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Quarantine

  • 2008
  • R
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
82K
YOUR RATING
Jennifer Carpenter in Quarantine (2008)
Quarantine - Theatrical Trailer
Play trailer2:15
9 Videos
90 Photos
Found Footage HorrorPsychological HorrorPsychological ThrillerZombie HorrorHorrorSci-FiThriller

A television reporter and her cameraman are trapped inside a building quarantined by the CDC, after the outbreak of a mysterious virus which turns humans into bloodthirsty killers.A television reporter and her cameraman are trapped inside a building quarantined by the CDC, after the outbreak of a mysterious virus which turns humans into bloodthirsty killers.A television reporter and her cameraman are trapped inside a building quarantined by the CDC, after the outbreak of a mysterious virus which turns humans into bloodthirsty killers.

  • Director
    • John Erick Dowdle
  • Writers
    • John Erick Dowdle
    • Drew Dowdle
    • Jaume Balagueró
  • Stars
    • Jennifer Carpenter
    • Steve Harris
    • Columbus Short
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.0/10
    82K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Erick Dowdle
    • Writers
      • John Erick Dowdle
      • Drew Dowdle
      • Jaume Balagueró
    • Stars
      • Jennifer Carpenter
      • Steve Harris
      • Columbus Short
    • 486User reviews
    • 203Critic reviews
    • 53Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 6 nominations total

    Videos9

    Quarantine
    Trailer 2:15
    Quarantine
    Quarantine: A Way Out
    Clip 0:43
    Quarantine: A Way Out
    Quarantine: A Way Out
    Clip 0:43
    Quarantine: A Way Out
    Quarantine: It's Mrs. Espinosa
    Clip 0:52
    Quarantine: It's Mrs. Espinosa
    Quarantine: It's Locked
    Clip 0:43
    Quarantine: It's Locked
    Quarantine
    Featurette 0:20
    Quarantine
    Quarantine: Featurette
    Featurette 4:41
    Quarantine: Featurette

    Photos90

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    Top Cast38

    Edit
    Jennifer Carpenter
    Jennifer Carpenter
    • Angela Vidal
    Steve Harris
    Steve Harris
    • Scott Percival
    Columbus Short
    Columbus Short
    • Danny Wilensky
    Jay Hernandez
    Jay Hernandez
    • Jake
    Johnathon Schaech
    Johnathon Schaech
    • George Fletcher
    Andrew Fiscella
    • James McCreedy
    Rade Serbedzija
    Rade Serbedzija
    • Yuri Ivanov
    • (as Rade Sherbedgia)
    Greg Germann
    Greg Germann
    • Lawrence
    Bernard White
    Bernard White
    • Bernard
    Dania Ramirez
    Dania Ramirez
    • Sadie
    Elaine Kagan
    Elaine Kagan
    • Wanda Marimon
    Marin Hinkle
    Marin Hinkle
    • Kathy
    Joey King
    Joey King
    • Briana
    Jermaine Jackson
    Jermaine Jackson
    • Nadif
    Sharon Ferguson
    Sharon Ferguson
    • Jwahir
    Denis O'Hare
    Denis O'Hare
    • Randy
    Stacy Chbosky
    Stacy Chbosky
    • Elise Jackson
    Jeannie Epper
    Jeannie Epper
    • Ms. Espinoza
    • Director
      • John Erick Dowdle
    • Writers
      • John Erick Dowdle
      • Drew Dowdle
      • Jaume Balagueró
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews486

    6.082.3K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    6ma-cortes

    Horror story plenty of suspense, restless terror and in documentary style that itself takes place from point of sight from cameraman.

    A television reporter and her cameraman occupying to spend themselves the night shift in a fire station. After a routine call take them to an apartments building. There they meet residents,cops, caretaker already in the scenario ; all of them are trapped inside a building quarantined by the CDC after the outbreak of a mysterious virus which becomes humans into bloodthirsty murderers . Acceptable remake full of eerie scenes with zombies and creepy scenes .This following packs a sinister and horrifying atmosphere by means of shaky camera and videotape as well as the former Spanish films titled REC 1, and 2 . The eerie tale deals with a reporter (Jennifer Carpenter )who leads a TV team inside the quarantined building , in which communication means have been cut-off and police agents are not relaying information to those closed inside. They soon learn that a woman living in the building has been infected by something unknown and after that are attacked by the zombie-like creatures . The journalist , a fireman (Jay Hernandez) and his cameraman occupying to spend themselves the night against the zombies . There , they find residents already in the scenario have been possessed by strange demoniac forces . After that , the tenants and inhabitants are brutally attacked by psycho people ; they soon learn that people living in the building has been infected by something unknown. The group attempts the getaway but they only encounter that have been sealed off and try to avoid the bloody attacks .

