Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris, Columbus Short

Television reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman (Steve Harris) are assigned to spend the night shift with a Los Angeles Fire Station. After a routine 911 call takes them to a s...( read more  read more... )mall apartment building, they find police officers already on the scene in response to blood curdling screams coming from one of the apartment units. They soon learn that a woman living in the building has been infected by something unknown. After a few of the residents are viciously attacked, they try to escape with the news crew in tow, only to find that the CDC has quarantined the building. Phones, Internet, televisions and cell phone access have been cut-off, and officials are not relaying information to those locked inside. When the quarantine is finally lifted, the only evidence of what took place is the news crew's videotape.

Flixster Users

47% liked it

864,546 ratings

Critics

59% liked it

76 critics

R, 1 hr. 29 min.

Directed by: John Erick Dowdle

Release Date: October 10, 2008

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DVD Release Date: February 17, 2009

Stats: 12,975 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (12,975)


  • December 1, 2009
    A really great horror film, made apparently just months after the Spanish original Rec. What I don't understand is so many people saying this is not as good? It's almost the same film scene for scene, but with a different cast and set in LA. Only changes from the original are a f...( read more)ew more attacks and the origin of the virus was changed slightly. The only real problem if you have seen the original first is you know what is coming and when second time round so less scary. Otherwise almost a carbon copy of the original but in English. Watch out for Rec2!
  • October 26, 2009
    Angela Vidal and her cameraman are making a documentary about the fire brigade. Joining up with a couple of them, called out to an apartment building, they soon discover something horrific is going on....

    Quarantine is a an American remake of Rec. This means it has two major pro...( read more)blems to overcome. First, Rec was to me the scariest movie I've seen in a cinema for almost 18 years (the last, was The Exorcist III)! The second, is that it IS an American horror movie remake. Now, the track record for this has been awful. Consider the evidence - The Ring, The Grudge, One Missed Call, The Wicker Man to name some. Hell, they can't even remake American movies! The Hitcher, When A Stranger Calls (I still shudder about that one!), Prom Night, Halloween. So this movie starts with two major points against it.

    However, despite a couple of minor issues, and one major one, it's not that bad.

    The reason it works, is that the director John Erick Dowdle has taken the scares from the original and simply re-done them. In fact the movie is almost a shot for shot remake of Rec! The fact that despite having seen Rec, the scares still work is a testament to not only how scary the original was, but also how well they've been re-done.

    As I said, there are a couple of minor faults. Some of the make-up effects, don't quite work. The other minor fault is that the cast, while good aren't as convincing as the original cast were. Case in point, Jennifer Carpenter as Angela. At the start she's fine, but by the end she's a bit over the top in hysterical and terrified mode compared to Manuela Velasco.

    But the major fault, and this one is harder to overlook is that they've changed what is actually going on. In this movie, it's suggested that it's a strand of rabies that has caused the outbreak. In the original, it's never really revealed what is causing it, although events towards the end suggest a possible supernatural cause. But because they've changed it here, it means the final scenes don't work as well, and don't really fit. And the final shot, which was revealed in the trailer by the way, again doesn't work in the remake.

    The movie is slightly longer than the original, spending more time with the fireman at the station before the events begin, and has a little more emphasis on what is going on outside also, but these little changes don't affect the movie that much.

    How you view this movie will depend on the original, Rec. If you've not seen the original then it is a pretty effective scary movie, especially the last 15 minutes. However if you've seen Rec, then this movie offers nothing new, and isn't as good overall.
  • September 10, 2009
    Scared the pee out of me! :) Jennifer Carpenter was amazing!
  • September 6, 2009
    Predictable but not bad. I really dont have much more to add.
  • May 3, 2009
    It's official. I think John Erick Dowdle is a horrible director. First the shitty Poughkeepsie Tapes, now this. Quarantine was just as embarrassing, for slightly different reasons, but it's still a joke(and killer rats are hilarious.). Did he even pay attention to the movie [REC]...( read more), or did he just listen to it in the background, drunk and half asleep on the couch, covered in cheese doodles? This guy doesn't understand the key qualities to a good movie. He just understands poo poo, and how to light a match.

    [REC] was horrifying, and perfectly filmed...Quarantine just sucks, and smells bad.

    Stick with [REC]. Scary sh*t! And look out for [REC] 2, coming soon, filmed by the same two directors. Should be interesting.

