Quarantine: Review By Chad Langen

Surprise, surprise! "Quarantine" is yet another American remake, this time of a Spanish horror film titled "[Rec]", that is a wasted attempt by Screen Gems to cash in on the success of the doc*mentary-like horror pictures that have surfaced in recent years. Surely by now, most viewers have come to realize that none of these films have even the slightest amount of truth to them. Movies like "Cloverfield" and "The Blair Witch Project" rang in a successful run at the box-office, but did the industry actually think they could keep this up? Apparently they did and unfortunately, as atrocious as "Quarantine" is, the cash that viewers have thrown to the studio will undoubtedly increase the chances of another film of this sort getting the green light.

Honestly, the original picture "[Rec]" wasn't anything worth getting excited over. The concept had been recycled from countless genre titles released before and while many will call it groundbreaking, I call it heartbreaking. Heartbreaking in my realization that this is what the horror genre has come to. Rather than digging deep for originality, most filmmakers would prefer to take the easy route to success. I say 'most' because there are a small number of filmmakers who would never sink this low just to earn a bigger paycheck. Unfortunately, the latter tend to go unnoticed.

"Quarantine" is a product of cheap scares. Rather than showcasing even one memorable scene worth sharing with fellow genre fans, the entire movie is an utter tease to say the very least. There's a great amount of tension built, but it never goes anywhere. A lot of the kills take place off-screen and the filmmaker uses the dull technique of a helpless victim being pulled into the darkness which doesn't do anything for me. For all I know, there's a big party taking place in the unseen shadows. It's just not effective.

The characters are absolutely lifeless. Even Jennifer Carpenter's character is comparable to a cardboard cutout and she's the film's central character. Grant it, she does everything she can with her role, but it would have been a much better career decision to never accept this tedious part in the first place.

As lackluster as "Quarantine" is, it's not as awful as several horror films I've seen recently. Nevertheless, it's certainly not a picture I'd recommend to those looking for a true genre masterpiece. It's your typical remake that completely derives the original of anything worthy it had going for it. Then again, the original wasn't what I'd call good filmmaking either.

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