    This sequel to one of the highest earning horror movies of the last years titled ¨Rec¨ is realized in similar premise to original and contains a good cast as Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez , Johnathon Schaech ,Steve Harris and Rade Serbedzija. It's a solid movie , a terror story plenty of suspense, restless horror, and in documentary style. Film itself takes place from point of sight from cameraman. The flesh-eating zombies appearance deliver the goods plenty of screams, shocks and tension .The horror moments are compactly made and fast moving . It packs tension, shocks, thrills,chills and lots of gore and blood , but the original is far superior . Well worth seeing if you like shaky cameras, such us ¨Blair witch project¨, ¨28 Days/Weeks¨ and ¨Cloverfield¨ . Dark cinematography filmed in Downtown, Los Angeles, California, Hollywood, Los Angeles, and Sony Pictures Studios by Ken Seng .The picture produced by Julio Fernandez (Filmax Productions) is professionally directed by John Erik Dowdle but with no originality and based on the Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza film, two magnificent experts on terror genre . Both of whom are directing the third part (in pre-production) titled ¨Rec, Genesis¨ with similar crew and actors . Furthermore another filmed titled ¨Quarantine : the terminal¨ by John Pogue. Rating : 5,5 , passable follow-up that will appeal to horror fans .
    6view_and_review

    I Already Saw "REC"

    As a rule I do not like found footage aka shaky cam movies. Besides being terrible quality, most of the time it defies logic and common sense for the person to continue filming while in such dire situations, and I can't get past that. Just like I can't get past the cellphone camera generation today that has an insatiable need to film the most appalling events without thinking, "Maybe I should put the camera down and help." Or my favorite --while holding their cellphone to video-- "Someone call 9-1-1!"

    "Quarantine" is a found footage movie based upon the movie "REC." "REC" was a foreign film with the exact same premise, but it was better. In "Quarantine" a reporter named Angela (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman Scott (Steve Harris) follow a few L. A. firefighters out on a call. When they arrive at an apartment they find an elderly woman seemingly on the brink of death. Suddenly, she sprung to life with the vigor of a person one-fourth her age and bit a firefighter on the neck. As weird as this was, no one would become truly panicked until they found out that they were being locked in the building.

    From that point on the movie was a lot of screaming, yelling, growling, and running in circles--all with very poor camera shots because the cameraman was a part of the fracas. This movie would've been better had I not seen "REC" already. Also, it would've been better had they gone with a traditional movie format. However, there were a few awesome shots of bodies dropping and/or falling which kept me engaged.
    7justin_currie

    Woah.

    I went into this movie with fairly vague expectations - however I am a fan of scary movies, and not to mention a big fan of Jennifer Carpenter, could be good times. so lets go.

    woah.

    This movie was horribly fantastic! It was a ride, a very scary, very stressful ride, but an awesome one. True, this flick does not stray far from the typical zombie flick concepts, but I thought the execution was above par. The 1st person views, the sense of confinement/hopelessness, and the great acting (especially ms carpenter, extremely believable job of someone going hysterically frantic) One of the key things about this horror is the scares never let up, there is rarely a "breather scene" where you get to relax for any amount of time, it just keeps hitting you and hitting you.

    haha, phew. I truly enjoyed. check it out. cheers
    7Simon_Says_Movies

    Infectious Horror

    Even at a glance, it is clear that Quarantine has boarded the 'fad' bandwagon it two respects. Firstly, this chiller joins up with the abundance of remakes that choke the gullet of Hollywood, and at an impressively rapid pace I may add, duplicating its Spanish predecessor (Rec) within a year's time. Secondly, it is the successor in a line of films, some from earlier this year in fact, that adopt the hand-held camera technique (which may soon be classified more accurately as a gimmick) to construct a first hand, real time account of events. Yet, despite succumbing to these popular fixations, and the flag of death that is the studios reluctance to screen the film, Quarantine is crisp effective horror.

    When comparing (Rec) and Quarantine, the similarities are glaring. In fact, the films are almost identical, save a few altered snippets. Which is good in the sense that nothing was lost in translation and although nowhere near as disgraceful as remaking classics or art films, it still begs to ask the question why? Alas, the average viewer does not wish to read subtitles, especially when watching horror, so the update went through. Directed by newcomer John Erick Dowdle he makes the most of his debut. Procuring a larger budget then its inspiration, Quarantine looks better as a whole (despite more frequent incomprehensible shots involving darkness and jiggle cam) and is able to incorporate some effects into the production, such as a continuous and chilling shot of a person being tossed down a stairwell. Comparisons to 2008's earlier films Cloverfield and Diary of the Dead are unavoidable, and remains squarely in the middle; a far-cry from the ingenuity and atmosphere of Cloverfield, but avoids the horrendous acting and scripting of Diary.

