John’s Horror Corner: Quarantine (2008), the “found footage” remake of the Spanish horror film [REC] (2007).

MY CALL: This high-energy, found footage zombie movie is blessed with great characters, tactful direction, just enough gore, and some jumpy surprises. Exquisitely made, deeply cast, and definitely a higher tier found footage horror film. MORE MOVIES LIKE Quarantine: For more building-confined infestations, try Shivers (1975), Demons (1985), Demons 2 (1986), Infested (2023) or Evil Dead Rise (2023). Also one must go back to [REC 1-3] (2007, 2009, 2012), although I’d give a hard pass recommendation on [REC] 4: Apocalypse (2014).

During a tour of a local Los Angeles firehouse for a public interest piece, news reporter Angela (Jennifer Carpenter; Dexter, The Exorcism of Emily Rose) spends the evening with at the station in hopes of catching some action. On a routine emergency call, Angela joins the fire crew on a 911 call to an apartment building. Apparently, an elderly woman may be hurt, locked in her apartment. When they get in, Mrs. Espinosa is foaming at the mouth, has blood on her nightgown, and is hysterical—eerrrr, wild? One wrong twitch and she’s biting and tearing stretchy bloody chunks out of some poor city cop’s neck! But they can’t get the cop to emergency services… because for some reason, the doors to the apartment building are barricaded. Meanwhile, Mrs. Espinosa has become increasingly feral, harmed more people, and is appropriately draped in blood.

Our fire team takes stock of the buildings tenants and finds more individuals with Espinosa’s symptoms… more who are infected. Among the tenants is a veterinarian (Greg Germann; Child’s Play 2), who likens the combination of symptoms to, of all things, rabies. Their efforts to escape the building are blocked by SWAT and the CDC, who are actively barricading and quarantining the building. Subsequent attempts to escape from windows or balconies are met with assault rifles, riot gear, and interrupted phone service. Meanwhile, the local newsfeed is airing CDC reps declaring that the building has been evacuated.

As the dominos of tension and danger begin to topple down, the close-quarters filming style and shaking-running camera style does well to unease our nerves. Lots of panicked running in the dark, and sprinting scrambling zombie attacks. The direction and general filmmaking execution of this film are impressive.

The writing and characters are all great. This is definitely a higher tier “found footage” film. The firemen (incl. Jay Hernandez; Hostel I-II, Joy Ride, Ladder 49) are all very likable, the reporter and her rapport with the firehouse crew is congenial, and everything feels nice and natural. The apartment tenants include characters played by the capable Marin Hinkle (The Marvelous Ms. Maisel), Dania Ramirez (Heroes, Lycan), Rade Serbedzija (The Eye, Stigmata), Denis O’Hare (American Horror Story, True Blood, The Town that Dreaded Sundown, The Pyramid) and Elaine Kagan (Innocent Blood).

The gore isn’t much in the sense that this is not a “gorefest”, but it’s enough. This film relies more on its surprises and the characters’ behavior and reactions and panic. Like when someone (Johnathon Schaech; Laid to Rest, Flight 7500,Prom Night, Suitable Flesh) abruptly falls down several stories to the lobby floor, an infected tries to walk (partially zombified) on a broken protruding tibia, or a zombie is beaten with a still-recording camera.

Many of the typical zombie movie tropes run their course. Were you bitten? She lied about being bitten! That little girl just attacked her dad! He’s turning. But everything is done tactfully and without the standard zombie nomenclature. Everything develops nicely until the last 10-15 minutes, which are the most frantic and tense.

Director John Erick Dowdle (As Above So Below, Devil, The Poughkeepsie Tapes) is an expert in making his audiences uneasy. This movie is a horror delight! Excellent pacing, great characters, and solid execution of all things unnerving.