Coming to DVD Tuesday, February 17th
Cast:
Jennifer Carpenter as Angela
Jay Hernandez as Jake
Columbus Short as Wilensky
Steve Harris as Scott
Jonathon Schaech as Fletcher
Directed by John Erick Dowdle
Movie:
Quarantine is exemplary disposable entertainment, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. What some call comfort food cinema, it is 89 minutes of solid horror filmmaking that will be mostly forgotten by the next morning.
Dexter‘s Jennifer Carpenter is Angela, a young reporter doing a puff piece about life behind the scenes at a fire station. Escorted around by firefighters Jake (Jay Hernandez) and Fletcher (Jonathon Schaech), she enthusiastically takes a slide down the pole, gets an eyeful in the locker room and impatiently waits for some action.
Finally, Angela gets her wish. The company gets called to an apartment building. Earlier Jake pointed out that a vast majority of their calls are actually medical, and that is true of this one.
At the scene there is minor chaos. A handful of the buildingâs residents are anxiously gathered near the entrance and the police department is already there. Apparently an elderly woman was screaming and it got people a little worked up.
A group made up of police officers, firefighters, Angela and her cameraman Scott (Steve Harris) enters the womanâs apartment. It is immediately clear that something is wrong with her. She abruptly attacks an officer and the proverbial hell breaks loose.
As strange as the events inside the building are, outside is just as perplexing. It seems that no one is being allowed to leave, but no one is coming in to offer assistance either. No one has any idea what is going on and all communication has been cut off. Jake mentions BNC, which stands for Biological/Nuclear/Chemical. Now everyone is even more confused.
Looking fantastic in HD and boasting an incredible set, Quarantine plays like something made by seasoned veterans. The Dowdle Brothers, executive producer/writer Drew and writer/director John, have done an exceptional job considering the movieâs budget (a reported $12 million) and their lack of experience. Known for The Poughkeepsie Tapes, Quarantine was their first studio movie. After so many disappointments from promising young filmmakers, including Them directors David Moreau and Xavier Palud (The Eye), it is refreshing to witness talent fully realized.
The make-up by Almost Humanâs Robert Hall is also remarkable. Going for subtlety over splash, his work is deceptively simple and creepy. Adding potency to the makeup effects is way we only catch fleeting glimpses of the infected.
Where Quarantine stumbles is in its familiarity. It just does not feel fresh. While the characters may be clueless as to what is happening, seasoned horror viewers will not be. The location is different but the general elements are the same. No it is not a zombie movie but at times it sure does feel like one. People are bitten, the seemingly dead attack, etc.
People also do annoyingly dumb things, like slowly approach an infected person after repeatedly seeing others do this with fatal results. There are also a few moments when the cameraman should be helping someone in peril, not standing there filming.
There is excessive explanation as well. I have not seen Rec but this aspect feels very Hollywood. A vet just happens to live in the building (which is sort of a dump) and he is able to at least partly describe what is going on. Later on someoneâs apartment provides even more information. Not knowing so much was better. It added a little mystery.
Just as tedium begins to set in (attack, run away, attack, run away), Quarantine manages to end strong. Feeling a tad Silence of the Lambs, the conclusion is sufficiently freaky and grim, just what you want from horror.
Overall this is a respectable effort, and The Dowdle Brothers are worth paying attention to. It falls short of greatness and doesnât really present anything we havenât seen before, but it is well-made and worthy of home viewing for any genre fan.
Extras:
The bonus features are disappointing. The first, “Locked In: The Making of Quarantine” is customary for its type. It clocks in at ten minutes and consists of cast and crew interviews mixed with footage from the set. There are a few interesting bits of information, including the complexity of filming long takes, but it is too brief to add up to anything substantive.
The next extra suffers from the same problem. “Dressing the Infected: Robert Hallâs Make-Up Design” is self-explanatory. Hallâs work is outstanding but at a little over seven minutes we donât get to see enough of it. Hall and two cast members discuss the effects process but it leaves you wanting more.
“Anatomy of a Stunt” is practically over before it begins. It is a three-minute look at one difficult stunt (someone falling and hitting a railing on the way down). The Dowdle Brothers admit that stunts were totally new to them so this could have been interesting, and the final scene in question is very convincing, but not a whole lot can be revealed in three minutes.
Finally, there is a commentary with the Dowdle Brothers. Fans of the movie should find this valuable and worth listening to. There are customary commentary problems: some dead time, merely pointing out what is on screen, repeating something already stated. But the brothers are easygoing and play well off each other. They share many insightful tidbits of information, including their approach to showing the infected, hiding the cuts and handling lengthy takes, using sound effects to compensate for not having a score and getting a “reality” feel. They also provide background on Schaechâs ludicrous mustache (yes it is real).
