Quarantine

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)