In John Erick Dowdle's new movie, Quarantine"" - a horror film and remake of Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza's ""[REC]"" - reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter of ""Dexter"") and cameraman Scott Percival (Steve Harris) shadow the Los Angeles Fire Department for the longest night of their lives.
The film abruptly begins when LAPD and fire department respond to a call made in an apartment complex complaining of a woman screaming. When the authorities confront the woman, she is foaming at the mouth and lunges for a firefighter, biting him in the neck. As he - and others in the building - begin to show symptoms of a rabies-like disease, the apartment building is quarantined with doors bolted and gunmen waiting at every entrance. When the local news reports that the building has been locked down, Vidal and Percival decide to document the actions and fates of everyone locked in the building as more people become infected.
Like ""The Blair Witch Project,"" ""Cloverfield"" and other more recent horror movies, there is a clear attempt to be ""raw"" with a lack of musical score and camera-shot variety. Normally, these elements would provide a creepier, more disturbing atmosphere, but the extremely shaky camera shots create the feel of a frustrating video game, not a scary movie. There was one constant sound in the theater throughout the characters' rabid symptoms and gruesome downfalls: the audience's laughter.
Although Carpenter's performance as an understandably terrified journalist is fairly convincing, the cast as a whole is ineffective at creating the fear the film needs to thrive. Even when characters' emotions reach a high point, it's more annoying and awkward than cathartic (throughout the last 20 minutes when Carpenter repeats one line with little variation). Still, with such riveting dialogue as ""That rat totally just came after me,"" and five variations of ""Shut up! Damn!"", the actors aren't given much to work with.
The film's opening frames, however, are truly unique. There is a distinct lack of opening credits - no title, no production or actor billing and no text to give an explanation of context. This technique was also used in promotions - earlier versions of the trailer give no additional information outside of the plot besides its release date. There are also a few dead-end clues given throughout the film, which shows an attempt to stray from the typical horror film where protagonists haphazardly find explanations for their problems.
Dowdle certainly toys with a few interesting techniques for horror films, but ultimately, because of flailing, rabid old women, firefighters with axing addictions and a cameraman who uses his equipment for blunt force, there's no known cure for ""Quarantine.""
Grade: D
