Quarantine (R, 2008)

common sense media says

Grim, grisly horror film only for mature viewers.


parents & educators say
  • 50% say violence is an issue
  • 33% say language is an issue

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this horror movie is absolutely terrifying, full of gore and terror and violence. Grisly wounds are shown in great detail, and tension builds to a fever pitch. The victims -- hungry, angry, mindless zombie-like creatures -- are the stuff that nightmares are made of. Parents should also know that the film's style -- all of the action is seen through the lens of a single news camera as it follows a group of firefighters on a "routine" call -- makes for an upsetting, frenetic, and intense viewing experience. There's also some swearing and sexual innuendo.

Positive messages: Extensive depiction of extreme circumstances of horror as the dwindling survivors in a quarantined apartment building are attacked by the victims of the virus; the outside world not only fails to offer help but actively shoots and attacks any of the people desperately trying to get out. Mention of "doomsday cults" and "nuclear, biological, and chemical" attacks.
Positive role models: A mixed bag; the heroes are good role models, but most of the others are not.
Violence: Near-constant, unrelenting horror violence, gore, and tension. The victims of a genetically engineered virus become aggressive, biting and attacking anyone in their path; there are also shootings, fatal falls, bludgeoning, and beatings. The film's central conceit that all the action is being filmed by a news crew leads to a scene in which an infected berserker is literally beaten to death with the camera. Animals are seen attacking humans; animals are seen eviscerated. Wounds and injuries are depicted with grim realism.
Sex: Some sexual innuendo and implied off-screen nudity; a firefighter bets he can "bang" a reporter before the end of the night.
Language: Relatively infrequent strong language includes "damn," "s--t," "f--k," and more.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: A character is clearly drunk; another character offers his Vicodin stash to help a veterinarian try to aid injured characters.

More on Quarantine

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about why zombie-style films are so popular. What anxieties do they speak to?
  • How have modern "zombie" movies changed from the original examples of the genre?
  • Also, do you think the movie's single-camera technique makes the film more frightening, or is it a gimmick designed to cover up a weak, familiar plot?
  • Families can also discuss the film's scenario -- what law enforcement and medical procedures are in place in the event of a biological emergency? Would they be effective?

What's the story?

What's the story?
In Los Angeles, a reporter and cameraman for a late-night cable program called Night Shift are shadowing a group of firefighters during their evening at the firehouse. Dispatched on a call, the TV crew and firefighters soon find themselves locked in an apartment building, where a report of an injured woman soon becomes a nightmare: A super-virulent form of rabies begins leaping from the injured woman to other residents of the building and attacking the remaining uninfected survivors. Trapped between blood-hungry monsters on the inside and the threat of death from the outside, will our heroes survive?

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

A virtual shot-for shot remake of the Spanish horror film [REC], QUARANTINE is a brutal, terrifying, and wrenchingly tense horror film. Some might say that horror films are pretty much the same, but the fact is that there are well-made examples of the genre and badly made examples of the genre, and Quarantine delivers superbly constructed, remarkably effective scares. The "camera's-eye view" technique constantly plunges viewers into the thick of things and also means that there's always some fresh terror ready to be dragged into view with a simple turn of the camera.

While the characters aren't much more than generic caricatures -- the plucky reporter (Jennifer Carpenter), the stalwart cameraman (Steve Harris), the tough fireman (Jay Hernandez), the conveniently well-informed veterinarian (Gregg Germann), and more -- but the real appeal of Quarantine is the film's concept and its execution, which is superbly handled and never flinches from going for the jugular with scares and gore. Quarantine is far smarter than it looks -- for example, when the outside word cuts off power to the building, it not only heightens the tension but also creates a legitimate reason for Harris' character to keep carrying the camera (which has a light on top) around as the infected victims attack. Quarantine plays like a feature-length version of the initial outbreak that most modern zombie films gloss over in their first five minutes. If you're a horror fan, it's just your kind of nightmare; if you're not a horror fan, it's not a film you'll enjoy or appreciate.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Screen Gems
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Cast: Jay Hernandez, Jennifer Carpenter, Johnathon Schaech
Genre: Horror
Run time: 89 minutes
Theatrical release: October 10, 2008
DVD release: February 17, 2009
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: bloody violent and disturbing content, terror and language.
Watch our review

