Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter; “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”) and her cameraman, Scott, are a television news crew assigned to do a feature story on the local fire department. The film starts with a rather routine but informative story about the history of the fire department. The news crew goes on a call to an apartment building with the fire crew, led by their liaison Jake (Jay Hernandez; the “Hostel” series). They find an agitated elderly lady dripping blood, speaking incoherently to police officers and other emergency responders. The scene becomes unexpectedly violent, with the residents and early responders looking for escape. Inexplicably, the building is sealed off from the outside including the jamming of all communications. Everyone inside must fend for themselves until the extent of the BCN (biological-chemical-nuclear) threat can be ascertained.
There are no big name stars in the film but many recognizable character actors amongst the residents and emergency personnel. Most of the scenes revolve around Angela and Jake, as they try to perform their jobs during the crisis. The story has a slow build to it which should have been used to develop characters or relationships but instead continuously emphasize the frustrations of being trapped. The dangers feel isolated in the first half of the film not all encompassing. When the CDC (Center for Disease Control) finally arrive in containment suits, its not a moment too soon as the movie begins to lose its way. The second half of the film is a greater adrenaline rush, as the survivors seek safety and the possibility of escape. The situation rapidly degenerates as the infected begin to outnumber the healthy.
There are the standard dumb actions amongst the protagonists, some more excusable than others. The least forgivable is once the infected are known dangers the characters take their eyes off them, unnecessarily opening themselves up to harm. There are some well-considered angles used for camera placement, including a scene where the camera itself is used as a weapon. Many of the supporting characters fall by the wayside off camera, highlighting the limitations of the use of a single camera angle. When the night vision is used at the end of the film, it is enough of a change of pace to give the film a creepy original finale.
“Quarantine” lacks the building tension of the better horror films, with scenes either clearly falling into story mode or “run for your life”. If you don’t mind being in the midst of the action - like a video game that you have no control over - “Quarantine” has some frights to feed your need for adrenaline this Halloween.
Rated R for bloody violent and disturbing content, terror and language.
