The Zombie-field Project

This afternoon, I went to see Quarantine, the new zombie-themed horror movie fashioned in the style of Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project. It was a bit of a mixed bag, as you might well expect, with both good and bad elements to it.

The story didn't really offer all that much. The plot was really just frame for holding a dozen or so suspense sequences. And nearly all of those sequences, you've seen in some other movie before. The film relied more on sudden scares than prolonged suspense, but it did indeed have moments of both, and you don't always get the latter in these kinds of movies.

The thing that really shined in the movie, though, was the acting. In particular, Jennifer Carpenter (whom you may have seen as the title character in The Exorcism of Emily Rose) is rather extraordinary in the last 15 minutes of the movie. Her character goes into full-on, uncontrollable panic, and is very convincingly scared out of her mind. Knowing how movie sequences are filmed, with the same scene being filmed for take after take, it's truly impressive that she could have found the energy to portray such hysteria.

To the movie's detriment, however, is the trailer. I've often complained about trailers that feel like they ruin movies. This movie's trailer literally showed the final seconds of the movie. Granted, this was a predictable enough movie that I'm sure most of the audience would see the inevitable end coming. Nevertheless, to actually center your promotions around the final five seconds of the film? Ludicrous!

All told, I give it a C+. If you enjoy horror movies, you might well find a few things to like in this movie -- later on, on DVD. But I'm not really going to recommend it.