This review was written by James Rocchi
 
 

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What parents & educators say

15
Based on 6 parent & educator reviews:
  • 50% say violence is an issue
  • 33% say language is an issue

Most useful reviews by all members

CaoimheMorana
parent of 10 and 13 year old
 
For Mature 14+
It's, in essence, a zombie movie, so of course it's violent. Hoever, overall it is a great film about the dangers of experimenting with things. The one-camera view makes the audience feel as if they are there. Because of this I recommend that anyone under 16 or 17 be mature for their age. But it was one of the better zombie movies I've seen.

Steelclaw1313
teen, 13 years old
 
NOT FOR KIDS!!
A reporter and her camera man go to a fire house for a tour and there's an emergency and they go with the fire department to a eerie apartment. They go in and the people who live there say something about this old lady up in her apartment. They go up and they go into her apartment and she's watching static on the TV and she's not moving at all. Then she gets up and her mouth is foaming and the police officer tries talking to her and she runs over and bites a huge chunk of his neck out; he dies later. That is just one of the many scenes of violent gory action. The movie also consists of language including: f**k and s**t. The reporter girl and the camera man are nice people and good role models.

Infantry121
parent of 12 and 17 year old
 
Perfect for 16 and up....
Now,it was pretty awesome,maybe the F bomb dropped here and there,but good anyways,the heroes like the camera man and reporter are great role models because they survived that.Only Problem i had was the story.But hey,what would you want your 15 year old doing,watching this masterpiece or watching some sex flick?I loved the camera eye view!

tekken5
teen, 14 years old
 

cooljak96
teen, 15 years old
 
Good movie for mature teens. Not a good movie for the easily queasy.
The movie is a very violent zombie film. It starts off as a interview of firefighters in a station, then they go to a call of domestic disturbance. Thats when it starts to get creepy. When they go upstairs, they find a old woman standing dark breathing heavily. When one of the cops puts a flashlight on to her, she freaks out breaking somethings. Then, one of the firefighters gets bite by the woman. Some other scary parts is when the kid bites the mom. Its may seem very "quiet" in some scenes, but it can get very violet and bloody very quickly. Its a very dark movie, meaning that most of it is well, in the dark.

mermaideve
teen, 13 years old
 
DO NOT let kids under 12 watch this
This was a really good movie but in some parts it was really disgusting. I like scary movies and all but this was scarier than any other scary movie i've seen. Kids under 12 do not need to be watching this.

tempagency
teen, 16 years old
 
Good movie!
It was a great movie, I think that it was cool.

EmilyB123
teen, 15 years old
 
This was a good movie if you don't mind seeing a lot of blood and gore. The bloody images didn't really disturb me either. I think that mature teens will be able to get through the movie but people who can't handle gore need to skip this movie.

fangningsheng
teen, 14 years old
 
scary
This movie was really scary. I nearly peed my pants at several parts. I would rate it R for pervasive bloody horror violence, terror throughout, and for language.

izzielizzie9
teen, 14 years old
 
shouldnt b rated R
i like it. was alright. really violent though. if u dont like gore DO NOT watch this movie

IronZombie75
teen, 16 years old
 
Good for 13 or 14 and up.
*VERY SCARY* Not for the squeamish. Very gory in some scenes. Guy kills infected lady with the camera and you are the camera so you see blood and gore splatter on the camera lense and her face get disfigured. Guy smashes lady head open offscreen with a sledgehammer and Blood and Gore splatter on the wall. old lady bites mans neck open and you see blood and organs spill out off the wound.