    Mirroring (Rec) Quarantine begins with a reporter, Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) who hosts a late night television program. On this particular night, Angela and her cameraman Scott (Steve Harris) are doing a ride-along with the firemen of a local station in L.A., including Jake (Jay Hernandez) and Fletcher (Jonathan Schaech). After a tenuous night of boredom and anxiety, they are finally called to the scene of an apparent accident in an aging condo, involving an elderly tenant. Things are not as they seem however as soon after, the CDC seals off the building with the foursome, and the reaming residents still inside. Their reasoning is good it seems, as all hell breaks loose as a mysterious rabies virus rips through the building turning those exposed into zombie-like fiends. The survivors must work together to battle the infected, the authorities and each other.

    Both films incorporate the inherent problem of the disease itself, which seems to frequently shift in its required incubation period, but is not really a huge impediment for the film as a whole. The opening act which is situated entirely at the station is both surprisingly involving and witty, and works to some extent as character development. The finale is also pulse-pounding, if not entirely inspired, but lacks the sheer terror I felt at the finale of (Rec). When breaking it down, Quarantine's opening is better then the original, and (Rec)'s final act is better then its imitator, so things balance out. Each film boast a superb scene mid to late film, including the aforementioned stairwell plummet in Quarantine and a scene in (Rec]) involving the same stairwell in which the heroes peer down to see the lower floors of infected peering back; eerie stuff. I would encourage horror fans to see both before making their choice, and to be honest I haven't quite chosen myself which is superior. Regardless, Quarantine takes advantage of a ploy that has not yet become stale, and yielding authentic portrayals from its relatively unknown cast and an ominous atmosphere, this flick is infectious to be sure.

    See all my reviews at: http://simonsaysmovies.blogspot.com
    amesmonde

    Entertaining as a standalone film but pale comparison to Rec

    A television reporter and her cameraman are on call with a group of fireman. When they are called to an apartment building their night takes a turn for the worse… The building becomes quarantined confining them with the inhabitants who are infected by a virus that turns them into bloodthirsty killers.

    If you've seen Rec (2007) this version adds nothing new. Director John Erick Dowdle and writer Drew Dowdle can't fail as it's almost a paint by number remake, only with English dialogue instead of the dubbed or subtitles of the original.

    While Hostel's Jay Hernandez give a great performance, the majority of the rest of the cast are less convincing. Quarantine it's a lot sleeker in it's execution and looks really good. That said, the griminess of REC has been lost and this version sadly loses the raw innate fear factor.

    As a standalone point of view shot film it's entertaining enough. Blood, gore, tension and claustrophobia but if you've seen the original it's an unnecessary remake and cash-in on Rec (2007) made less than a year earlier.

    More like this

    Quarantine 2: Terminal
    5.2
    Quarantine 2: Terminal
    REC
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    Related interests

    Manuela Velasco in REC (2007)
    Found Footage Horror
    Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out (2017)
    Psychological Horror
    Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl (2014)
    Psychological Thriller
    Pedro Pascal in Long, Long Time (2023)
    Zombie Horror
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
    Sci-Fi
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The apartment complex was a set but a fully functioning one with four floors.
    • Goofs
      (at around 48 mins) Lawrence says the only way to test for rabies is a brain sample; a blood test will not work. A brain sample is the most reliable way to diagnose rabies, but it can also be diagnosed through saliva, urine, or cerebro-spinal fluid samples.
    • Quotes

      Yuri Ivanov: They won't let us out.

    • Crazy credits
      At the very end of the credits, the sound of the camera shutting down can be heard, signaling the end of the tape.
    • Alternate versions
      Remake of [Rec] (also titled REC), released in 2007. Jaume Balagueró, writer and director of the original Spanish language film, is credited as co-writer on the English-language version.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Episode #5.41 (2008)
    • Soundtracks
      24 Hours of the Day TV Title
      Written by Zelma Sanders

      Performed by The Gillettes

      Courtesy of Kid Gloves Records

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    FAQ20

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 10, 2008 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Spain
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Cuarentena
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles Fire Department, Fire Station 27 - 1327 N Cole Ave, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Screen Gems
      • Vertigo Entertainment
      • Andale Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $12,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $31,691,811
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $14,211,321
      • Oct 12, 2008
    • Gross worldwide
      • $41,319,906
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 29m(89 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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