    Anyway Quarantine was not scary. It made me chuckle and then I went beddy-bye. I had a nightmare that John Erick Dowdle remade The Exorcist, and asked Justin Timberlake to play Regan. Creepy stuff.
  • November 29, 2009
    not quiet what i was expecting but still worth a watch...
  • November 28, 2009
    rec was better. With it you realy think it is real becuse of the camras they have compared to the type we use for film.
  • November 28, 2009
    All that screaming... Just so annoying...
  • November 27, 2009
    dude that was scary lol
  • November 26, 2009
    Some parts it scared the hell out of me, but upon that it was a decent movie.

Critic Reviews


February 24, 2009
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Not as frightening as it should be, but still better than the average Hollywood scare-a-thon. full review

October 29, 2008
Scott Mendelson, Film Threat Hollywood's Indie Voice

Quarantine is worth seeing for its solid first two acts, some terrific acting by some favorite character actors, and a several solid spook-show scares. full review

October 13, 2008
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Give Quarantine credit: Without resorting to computer-generated monsters or supernatural explanations, it uses consistent logic and confinement to find new ways of being scary. full review

View more Quarantine reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • stoplookink2468
    April 7, 2009
    yeah this movie sucked it might have been better if it was a movie and we did not see it as it being on a hand held camera the entire time and i would like to know who johnathan s. was in this movie
  • rosao42
    March 30, 2009
    ya its a good suspense haha...
  • Muktidaya
    February 22, 2009
    hahaha good film..
  • himanshu9632
    November 6, 2008
    Quarantine, yet another pseudo-documentary horror movie, In some ways 'Quarantine' is better than 'Rec,' not only xeroxing all its shocks but managing to add more. For more review & and wallpaper click the link:- http://movies.iexplorehere.com/review/780/Quarantine.html
  • suprabuddha
    October 30, 2008
    This is one of the few horror movies I've seen over the last five years that have actually SCARED me!!! Shooting from the point of view angle places the movie-goer at ground level and in the middle of the gorefest. The director John Erick Dowdle suceeds where the much vaunted George Romero failed. Its' clear to me at least that this movie is an instant CLASSIC.
  • ElDorito11
    October 9, 2008
    this....sounds...AWESOME!!!!!! i really wanna see it!!!!
  • rhill32
    September 22, 2008
    LIVE HORROR-THEMED CHARITY AUCTION TO BE HELD BY PREMIERE PROPS ON SATURDAY OCTOBER 11, 2008
    IN EL SEGUNDO, CA

    Rare items from Cloverfield, The Cave, The Eye, Quarantine, Grind House, Wrong Turn, Captivity, The Simpsons Halloween Special XII, Lakeview Terrace, Resident Evil: Extinction, Hell Ride, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Jurassic Park, Underworld Evolution, Sleepy Hollow, Aeon Flux, Halloween and The Mummy Returns will be up for bid

    Proceeds will Benefit the Entertainment Industry Foundation

    EL SEGUNDO-Premiere Props announced today that the auction of never before seen horror-themed movie props, including super hero costumes from classical horror movies will be up for bid with proceeds to benefit the Entertainment Industry Foundation. Presented by Fangoria, the live auction will take place on Saturday, October 11, 2008 at Premiere Props’ warehouse in El Segundo, California (128 Sierra Street, El Segundo, CA 90245). There will be a preview from 9am – 11am, and the auction will begin at 11am.

    Film fans and collectors will have an opportunity to own rare costumes and props from fan favorites including The Cave, Rob Zombie’s Halloween, Quarantine, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Lakeview Terrace, Grindhouse, Sleepy Hollow, Hell Ride, Aeon Flux, The Eye, Wrong Turn, Cloverfield, Captivity, The Mummy Returns, One Missed Call, Ancient, Red Dragon, The Simpsons Halloween Special XII, Resident Evil: Extinction, Underworld Evolution, and many, many more!

    Several hundred items from horror classics will be auctioned off with a set portion of the proceeds benefiting the Entertainment Industry Foundation. The charity auction will feature movie collectibles and props including:
    • Aeon Flux- An action Monican assault rifle prop used by a hit team member in the film.
    • Captivity- Jen's (Elisha Cuthbert) hero brown fuzzy w/ sheer white/brown bow teddy bear.
    • Captivity- Jen's (Elisha Cuthbert) hero silver blender used to feed pureed fl
  • chrismid259
    April 18, 2008
    Why does there appear to be two pages for this movie.

    http://www.flixster.com/movie/quarantined
    and
    http://www.flixster.com/movie/quarantine-2008
  • Kakaroto24
    April 11, 2008
    since i haven't seen the original movie, i want to see this one. looks pretty good.
  • chrismid259
    March 29, 2008
    Before questions are asked. Yes, this is a remake. [REC] is the original.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Quarantine : Watch Free on TV


Quarantine Trivia


  • In the beginning of "The Aviator", what word does the young boy, Howard Hughes, spell.  Answer »
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