Quarantine DVD Review

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Title: Quarantine, Media: DVD, MPAA Rating: R, Region: 1

Starring: Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Columbus Short, Greg Germann, Steve Harris, Dania Ramirez, Rade Sherbedgia, Jonathan Schaech, and Doug Jones

Based On The Motion Picture “REC” Written By: Jaume Balaguero, Luis A. Berdejo, and Paco Plaza, Directed By John Erick Dowdle

Languages: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and French Language Dolby Surround Sound,

Subtitles: English Closed Captions For The Deaf And Hearing Impaired and English Spanish, and French Subtitles, Running Time: 89 minutes

Please note – portions of this review are reprinted from my Blu-ray Disc Review. Thank you.

Quarantine is an American remake of “REC” and stars Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter) as a TV news journalist out on an assignment recording a 48 hour cycle a group of LA firefighters routinely follow and proving she can hold her own, playfully so, with the other firefighters that include Jay Hernandez (Hostel) and Jonathan Schaech (The Forsaken). When her and her cameraman follow the fire company on a call to an urban dwelling, she soon finds herself along with a motley group of tenants and so forth at the center of an epidemic no one has ever seen before, but is dangerous enough that no one is being allowed to leave. They are being quarantined at gunpoint while the outside world has been told lies regarding their safety. The camera captures the gruesome spectacle that follows as people become infected with SPOILER ALERT *** - a mutating hyper form of rabies. - *** SPOILER ALERT

While Quarantine follows a formula similar to Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project, it actually has more in common with the style of point of view camera work used in George A. Romero’s Diary Of The Dead only the camera work is even less shaky because it is not seasoned film students behind the testament, but a professional network videographer. The supporting cast features Dania Ramirez (Heroes), Rade Sherbedgia (Eyes Wide Shut), Greg Germann (Ally McBeal), and in a memorable role, Doug Jones (Pan’s Labyrinth). The infected in this film react quite similarly as the infected in 28 Days Later/28 Weeks Later and are not reanimated corpses though their attacks are so frenzied that it takes more than a gunshot to bring one down unless of course it is a direct shot to the head, which is the one sure way to kill off just about anything and while the film is not a zombie flick, it’s close enough to fit into the genre. Before learning it was actually a remake of a foreign film, I thought Quarantine was another movie based on a video game like the Resident Evil series. The official theatrical website looked a bit like a game and featured a playable online game in it too.

Jennifer Carpenter proves she can not only hold her own with the boys in crisis mode, but in the film she does a fantastic job at appearing absolutely terrified, which does a great deal to pull the viewer into the moment. She is definitely an excellent “screamer” when it comes to the genre’s obligatory woman in peril sequences. There is no official music soundtrack to Quarantine since it is meant to mimic a video account of actual events, but the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack does a very capable job at capturing the sound design for the building settling and things creeping off camera that it creates this real unnerving aura that permeates the viewer even while the credits roll. A French Language Dolby Surround Soundtrack and English Closed Captions for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired as well as English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles are available as options. The feature length audio commentary track with Writer/Director John Erick Dowdle and Writer/Producer Drew Dowdle also features optional English Subtitles, which is a nice touch, but I have two caveats about the extra value features included on the Blu-ray Disc Edition. One is that not once is it ever even mentioned by anyone that this is an American remake of a very recent foreign feature release. Now if I did not bother to read the credits on the back of the case or look up the film online, I’d think this was an original film, which it is not. It’s a remake and the brothers could have expressed that fact in their commentary. The other caveat I have is that the theatrical trailer is not included on the disc itself. While on DVD especially, many distributors have dropped including theatrical trailers and TV spots on their video releases, I still feel that one should always be included and one should not have to download it either.

Evan on standard definition DVD, he film looks terrific with an anamorphic (1.85:1) aspect ratio presentation that captures the film’s theatrical exhibition presentation beautifully for home video users. The extra value features included on the disc are nearly identical to the Blu-ray Disc counterpart, which I reviewed here. Basically one gets three featurettes covering the making of the film, a look at one of the memorable stunt sequences in the film that is a visual highlight and an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the makeup design. Trailers for Screamers 2, The Grudge 3, The Poker Club, The Messengers 2, REC, The Lodger, Bogeyman 3, Passenger, Vacancy 2: The First Cut, and Breaking Bad wrap up the bonus materials included on this DVD edition.

Quarantine is available on DVD now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

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