Review: Quarantine
Well, this isn't going to be a very long review. The reason being, in a sense, I already reviewed this movie back when it was called [REC]. This is virtually a shot-for-shot remake of that movie with a few cosmetic changes and a minor plot detail changed or two. (Oh, and obviously it's in English.) Quick synopsis for those of you who didn't read the review for [REC] or just don't remember it: hostess of a late-night slice-of-life segment on a news show does a report on a firehouse, then ends up accompanying the firefighters to an apartment building where a virus is spreading amongst the inhabitants- and the building is sealed off by the police once they're inside.
The changes, like I said, are mostly cosmetic- Jennifer Carpenter is a quality substitute for the original leading woman in [REC] (although not as cute). The cameraman is more of a character in this version- he has a few more lines, and you get to see his face. I go back and forth on whther or not I like that decision particularly- it's a bit more immersive if you can ignore the fact that the cameraman is a character, but on the other hand it's not as realistic. I think immersion probably works better for straight horror movies, whereas action/thriller types like Cloverfield do better with a personality behind the camera. They've also altered the ending slightly, and not for the better in my opinion- the original ending had a supernatural bent alongside the scientific explanation with I think gave it a neat little twist of complexity, whereas in Quarantine they kill the supernatural bit altogether in favor of a real-world explanation. Your mileage may vary, of course.
In any event, these are all just qualifications to explain why I like the original more, but it's entirely possible that it's simply because I saw [REC] first that I like it more. This one's still completely worth seeing if you like horror movies and can deal with first-person perspective.
Next review: Choke, which I saw yesterday but am too lazy to type up tonight.
The changes, like I said, are mostly cosmetic- Jennifer Carpenter is a quality substitute for the original leading woman in [REC] (although not as cute). The cameraman is more of a character in this version- he has a few more lines, and you get to see his face. I go back and forth on whther or not I like that decision particularly- it's a bit more immersive if you can ignore the fact that the cameraman is a character, but on the other hand it's not as realistic. I think immersion probably works better for straight horror movies, whereas action/thriller types like Cloverfield do better with a personality behind the camera. They've also altered the ending slightly, and not for the better in my opinion- the original ending had a supernatural bent alongside the scientific explanation with I think gave it a neat little twist of complexity, whereas in Quarantine they kill the supernatural bit altogether in favor of a real-world explanation. Your mileage may vary, of course.
In any event, these are all just qualifications to explain why I like the original more, but it's entirely possible that it's simply because I saw [REC] first that I like it more. This one's still completely worth seeing if you like horror movies and can deal with first-person perspective.
Next review: Choke, which I saw yesterday but am too lazy to type up tonight.