Quarantine

  • Review Date: October 13, 2008
  • R
  • Genre: Horror
  • 2008
 Review

Common Sense Media says

Grim, grisly horror film only for mature viewers.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

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.

  • 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.
  • A mixed bag; the heroes are good role models, but most of the others are not.
  • 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.
  • Some sexual innuendo and implied off-screen nudity; a firefighter bets he can "bang" a reporter before the end of the night.
  • Relatively infrequent strong language includes "damn," "s--t," "f--k," and more.
  • Not applicable.
  • A character is clearly drunk; another character offers his Vicodin stash to help a veterinarian try to aid injured characters.

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?

 

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.


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What families can talk about

  • 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?


This review was written by James Rocchi
Parent of 10 and 13 year old
October 11, 2010
 
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.

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Teen, 14 years old
June 30, 2010
 
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.

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Parent of 12 and 17 year old
March 9, 2010
 
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!

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Teen, 15 years old
July 20, 2009
 

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Teen, 15 years old
February 5, 2011
 
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!

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Teen, 16 years old
October 16, 2010
 
Good movie!
It was a great movie, I think that it was cool.

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Teen, 15 years old
October 1, 2010
 
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.

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Teen, 17 years old
July 11, 2009
 
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.

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Teen, 14 years old
June 18, 2010
 
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.

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Teen, 16 years old
August 25, 2010
 
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.

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This review was written by James Rocchi
Studio:Screen Gems
Director:John Erick Dowdle
Cast:Jay Hernandez, Jennifer Carpenter, Johnathon Schaech
Genre:Horror
Run time:89 minutes
Theatrical release date:October 10, 2008
DVD release date:February 17, 2009
MPAA rating:R
MPAA explanation:bloody violent and disturbing content, terror and language.

This review was written by James Rocchi
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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