User reviews

There must have been comedians in the projection booth the night that some friends and I went to see a family friendly film. These particular friends tend to watch only light-hearted material and get upset for weeks whenever they see horror films or intense thrillers. They were totally unprepared for a 'Quarantine' trailer and it shocked them all so badly that we nearly had to leave and get our money back. Maybe it was because of their strong reaction that my interest in the film has stayed so high for the past several months.

This week I have seen both 'Quarantine' and 'Rec' the film that 'Quarantine' is a remake of. 'Rec' is not without flaws but it is a very solid and chilling horror film. 'Quarantine' is able to expand on several of the strengths in 'Rec' while falling into a few pitfalls of it's own. Both films are about a TV news crew taping a show about what a night in the life of a fireman is like. A seemingly routine call turns out to be something much more and the news crew is trapped in a quickly quarantined building.

Giving credit where it is due, 'Quarantine' kept me on the edge of my seat for most of the movie. It lures you in with a very relaxed opening ten minutes but once you reach the building and the cop in charge asks why the camera crew is there, the whole tone of the movie changes. The fun and games, the light-hearted banter is gone. We only realize how serious it is though when they enter the apartment of an injured old woman. For me the tension starts with the entrance to the apartment and never lets up. Each new segment that the TV crew starts filming holds potential terror. The set design and the lighting are terrific and 'Quarantine' walks a careful tightrope of character action. So often in horror films the audience is yelling with frustration at what characters on the screen are doing because it all goes against common sense. There is a little bit of that early on but 'Quarantine' does a better job of playing to the characters and their panic. Characters die not through naivety or stupidity as much as they do from inevitability and inescapability. The key performance comes from Jennifer Carpenter.

The film's greatest strength and weakness at the same time, Carpenter is the focus of the camera because of her role as the reporter and it isn't an easy part to play. She is solid for the majority of the film but terror essentially overwhelms her with ten minutes to go and she is reduced to a sobbing, shrieking, shivering bowl of jello. Would I or anyone else be any better in the situation that 'Quarantine' creates? Hard for me to say but probably not. The problem is that there were three primary acting choices for her to make in the final ten minutes: she could play it as a hysteric (which she does), she could play it as numbing down her fear like the cameraman does in order to try and escape, or she could have been so overwhelmed by her fear that she becomes a functional catatonic working on autopilot. Carpenter's choice is probably the 'truest' choice for how people would react. That doesn't mean that it is going to make for good drama. Her transformation from confident and outgoing to hysterical jabbering is so jarring that it feels forced instead of real. The camera man keeps telling her to calm down when they've reached a potentially safe room but she is far beyond the calming down stage and well into the years of therapy one instead. I found it to be just too much and actually pulled me out of the horror and towards comedy instead.

'Rec' felt a bit more organic and gritty than 'Quarantine.' The performances are decent in both but you feel less of a connection to the characters in 'Quarantine.' Many are clearly there to serve as fodder with no attempt to seriously develop them. 'Rec' does a much better job, particularly when the reporter interviews each of the buildings residents. The five minutes spent in filming those sequences gave more of a stake to the audience into the well-being of those characters. That never really takes off in 'Quarantine' and I regret that they didn't follow the lead of 'Rec'. One thing that I thought 'Quarantine' did a much better job of was in plot clarity and how they provided information. The clues to the source of what is going on are much more explicit and come very early in the movie. 'Rec' dropped a few hints for the viewer to put together but relies on the final five minutes to give the major clues about patient zero. What patient zero is spreading is clearer in the remake and I thought the clarity benefited the plot. Of course by the time you find out about patient zero, Carpenter's character is beyond being able to help provide the audience with anymore real analytical power. Don't blink or you'll miss everything you need to know.

I give the slight edge to 'Rec', but certainly recommend 'Quarantine' to horror fans. It's problems aren't severe enough to detract from a very decent effort.

As a rule I do not like found footage aka shaky cam movies. Besides being terrible quality, most of the time it defies logic and common sense for the person to continue filming while in such dire situations, and I can't get past that. Just like I can't get past the cellphone camera generation today that has an insatiable need to film the most appalling events without thinking, "Maybe I should put the camera down and help." Or my favorite --while holding their cellphone to video-- "Someone call 9-1-1!"

