Quarantine [18]

With a relatively inexperienced director, John Erick Dowdle, whose previous work is also of the horror/ thriller variety, my hopes of the heavily publicised new horror flick Quarantine were not high. With its handheld video camera technique, something screams Blair Witch jittery-innocent–filmmakers-to-the-slaughter rip off, but on a higher budget. However, where The Blair Witch Project managed to thrill, Quarantine achieves something else.

The film focuses on a small, overpopulated setting of a quarantined block of flats, but with a building full of people, a television crew, and a hoard of diseased pets, one might argue that this is stretching the point a little, this along with the speed at which the ‘unknown virus’ takes effect. But then I expect realism wasn’t what the director had in mind.

The crew discover the first case of this disease, in the shape of an elderly woman. The audience are quickly shifted out of the state of comfort they are in during the first 20 minutes as she attacks one of the firemen, who are called out to investigate the building. This is where the camera work really creates a feeling of tension, and the occasional swerve towards the woman’s demonic face adds to this.

So, when one who is affected by the disease transmits it to another by biting them, they too pick up this deadly virus, transforming them into bloodthirsty killers. The film follows this pattern throughout, so after an hour or so, it is no surprise that the viewers become immunised to the shock factor. Nevertheless, with a solid cast, and sufficient gore to satisfy all needs, despite some over acting in parts it serves its purpose well. Do I think it will become a cult classic? No. But for a rainy, dark evening’s entertainment it is worth a watch.

Max Robinson (Unverified), 26/11/08

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