts like rabies, but develops much faster. The infected foam at the mouth and are incredibly aggressive. As the night progresses, and the infection explodes, the film team must fight off the infected monsters to survive. What makes Quarantine interesting is that it is shot entirely from the viewpoint of the cameraman, Scott [Steve Harris]. It would be quite inventive if it were not a shot-for-shot remake of the Spanish film [REC].

Still, well worth seeing, but I'd advise seeing [REC] first.

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