"Quarantine" is a found footage movie based upon the movie "REC." "REC" was a foreign film with the exact same premise, but it was better. In "Quarantine" a reporter named Angela (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman Scott (Steve Harris) follow a few L. A. firefighters out on a call. When they arrive at an apartment they find an elderly woman seemingly on the brink of death. Suddenly, she sprung to life with the vigor of a person one-fourth her age and bit a firefighter on the neck. As weird as this was, no one would become truly panicked until they found out that they were being locked in the building.

From that point on the movie was a lot of screaming, yelling, growling, and running in circles--all with very poor camera shots because the cameraman was a part of the fracas. This movie would've been better had I not seen "REC" already. Also, it would've been better had they gone with a traditional movie format. However, there were a few awesome shots of bodies dropping and/or falling which kept me engaged.

I went into this movie with fairly vague expectations - however I am a fan of scary movies, and not to mention a big fan of Jennifer Carpenter, could be good times. so lets go.

woah.

This movie was horribly fantastic! It was a ride, a very scary, very stressful ride, but an awesome one. True, this flick does not stray far from the typical zombie flick concepts, but I thought the execution was above par. The 1st person views, the sense of confinement/hopelessness, and the great acting (especially ms carpenter, extremely believable job of someone going hysterically frantic) One of the key things about this horror is the scares never let up, there is rarely a "breather scene" where you get to relax for any amount of time, it just keeps hitting you and hitting you.

haha, phew. I truly enjoyed. check it out. cheers

A television reporter and her cameraman occupying to spend themselves the night shift in a fire station. After a routine call take them to an apartments building. There they meet residents,cops, caretaker already in the scenario ; all of them are trapped inside a building quarantined by the CDC after the outbreak of a mysterious virus which becomes humans into bloodthirsty murderers . Acceptable remake full of eerie scenes with zombies and creepy scenes .This following packs a sinister and horrifying atmosphere by means of shaky camera and videotape as well as the former Spanish films titled REC 1, and 2 . The eerie tale deals with a reporter (Jennifer Carpenter )who leads a TV team inside the quarantined building , in which communication means have been cut-off and police agents are not relaying information to those closed inside. They soon learn that a woman living in the building has been infected by something unknown and after that are attacked by the zombie-like creatures . The journalist , a fireman (Jay Hernandez) and his cameraman occupying to spend themselves the night against the zombies . There , they find residents already in the scenario have been possessed by strange demoniac forces . After that , the tenants and inhabitants are brutally attacked by psycho people ; they soon learn that people living in the building has been infected by something unknown. The group attempts the getaway but they only encounter that have been sealed off and try to avoid the bloody attacks .

This sequel to one of the highest earning horror movies of the last years titled ¨Rec¨ is realized in similar premise to original and contains a good cast as Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez , Johnathon Schaech ,Steve Harris and Rade Serbedzija. It's a solid movie , a terror story plenty of suspense, restless horror, and in documentary style. Film itself takes place from point of sight from cameraman. The flesh-eating zombies appearance deliver the goods plenty of screams, shocks and tension .The horror moments are compactly made and fast moving . It packs tension, shocks, thrills,chills and lots of gore and blood , but the original is far superior . Well worth seeing if you like shaky cameras, such us ¨Blair witch project¨, ¨28 Days/Weeks¨ and ¨Cloverfield¨ . Dark cinematography filmed in Downtown, Los Angeles, California, Hollywood, Los Angeles, and Sony Pictures Studios by Ken Seng .The picture produced by Julio Fernandez (Filmax Productions) is professionally directed by John Erik Dowdle but with no originality and based on the Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza film, two magnificent experts on terror genre . Both of whom are directing the third part (in pre-production) titled ¨Rec, Genesis¨ with similar crew and actors . Furthermore another filmed titled ¨Quarantine : the terminal¨ by John Pogue. Rating : 5,5 , passable follow-up that will appeal to horror fans .

