Covering the night shift at a Los Angeles fire station, reality-show reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman Scott (Steve Harris) accompany firemen responding to a 911 distress call placed from a small apartment building downtown. Following on the heels of two junior firemen (Jay Hernandez and Johnathon Schaech), the journalists get an up-close-and-personal look at tenants who have become rabid, zombie-like, cannibalistic residents. A CDC rapid-response team quickly seals off the building, hoping to contain a mysterious, rapidly spreading virus that is turning innocent victims into insane killers—which dooms the as-yet-uninfected people trapped inside. The ensuing carnage is seen—Cloverfield-style—exclusively through the lens of Scott's camera, but unlike its inspiration, the suspense in director John Erick Dowdle's Quarantine feels entirely synthetic: anyone familiar with today's fright films knows that whittling down the cast one by one is merely the prelude to a “surprise” ending that will shock no one. Minus a strong central presence (Carpenter is a pallid leading lady), Quarantine quickly devolves into a rather tedious and predictable series of gory attacks. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by writer/director John Erick Dowdle and writer/producer sibling Drew Dowdle, a 10-minute “making-of” featurette, a “Dressing the Infected: Robert Hall's Makeup Design” featurette (8 min.), an “Anatomy of a Stunt” segment (4 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD Live function. Bottom line: a so-so extras package for a disappointing horror film.] (E. Hulse)
Quarantine
Sony, 89 min., R, DVD: $28.95, Blu</span>-ray: $39.95, Feb. 17 Volume 24, Issue 2
Quarantine
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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