Saturday, April 04, 2009

Wow, what a shocker! 2008’s Quarantine — respectful remake of Spanish horror movie Rec — is an unforgettable movie in my book, and I can hardly wait show it to some of my friends! Perhaps I will notice a few details I missed during the first viewing, seeing as how I was just a nervous wreck, a pretzel of a man, muscles taut as I sat on the couch throughout the last half of the film.

There are portions of two reviews quoted on the cover of Quarantine. On the front it reads, “Quite possibly the best horror film this year.” On the back it says, “. . .scary as hell.” I agree wholeheartedly with both.

Quarantine was gripping, terrifying, serving up large doses of scream-inducing, edge-of-your seat horror — and it should not be missed by any true horror fan. It’s not a slasher flick (thank goodness) and it is not a supernatural thriller (for which I’d partly wished). If I had to quickly select a sub-genre of horror in which to classify Quarantine, I might be forced to utter the word “zombie,” but that too is misleading and might cause some to pass on it, when in fact they shouldn’t miss it. Quarantine is not technically a zombie movie, but it’s easy to lump it into the zombie category or sub-genre of horror movies.

I’ll eventually post more of my thoughts on and information about Quarantine, but in spite of the rapid arrival of 2am as I write this, I wanted to go ahead and post something on this website without delay. Yeah — Quarantine was that good — definitely worth staying up for.

DVD Cover

When a news crew decides to trail a brave fire-fighting team, they never suspect that the first call for help they respond to that night may be their last. Now they’re trapped in an apartment complex sealed off by the government. With no way of escape, they find themselves surrounded by frightened residents who are infected with a deadly mutant virus. What happens next is only known because of the footage they left behind.

More Info

Quarantine was directed by John Erick Dowdle and written by Drew Dowdle and John Erick Dowdle. The film was executive produced by Glenn S. Gainor, Drew Dowdle, Julio Fernandez, and Carlos Fernandez; produced by Doug Davison, Roy Lee, and Sergio Aguero.

Special Features Include:
o Locked In: The Making-of Quarantine Featurette
o Anatomy of a Stunt Featurette
o Dressing the Infected: Make-Up Design Featurette
o Commentary with Writer/Director John Erick Dowdle and Writer/Producer Drew Dowdle

Partial Press Release

CULVER CITY, CALIF. (December 8, 2008) – Sony Pictures Home Entertainment unleashes the most terrifying film of the year when Quarantine hits Blu-ray™ High-Def, DVD and PSP™ February 17, 2009. This edge-of-your-seat horror film stars Jennifer Carpenter (TV’s “Dexter”, Exorcism of Emily Rose), Johnathon Schaech (Prom Night) and Jay Hernandez (Hostel). The bonus materials include three in-depth featurettes that take you behind-the-scenes, stunts and make-up. Running commentary is provided by Writer/Director John Erick Dowdle (The Poughkeepsie Tapes) and Writer/Producer Drew Dowdle (The Poughkeepsie Tapes).