If you didn't know. This film is another American-Remake. That's right. Once again, American underlings of the film-persuasion lacked any real originality or motivation to write anything of their own, so they chose to massacre an existing one. That isn't to directly say this movie is horrible. But the strange thing you may notice if you educate yourself is that the ORIGINAL had a plot, where as this one, sadly, comes out with little to NO plot.

Now if you like the common films that have no regard to your intelligence or sense of accomplishment that one can get from watching a good film. (Like 'One Missed Call' 'The Ring' 'The Eye' etc). Then you will think I have no clue what I am talking about. However, if you're not a dolt, you will agree and wonder why this movie delivered the higher budget film, but removed the plot.

The film is 85% it's original. However it does take some originality in developing the 'infection' earlier on in the plot, however you really don't get any explanation on much anything. (It's like they teased you with it. Although the tease being a very weak attempt at a conclusion).

Honestly, you cannot grasp the entirety of this film without watching Rec. The same can't be said inversely, but both are enjoyable to watch.

In conclusion if you just want a drive-by horror. Go ahead. If you actually want to have something to talk about with your friends, get Rec and this one and watch them back to back with the gang and make it your own discussion.

May be my vote is so high, because I haven't seen the original, however it makes my judgment more objective, because I didn't have to compare anything except other horror movies, which use cheap camera from first person, which seems like is a new trend of all horror movies. And this is the only thing I don't like - may be the movie would not be so capturing if it would be taken in classic style, in other words, in my opinion such technique does not make so much effort from the director to make the scenes scary. On the other hand, due to lack of frame cutting there is very high pressure on actors. Whatever some here comment that they did not like the play of leading actress, I think she was very good, surprisingly good for quite unknown actress. Perhaps many thought that those hysteria scenes were exaggerated, but I'm sure that people in similar situations act exactly so disconnectedly. It seems that Jay Hernandez is slowly gaining his future popularity and I have nothing against it, he has quite good potential.

The reason a lot of people don't like this just doesn't make sense. Many people complain about the main actresses performance but I thought she did amazing. Many other people complain that its to slow because nothing happens in the beginning, hate to break it to you but thats called developing the characters, something that a lot of horror movies lack. This movie is really good, really scary, and one of the few horror movies that is actually re-watchable. Its such a crime that this has only a 5.9.

I watched this movie a few months ago. Last night, I watched REC, the movie this one was based on. All I can say is I have no idea why they felt the need to remake it. the original is far better, whereas this one is...OK, at best.

I almost feel insulted, as this movie was a stripped down version of the original. The plot isn't as dynamic, and the tension is not nearly as contagious - as if they felt a need to "dumb it down" for the American Audience. So - if you want to see what a GOOD low budget horror film is like, leave this one on the shelf and rent the original - you won't regret it.

A television reporter and her cameraman are on call with a group of fireman. When they are called to an apartment building their night takes a turn for the worse… The building becomes quarantined confining them with the inhabitants who are infected by a virus that turns them into bloodthirsty killers.

If you've seen Rec (2007) this version adds nothing new. Director John Erick Dowdle and writer Drew Dowdle can't fail as it's almost a paint by number remake, only with English dialogue instead of the dubbed or subtitles of the original.

While Hostel's Jay Hernandez give a great performance, the majority of the rest of the cast are less convincing. Quarantine it's a lot sleeker in it's execution and looks really good. That said, the griminess of REC has been lost and this version sadly loses the raw innate fear factor.

As a standalone point of view shot film it's entertaining enough. Blood, gore, tension and claustrophobia but if you've seen the original it's an unnecessary remake and cash-in on Rec (2007) made less than a year earlier.

I can't believe the reviews. I totally LOVED this movie. I thought it was sooo scary. Horror films are my favorite, and this one is in the top ten for me. It really scared me, especially the end. It creeped me out so much, that I had to go outside and walk around in the dark desert night to continue the heebie jeebie feeling. Even after watching it again, I was still scared. This time I was house-sitting, so after the end, I walked around this big, dark house, going down the hallway expecting something to jump out of one of the dark rooms. I guess it is just the willing suspension of disbelief. I can't think of one bad thing to say about this film.

