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Quarantine

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Quarantine (2008)

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Reviews Counted:76

Fresh:45

Rotten:31

Average Rating:5.7/10

Consensus: Quarantine uses effective atmosphere and consistent scares to stand above the crop of recent horror films.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for bloody violent and disturbing content, terror and language.

Runtime: 89 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Theatrical Release:Oct 10, 2008 Wide

Box Office: $31,691,811

Synopsis: A faithful adaptation of the 2007 Spanish film REC, QUARANTINE chronicles the outbreak of a rabies-like disease in a Los Angeles apartment building and the struggle of the unaffected residents to... A faithful adaptation of the 2007 Spanish film REC, QUARANTINE chronicles the outbreak of a rabies-like disease in a Los Angeles apartment building and the struggle of the unaffected residents to stay alive after the authorities trap them inside in an effort to contain it. Equal parts BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and 28 DAYS LATER, the film is presented through the eye of a video camera, putting the audience in the middle of the action and creating a heightened level of intensity and realism. Television reporter Angela (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman, Scott (Steve Harris), are covering the goings-on at a firehouse for a program about night shift workers. As she clowns around with two flirty firemen (Jonathan Schaech and Jay Hernandez), an alarm sounds, and a truck is dispatched--with Angela and Scott on board---to an apartment building where an old woman has seemingly lost her mind. The woman bites one of the firemen and is soon killed, but when more tenants turn up with the same disorder, it's clear that a chain reaction is occurring. Unfortunately for Angela and the rest of the uninfected residents, the authorities have quarantined the building---but she and Scott continue to document the tragic and terrifying events inside the building as those inside are one by one transformed into bloodthirsty monsters. Director John Eric Dowdle, whose film THE POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES also used a pseudo-documentary approach in detailing the crimes of a serial killer, creates a sustained level of chaos and fear that will have all but the most seasoned horror fan cowering in the corner. Though the shaky camerawork may be difficult to take for those prone to motion sickness, it--along with a complete absence of music--gives the film a startling realism and immediacy to accompany its stomach-churning descent into full-on hopelessness and dread. [More]

Starring: Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Columbus Short, Greg Germann

Starring: Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Columbus Short, Greg Germann, Steve Harris, Dania Ramirez, Rade Sherbedgia, Johnathon Schaech

Director: John Erick Dowdle

Director: John Erick Dowdle
Screenwriter: John Erick Dowdle, Drew Dowdle
Producer: Doug Davison, Roy Lee, Sergio Aguero
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 17, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Television reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman (Steve Harris) are assigned to spend the night shift with a Los Angeles Fire Station. After a routine 911 call takes them to a small apartment building, they find police officers already on the scene in response to blood curdling screams coming from one of the apartment units. They soon learn that a woman living in the building has been viciously attacked by something unknown. After a few of the residents are also attacked, they try to escape with the news crew in tow, only to find that the CDC has quarantined the building. Phones, internet, televisions and cell phone access have been cut-off, and officials are not relaying information to those locked inside. When the quarantine is finally lifted, the only evidence of what took place is the news crew's videotape.
  • Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
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    Reviews for Quarantine

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    1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating)
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    It's one of those rare movies where you can't quite ascertain as to whether the filmmakers are trying to create scares or laughs.

    Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
    12/01/08
    Andrew J. McGlinn
    Andrew J. McGlinn
    FILMINK (Australia)

    This isn't as good as CLOVERFIELD, but it does a pretty decent job at generating some thrills. Unfortunately, the movie is ruined by Carpenter's distractingly awful performance.

    Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment 7 Comments
    10/12/08
    Austin Kennedy
    Austin Kennedy
    Sin Magazine

    Real no frills filmmaking. Anything that gets in the way of the main idea is stripped to the bone. This includes certain niceties like character, humor, and even story.

    Full Review Source: CinemaBlend.com | comment Comment
    02/25/09
    Brian Holcomb
    Brian Holcomb
    CinemaBlend.com

    Quarantine is the unavoidable American replica, only this version has ingested a bottle of idiot pills and washed it all down with a full glass of directorial incompetence.

    Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
    10/09/08
    Brian Orndorf
    Brian Orndorf
    BrianOrndorf.com

    We are saddled with the limitations of the 'found' film premise - seemingly endless screaming and scrabbling around in the dark, filmed from just a single angle.

    Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
    02/16/09
    Brian Webster
    Brian Webster
    Apollo Guide

    The downside is that for the final half-hour the camera shakes so badly I started suffering from motion sickness.

    Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
    11/21/08
    Christopher Tookey
    Christopher Tookey
    Daily Mail [UK]

    The Spanish film worked better than John Erick Dowdle's remake, which is, if possible, even more chaotically filmed to the point that you often haven't got the slightest idea what's happening -- you just know that it's nasty.

    Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment 1 Comment
    12/01/08
    David Stratton
    David Stratton
    At the Movies (Australia)

    The Spanish did it all a little better but Carpenter rivals her European counterpart in hollering blue murder.

    Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
    11/21/08
    Derek Malcolm
    Derek Malcolm
    This is London

    My suggestion is to see the original first and then skip this one altogether...

    Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Felix Vasquez Jr.
    Felix Vasquez Jr.
    Cinema Crazed

    This derivative horror flick can be confined along with its numerous inspirations.

    Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
    10/10/08
    Frank Scheck
    Frank Scheck
    Hollywood Reporter

    Grows increasingly repetitious and tedious as the same cinematic tricks are played over and over...the effect is suffocating rather than enjoyably spooky.

    Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment 3 Comments
    10/11/08
    Frank Swietek
    Frank Swietek
    One Guy's Opinion

    A vertiginous, nauseating, unscary mess of a film.

    Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment 2 Comments
    10/12/08
    Harvey S. Karten
    Harvey S. Karten
    Compuserve

    Too much information in the trailer spoiled some of the suspense of the film

    Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com | comment 8 Comments
    10/14/08
    Jackie K. Cooper
    Jackie K. Cooper
    jackiekcooper.com

    Quarantine fails to correct some of the problems evident in its predecessor while also incorporating a few defects of its own.

    Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment 1 Comment
    10/10/08
    James Berardinelli
    James Berardinelli
    ReelViews
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Actress Jennifer Carpenter of Exorcism of Emily Rose fame surely deserves some kind of award for giving the most hysterical over-the-top performance in a horror movie since Marilyn Burns in the original 1974 Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

    Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | comment 19 Comments
    09/16/08
    James O'Ehley
    James O'Ehley
    Sci-Fi Movie Page

    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.

    Full Review Source: MovieTime, ABC Radio National | comment Comment
    12/01/08
    Jason Di Rosso
    Jason Di Rosso
    MovieTime, ABC Radio National

    Develops into a legitimately unnerving experience.

    Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | comment Comment
    04/07/09
    Jeffrey Bloomer
    Jeffrey Bloomer
    Paste Magazine

    ...a movie that didn't need to be made and which no one needs to see.

    Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment 4 Comments
    10/16/08
    Jim Lane
    Jim Lane
    Sacramento News & Review

    Quarantine is a modestly inventive, sporadically exciting thriller that nonetheless proves too faithful to its central conceit for its own good.

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    10/10/08
    Joe Leydon
    Joe Leydon
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    ...feels as if someone had videotaped their trip through a haunted house run by the local Jaycees.

    Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | comment 1 Comment
    10/10/08
    Josh Larsen
    Josh Larsen
    LarsenOnFilm
     
     
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