J-dog21
teen, 16 years old
 
better than cloverfield and blaiir witch project and such
mostly just violent, but very good recomend seeing

feather moon
teen, 15 years old
 
Not for teens, only older, very mature adults.
I watched this over the last summer and I still see flashes over zombies in the shadows. If you like horror movies, but they scare you out of your witts, don't EVER even think about watching this. Zombies have become my worst fear because this. It swears often, and there are horrific violent and gorey scenes. You watch several people get bitten by these zombie like, ill people, There's a scene where the daughter bites her own mother. One of the worst is when a firefighter has a broken leg, but can't feel pain (we assume) and walks anyways, and the bone sticks out of his skin. It has a horrible message. Because the people outside (most likely government) know how dangerous the illness is they shoot a man who tries to escape. This is definitely a good choice when it was rated R. If you can sit and watch pop out scary movies, this is great. It may not be completely original, but it was a different kind of zombie movie. Great graphics and such. I would have liked the movie if I liked terribly scarying movies, and I don't. So if you don't enjoy horror movies, DO NOT SEE THIS!

spartan15
teen, 16 years old
 
/good for mature teens or tweens who dont mind blood and scares
This movie is violent and it is extremely scary and sort of realistic . I would atch with caution. Some pretty bad language to.

LilWayneisawsome
teen, 14 years old
 
Quarantine
this movie was very frightening the violence wasn't as bad as i thought it would be it takes place in a apartment building when an infection has started from a dog. the ending was the most horrible ending Ive have ever seen. I recommend this movie to fifteen and up.

Yeah.
teen, 14 years old
 
Check out my page for other great recommendations.
I'm not here to give a review because if it shows up on my page its a 5 star movie and so therefore you know what i think about it.

silly_samsters
teen, 17 years old
 
Good if you are 13 or older
This movie I would recommend if you are 13 or older because it wasent that scary/bad except for the language. It is about this news reporter and her camera crew and the fire department went to a call and they all get locked in this house with no communications avaliable and people are going crazy and there is this desise that is spreadding that will kill you so they are trying to get out of the house alive.

uytt2
adult
 
get the original
this movie was pretty much a copy of the spanish cult hit "rec" this movie was scary at parts but not as awsome as the first one. If you truly want to get scared get rec and rec2

YOUTUBEYAY
parent of 12 year old
 
no watching
it sounds scary so i say no.

kristinaM
teen, 16 years old
 
NOT for those who scare reallyy easy.
I absolutely loved this movie! I’m only 13 years old right now and I saw it not even a month ago. Even though I’m just that young and wasn't really scared by it, others who are my age might be horrified, scared, etc. by it. I just like scary movies a lot! THIS MOVIE IS BETTER THAN MOST OTHER SCARY MOVIES, in my opinion, BECAUSE THERE IS NONE OF THAT DRAMATIC SUSPENSFUL MUSIC, IT'S SHOWN THROUGH ONE TELEVISION NEWS CAMERA (which makes it seem more like your in the movie with the characters), AND THE WAY THEY FILMED IT, IT MAKES IT SEEM SO REAL AND LIKE YOU ARE THERE WITH THEM, AND YOU HAVE A CHANCE OF BEING ATTACKED (especially if you watch it with surround sound or something). So this movie is filled with a LOT of violence. It is almost all violence after the first either 10 or 20 or so minutes of it. It consists of brutal attacks where infected people bite whoever they see around them, an attack by a HUGE dog, shooting, attacks with a sledge hammer, and even one of the infected persons getting beaten by the TV camera. There is a LOT of cursing by the firefighters and pretty much every other character. This isn’t really good for younger teens or children to hear. I however am not really concerned by that because I’ve gotten used to that kind of language over the years from many sources, as have many other young adults around my age or older. I don't really count the firefighter saying he was going to "bang" the woman newscaster as that sexual, so I’m not really concerned about that(I hear stuff like that at school). There are some very horrible role models in this movie, but there are also some good ones to. I’m not really all that concerned with anything in the movie except for the poor role models, because everything else is pretty much the makings of a good scary movie. I mean, what’s a scary movie without some violence? That is what I would call Boring. Most people would lose interest in the movie unless there is something else, put in place of the violence, to grasp their attention. I absolutely LOVED Quarantine. I would recommend this movie to those who are scary movie lovers, like me. -Kristina(:

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