So, all I can say is give it a try. Everyone hates it, I love it.

Even at a glance, it is clear that Quarantine has boarded the 'fad' bandwagon it two respects. Firstly, this chiller joins up with the abundance of remakes that choke the gullet of Hollywood, and at an impressively rapid pace I may add, duplicating its Spanish predecessor (Rec) within a year's time. Secondly, it is the successor in a line of films, some from earlier this year in fact, that adopt the hand-held camera technique (which may soon be classified more accurately as a gimmick) to construct a first hand, real time account of events. Yet, despite succumbing to these popular fixations, and the flag of death that is the studios reluctance to screen the film, Quarantine is crisp effective horror.

When comparing (Rec) and Quarantine, the similarities are glaring. In fact, the films are almost identical, save a few altered snippets. Which is good in the sense that nothing was lost in translation and although nowhere near as disgraceful as remaking classics or art films, it still begs to ask the question why? Alas, the average viewer does not wish to read subtitles, especially when watching horror, so the update went through. Directed by newcomer John Erick Dowdle he makes the most of his debut. Procuring a larger budget then its inspiration, Quarantine looks better as a whole (despite more frequent incomprehensible shots involving darkness and jiggle cam) and is able to incorporate some effects into the production, such as a continuous and chilling shot of a person being tossed down a stairwell. Comparisons to 2008's earlier films Cloverfield and Diary of the Dead are unavoidable, and remains squarely in the middle; a far-cry from the ingenuity and atmosphere of Cloverfield, but avoids the horrendous acting and scripting of Diary.

Mirroring (Rec) Quarantine begins with a reporter, Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) who hosts a late night television program. On this particular night, Angela and her cameraman Scott (Steve Harris) are doing a ride-along with the firemen of a local station in L.A., including Jake (Jay Hernandez) and Fletcher (Jonathan Schaech). After a tenuous night of boredom and anxiety, they are finally called to the scene of an apparent accident in an aging condo, involving an elderly tenant. Things are not as they seem however as soon after, the CDC seals off the building with the foursome, and the reaming residents still inside. Their reasoning is good it seems, as all hell breaks loose as a mysterious rabies virus rips through the building turning those exposed into zombie-like fiends. The survivors must work together to battle the infected, the authorities and each other.

Both films incorporate the inherent problem of the disease itself, which seems to frequently shift in its required incubation period, but is not really a huge impediment for the film as a whole. The opening act which is situated entirely at the station is both surprisingly involving and witty, and works to some extent as character development. The finale is also pulse-pounding, if not entirely inspired, but lacks the sheer terror I felt at the finale of (Rec). When breaking it down, Quarantine's opening is better then the original, and (Rec)'s final act is better then its imitator, so things balance out. Each film boast a superb scene mid to late film, including the aforementioned stairwell plummet in Quarantine and a scene in (Rec]) involving the same stairwell in which the heroes peer down to see the lower floors of infected peering back; eerie stuff. I would encourage horror fans to see both before making their choice, and to be honest I haven't quite chosen myself which is superior. Regardless, Quarantine takes advantage of a ploy that has not yet become stale, and yielding authentic portrayals from its relatively unknown cast and an ominous atmosphere, this flick is infectious to be sure.

See all my reviews at: http://simonsaysmovies.blogspot.com

A very poor, shot-for-shot remake of the superlative Spanish horror flick REC. Despite my fondness for the 'found footage' sub-genre, QUARANTINE is every bit the patience-tester and although it features exactly the same story and action of the Spanish original, it fails in every respect. For one, it's too dark and the camera work is too shaky, meaning that much of the zombie action is impossible to make out. REC was just as dark and also shot on hand-held cameras, yet you could make out every single shot thanks to the time and effort having gone into its undertaking.

The cast is also very poor with the actors lacking the naturalism of their Spanish counterparts. I recognised Jay Hernandez from HOSTEL, but he seems uncomfortable with the format and unsure of himself – and it's not just his character, either. The lead, Jennifer Carpenter (THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE) is horrible and encouraged to screech, scream, shout and hyperventilate for almost all of the latter half of the movie, making her one of the most infuriating leads in a horror film ever. Inevitably, the gore and disgust factor is unnecessarily upped – these zombies are more gooey and have legs that break off – yet the genuine power of the original is nowhere to be found.

