Movie Review - Quarantine (2008)

***Available on DVD***

Starring Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris, Jay Hernandez, Greg Germann, and Denis O'Hare

Written by John Erick Dowdie and Drew Dowdie

Directed by John Erick Dowdie

Horror movies are typically not my favorite genre.  I always find myself seemingly able to see every "scare" before it happens.  Add to that, stupid characters played by awful actors and I usually finish a horror flick and tell myself, "I just wasted  two hours of my life."

Fortunately, Quarantine did not feel like a waste of 90 minutes.  This is absolutely a very effective, taut, exciting thriller.  Told in the same shaky first-person camera vein as The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield, this flick is a welcome addition to the "revival" of the zombie flick in recent years (28 Days Later, Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead).

Angela Vidal (Carpenter) is a reporter for a local news station who, along with her cameraman, Scott (Harris), decide to follow around a fire department for a "Day in the Life" type segment.  Called into action, Angela and Scott follow fireman Jake (Hernandez) into an apartment complex only to find themselves quarantined there by the CDC.  Some type of virus has broken out in the building causing people to essentially go apeshit.

With the exception of the first 10 minutes that detail the "regular" life of the firemen (everyone in that segment seemed way too forced and unbelievable), the acting is all top-notch.  It certainly helps that the characters aren't forced into doing stupid things by the writers.  Everything that happens here -- reactions, dialogue -- seems fully authentic (well, you know, with the exception of the flesh-eating zombies).

The RyMickey Rating: B