Before the latest shaky cam pic Quarantine hits cinemas this friday, Movies.ie recommends the following films…
The hand-held shaky-cam gets a strong workout this weekend in “Quarantine,” a remake of the award-winning Spanish horror/thriller [REC] released last year. The film follows television reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman (Steve Harris) who are assigned to spend the night shift with a Los Angeles Fire Station. After a routine 911 call takes them to a small apartment building, they find police officers Wilensky (Columbus Short) and McCreedy (Andrew Fiscella) already on the scene in response to blood curdling screams coming from one of the apartment units. Unbeknownst to them, a woman has contracted a rare strain of rabies. 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 grim gory and altogether gooey video footage.
28 DAYS LATER
Like “Quarantine”, “28 Days Later” things spark off when an infection spreads from person to person, turning your average Joe-average into ravenous killers. Our hero Jim (played by Cillian Murphy) awakes from a coma 28 days after the outbreak and now, he and those few remaining survivors must face the reality of a deserted London… More than your average horror, Danny Boyle’s ’28 Days Later’ works as both a superior/terrifying zombie pic and a sharp political allegory.
THE POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES
Quarantine’s director John Erick Dowdle is no stranger to the pseudo-documentary approach to storytelling. In “The Poughkeepsie Tapes” the director tackled the crimes of a Poughkeepsie based serial killer, who has left over 800 tapes detailing his decade-long crime spree, from his first moments stalking his victims to the last seconds of their lives… Incorporating interviews from criminal experts, testimony from the only victim ever rescued alive, and chilling footage shot from the killer’s own camera, the film brings to life the twisted path of a serial killer as never before. If you weren’t lucky enough to see the film on the festival circuit back in 2007, don’t fret, after a LONG delay, the film is now expected to hit theatres early 2009
.REC
A film crew – bubbly blonde reporter Ángela (Manuela Velasco) and unseen, behind-the-lens cameraman Pablo – are following a late-night fire crew around for a TV show. When a call comes in about an old lady trapped inside a Barcelona apartment, firemen Manu (Ferran Terraza) and Álex (David Vert) respond to the emergency, with Angela and Pablo tagging along to film proceedings. What they find are coppers already assembled at the scene, the building’s other residents gathered in the lobby, and the woman, herself, rabid and covered in blood. When she takes a bite out of one rozzer’s neck, all hell breaks loose and the place is soon quarantined, trapping both living and dead inside, with no way out… Yes, that’s right it does sound very much like Quarantine – well that’s because it’s a remake people, but don’t be put off. Both films are of merit and this Spanish original is a must for horror fanatics. It also featured a rather clever trailer – focusing not on the film but the audience reaction. Oh those clever Spaniards – check it out above…
Cloverfield
More shaky cam – Blair Witch really does have a lot to answer for! Director Matt Reeves (and producer J. J. Abrams turn a mysterious monster loose in Manhattan in this disaster flick. The movie begins at a party for Rob (Michael Stahl-David), who has accepted a promotion that will send him to Japan. Hud (T. J. Miller) is entrusted with the responsibility of videotaping the party–and as the trouble grows, he holds on to the camera, recording everything that happens… A genuine roller-coaster ride, Cloverfield will leave you nauseated, feeling claustrophobic and yet entertained.
Quarantine is in Irsh cinemas from Friday, November 21st.