I had high hopes for this movie when I saw the trailer and felt that the movie delivered what it intended to.

The movie itself takes place from the point of view from a cameraman named Scott. The cameraman is shooting a take on what firemen go through on an ordinary day when their ordinary day turns into extraordinary. They get a call to an apartment complex and get locked inside with what appear to be zombie like creatures.

It is a movie that I would place in between the 28 days/weeks movies and Cloverfield. It has suspense (will be great on DVD w/surround sound in the future) but some of the characters lack common sense. The fact that the movie is shot from one camera had some people disappointed since it didn't involve too much of a story as to what is being "quarantined", but that is to be expected.

I would say that the movie could have been a heck of a lot better with a solid story and a bigger climax/plot. It is worth your time to watch, but if you don't like shaky cameras like Cloverfield and Blairwitch Project, then I wouldn't watch it.

Overall, it was a pretty good movie. It entertained me, and it had zombie-like people (well, it was actually a virus, like in 28 days/weeks later- but still, that concept of zombies is always awesome). The camera was pretty shaky at times, which was a bit much, and at the end, Jennifer Carpenter, as hot as she is, got pretty annoying with the screams, crying, and hyperventilating. Kind of wish she would have shut up near the end.

Pretty good jumps, some decent little gore parts- so overall, not a bad movie. I would probably buy it on DVD. Obviously no movie is perfect, and everyone will have their own views, likes, and dislikes. If you look at all the other past horror movies, this one isn't too shabby. Look, a movie entertains you, then it did it's job. That's why it's called "entertainment." Just because some jackass on the street says it sucks, and just because it didn't get many "stars," doesn't mean it's a bad movie. Plenty of "bad movies" have entertained the hell out of me- in turn, making them good movies- to me, at least.

Don't let the beginning of the movie stop you from watching the whole thing. Granted the lead actress is obnoxious (but I knew this coming into the movie because I love Dexter, but hate that girl in it) When the movie started I was worried it was going to be cheesy throughout its entirety, about 20 min. into the movie I found out I was wrong. The whole concept of the movie was what kept me so interested. I wanted to find out why everything was happening and I loved the fact that you actually do get all your questions answered by the end of this movie. (unlike the strangers) Trust me, sometimes I like when movies force you to stay up all night replaying the scenes in your head trying to figure out "why?". But with Quarantine, you still think about the movie after it ends, just in a different way. I love scary movies and jump at every chance to see a possible real horror flick. I'd have to say that Quarantine was one of those good horror flicks. Just don't only listen to the people who are saying Quarantine isn't as good as its' original, because it doesn't have to be.

This unflinchingly gory found-footage makes a fair endeavor to live up to the standards of 'The Blair Witch Project' and 'Cloverfield' - - two of the most influential entries in the found-footage genre. And the question is does it manage to reach that mark? Not exactly, especially as not only happens to be a remake of the Spanish-horror film 'Rec', but borrows elements from George Romero's zombie flicks and applys them to a found-footage installment that owes similarities to 'Cloverfield'. Nonetheless, this film makes a surprising achievement of delivering a brutally terrifying thrill ride that spears viewers with a relentless surplus of blood and gore, while balancing a barrage of spine- chilling scares. There is little argument that the found-footage format can serve more as a detriment to the visceral atmosphere than a tool for gripping viewers with pure realism, director John Erick Dowdle manages to make things work. This film focuses on news reporter Angela Vidal (played by Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman Scott Percival (played by Steve Harris) who tour a Los Angeles fire department to document the behind the scenes work of the firefighting team. When the firefighting unit is called for duty. They along with Angela and Scott race to an apartment that has become overrun by a deadly virus that has infected many of its residents. When the apartment is locked up under quarantine, Angela, Scott, the firefighting unit, and a rest of the survivors must survive against the sadistic virus as it slowly begins to mutate everyone into flesh-eating savages.

