A shrewd and pointless remake (Quarantine (DVD))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	Quarantine (DVD)
Date:	07/07/09 (7 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well made

Disadvantages: Pointless if you have a brain

Quarantine is a shot for shot remake of a superb Spanish film named [REC]. Within about 9 months of its Spanish release, the US remake was already released, and althouth this is competently made, it's just another piece of evidence to depict how mechanical the Hollywood machine can be - this is a shrewd money making exercise that offers little for anyone with a brain - that is, anyone who can actually read subtitles whilst watching a film.

The film revolves around Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter), a TV news reporter that is spending the night travelling with the local fire department for a TV special. She follows them as they tend to an incident at an apartment block, but soon enough, all Hell breaks loose, as a woman begins to attack them like a crazed animal. Furthermore, the government have sealed the building, placing all of the people inside under quarantine. Angela, her cameraman, the fire crew and the remaining inhabitants of the apartment block must attempt to survive as the strange illness spreads throughout the block.

Quarantine is filmed from a first-person-perspective much like The Blair Witch Project and Diary of the Dead - the cameraman gives us our perspective, and it works pretty well. There aren't too many times that, unlike Diary in particular, where there's so much carnage that the cameraman in reality would drop the camera and just get the Hell out of there.

Although this is a totally pointless remake for anyone with the ability to read, it does remedy my main gripe with the original film - the original film delivers its dark ending and then cuts to the credits where some rather loud rock music ruins the atmosphere. The remake, however, ends with absolute silence, making its chilling close all the more terrifying.

As a virtually shot-for-shot remake of last year's Spanish horror hit "[REC]", Quarantine remedies a few of [REC]'s flaws, yet also adds some wholly unnecessary indulgences, and it's difficult to recommend this film to anyone who doesn't mind subtitles.

Summary: A well made remake that doesn't step on the toes of the original