Director: John Erick Dowdle
Writer: John Erick Dowdle, Drew Dowdle (Screenplay) Jaume Balaguero, Luiso Berdejo, Pace Plaza (Original Screenplay)
Starring: Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris, Jay Hernandez, Johnathon Schaech, Columbus Short, Andrew Fiscella
Plot: A television reporter and her cameraman are trapped inside a building quarantined by the CDC, after the outbreak of a mysterious virus which turns humans into bloodthirsty killers.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Did We Need It?
Story: Quarantine starts as Angela Vidal (Carpenter) a reporter who assigned with her cameraman Scott (Harris) to follow a firefighter team around on one night. Learning how the men get through their time together, they finally get a call to an apartment building where it isn’t a fire they are tackling, it is a blood thirsty group of humans but to make things worse, the team find themselves quarantined within the building.
Angela continues to report from inside the building as the others look for a way out even though nearly all the outings are closed up but they now face a bigger threat from the inside as the dead are coming back from the dead and after human flesh.
Thoughts on Quarantine
Characters/Performance – Angela is the reporter just looking to get a great story but finds herself on the edge of one of the biggest stories she could have ever imagined. It would be fair to say the rest of the characters are just people in the building, the cameraman and firefighters, none of which we learn too much about.
Performance wise, Jennifer Carpenter is good in the leading role but the problem with a ‘found footage’ film is that if you know the stars it loses the realism needed from when you have unknowns.
Story – The story is simple enough, the new reporter and her cameraman get caught up in the middle of a quarantine of a potentially deadly infection spreading around which could kill everyone in the building, city and eventually the world. This doesn’t offer anything new from the original but does lose moments it needed to make it stand out.
Horror/Thriller – The horror is simple enough and does work in places but not to the levels the original offered us. You are also not on the edge of your seat like you once might have been watching the first film.
Settings – Most of the film is set within the building, it has no escape and a virus spreading, this does work and is easily the strongest element of this film.
Special Effects – This movie does have a bigger budget than the original and does use that on the special effects which come off very well when it comes to the zombie like infected characters.
Final Thoughts – This is a remake we didn’t need, the original has good sequels and this one offers nothing new to the idea which only disappoints for the audience.
Overall: Disappoint sequel that doesn’t hit all the heights of the original.
Rating
