Quarantine

release year: 2008
genre: horror
viewing setting: home DVD, 4/15/09

synopsis: Numerous residents and rescue workers are trapped inside a building with infected/rabid people.

impressions: They never used the "Z" word...I'll give them that. It could have been zombies, it could have been rabies. The plot has a handful of cops and firefighters (plus a reporter and her cameraman) go into this building on a routine call, and then two things happen: 1) a crazy, frothing-at-the-mouth old lady starts biting people, and 2) the building is sealed off from the outside. This sounds better than it is, and for one big reason really: when you're filming everything with a hand-held camera, even a nice TV-quality one, the events are tough to comprehend. I couldn't figure out who was who half the time, or what was going on. It was dark and chaotic. Plus the reporter totally lost it at some point and became a blubbering mass of jelly without any will to escape, fight, or survive. The last ten minutes or so were just weird, though there was an attempt at an explanation as to the cause of whatever was going on.

something this movie has that no other movie has: A guy trying to walk on a shattered ankle.

acting: Jennifer Carpenter is the overly-ambitious reporter. Steve Harris (who's 95% voice) is her cameraman, who tries to keep her grounded during the insanity. Jay Hernandez is a firefighter.

final word: Promising, but ultimately unsatisfying due to fast, incomprehensible pace.

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