MovieTime

Review

by Jason Di Rosso

Based on the Spanish thriller [REC], this is a twist on the zombie genre set inside a Los Angeles apartment block that's been sealed off to stop the spread of a killer virus that turns people into flesh-eating monsters. Trapped inside are the residents, a couple of cops, a fire crew and a young female reporter with her cameraman -- who captures it all for us and shakes so much that the wobble is the main stylistic motif of the film.

The premise isn't bad; I like the fact this hysteria happens in and around people's homes, because it's an excuse for the filmmakers to uncover secrets normally kept behind closed doors. A pity there are no great revelations here. Quarantine is an average horror—which means it doesn't pass my SMS test (meaning there are flat spots where you will feel you have the time to check your phone messages). If you can get to the end, though, captured in the sombre blacks and greens of night vision there's a sequence worth waiting for.

Director: John Erick Dowdle
Cast: Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris, Jay Hernandez, Johnathon Schaech, Columbus Short, Andrew Fiscella, Rade Serbedzijda, Greg German, Bernard White, Dania Ramirez
Producer: Sergio Aguero, Clint Culpepper, Doug Davison, Carlos Fernandez, Julio Fernandez, Roy Lee
Script: John Erick Dowdle, Drew Dowdle (original screenplay [REC])
Cinematographer: Ken Seng
Editor: Elliot Greenberg
Running time: 89
Australian distributor: Sony
Language: English
Classification: MA15+