John Erick Dwindle never attempts to uproot anything from the genre, which is understandably a difficult feat for a film feels almost like a carbon copy of George Romero's 'Diary of The Dead'. But how he manages to generate a terrifyingly grim atmosphere from the inspired elements is something can viewers, particularly horror fans can admire. This film packs an incredible surplus of nightmarish imagery and a disturbing amount of blood and gore ignite a brutally terrifying thrill ride. From the opening minutes of the first zombie attack, to the final scene, the sense of powerful urgency pops out of corner even when you least expect it. Like Cloverfield, the startling action takes place through the lens of a camera carried by one of the lead characters. Predictably so, the documentary style cinematography occasionally chews away from the tension as the relentless shakiness renders some action visually incoherent, making it distressingly difficult to fully seek out what's going on in the already dark. Luckily, this problem doesn't persist for too long. As for the plot, Dwindle manages to keep things moving, although the story manages to overstay its welcome during the last ten minutes or so. The cast performances are mostly solid, although none of the actors are given a whole lot to work with other than scream and shout in pure distress. None of the characters are people you are expected to latch on to towards the final stretch.

Quarantine is an effectively competent found-footage horror ride packed with startling thrills and a firmly grim atmosphere -- both of which make up for the occasionally flawed script. This is film may feel like a rehash of popular cinematic elements from both the found-footage and horror genre, but director John Erick Dwindle's competently crafts this movie into a terrifying ride.

Perhaps the first "first person" shot film that is shot believably! I saw Quarantine this afternoon and thought is was simply... awesome! See it on the big screen. It's worth the $$$ for the fun.

Angela (Jennifer Carpenter) and Scott (Steve Harris) are a second string news crew assigned to cover a "typical" night shift of their local fire department. The excitement of a late night call to assist two police officers with a disturbance in an old apartment building turns ugly when an old woman tenant takes a hefty bite out of an officer's neck. What begins as an uneventful evening slowly erupts into an explosive fearfest that kicks away all the stops as it pushes relentlessly towards an undeniably foreseen but still-claustrophobic-and-freaky conclusion.

Carpenter's portrayal of the amateurish-but-ambitious-journalist turned scared-out-of-her-skull caged victim is nothing short of spectacular. In the end, it is her performance that stays with you even after the credits begin to roll.

Typically, I grow pretty tired of the "first person" shot films, but in Quarantine, Harris' Scott utilizes his news camera believably, not only as that of a news cameraman but also as the tool to escape. At no time did I find myself saying out loud "Yeah, right! Like he is going to still be filming..." There is enough unseen footage and plot questions left at the end to cash in on some serious DVD extras which this film will no doubt contain when it is released on disk.

If you have seen the Spanish "REC" as I have and think that Quarantine will be just another American remake like so many of the J-Horror flicks like I did, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how many times you'll jump and fidget watching Quarantine nonetheless. I know I was.

"Quarantine" was totally gripping & very exciting as well as very scary!!!

I normally Don't like "Found Footage" type films, except for the Brilliant Blair Witch Project from 1999, anyway this movie looks & really feels like a real Documentary & puts you right there in the middle of the madness. I felt the performances were spot on, especially from Jennifer Carpenter, who plays the t.v reporter following around a team of firemen with her cameraman, they answer a call on their night shift. The other standout performance is from the excellent Jay Hernandez, he's been great in Suicide Squad,Hostel & Bright. Here Hernandez plays one of the firemen who answers that fateful call to an apartment building where a terrifying infection has spread & the residents are rabid & trying to bite & kill people. We see what the Cameraman is filming the whole time so it's intense & claustrophobic.

It's a very scary & very real set-up for an intense Horror Thriller.

I got cool vibes of 28 days later & Demons 2 & that waa awesome as I'm a big fan of both films.

The scenes through the dark hallways are terrifying as the infected are all over the place & could pop out of any room, it's very intense fear. But along with the scares & raw gory bits, it's still an exciting film as they move from floor to floor investigating & trying to survive the night in a locked down & Quarantined building.

Quarantine, is a gritty & realistic style found footage/documentary Horror that has a gripping & terrifying atmosphere & some excellent intense performances. Excellent film.