Post by Ricky Johnson on Oct 23, 2008 5:29:19 GMT -6
So, it's Halloween (which means it must be Saw time...) but having to wait for Friday, I plop myself down to watch: Quarantine.
Wow.......what an embarrassment.
Synopsis: There is a Late night TV show film crew documenting firemen. They respond to a distress call at an apartment, but then there is a virus (T-Virus, maybe?) localized within the building. The cause of said virus, and those believed to be infected are Quarantined inside. (unbelievably quickly, given our current Government..) The military says anyone who attempts to escape...will be shot on site. Those inside, [Along with a film crew shooting for a , yeah, it sounds stupid already] Together 8-10 unlucky souls [ranging from Douche bags to Fireman] attempt to fend for themselves and survive.
First, a little back story this is actually a remake of a Spanish movie. Now, let's be honest, with the latest load of remakes within the past year or so, none have been very good.
Halloween - All due respect to Rob Zombie, but....Carpenters was a masterpiece
One missed call - Japanese > USA
The Eye - See above.
There are RARE occasions where a remake surpasses an original, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2004) was IMO better due to the fact that the original was made in 1979, so it's a huge upgrade in special effects, stunts, and make-up.
This however, was not one of them.
DO NOT SEE THIS FILM.
[glow=red,2,300]***************SPOILERS*************[/glow]
This poster is pretty much a spoiler. THIS IS THE END OF THE MOVIE!
SO what went wrong you ask?
PROBLEM #1 The Camera
The movie rips off two very average movies to start off. Present in both "The Blair Witch Project" and "Cloverfield" is the hand-held camera POV. Which was scary for a few moments in each film. But the effects wore off real quick, now it's just annoying, and the whole movie is shot like this.But like in those films, the camera operator seems to have a horrendous case of Parkinson's. I understand that in time of crisis, you will not have the steadiest hands in the world, but even during calm scenes, the camera shakes uncontrollably. Although, it slightly makes up for this by being used as a weapon [Albeit incorrectly]
Problem #2 Bad Dialog
The dialog in the film makes everyone seem so damn stupid. And apparently, the writers of this film said don't use the word "zombie" dispute the fact that's EXACTLY what they are! They don't call them Zombies, so the characters seem clueless as to what to call them. Lines like"What's wrong with him?" "He needs help" and "He needs to be sedated" makes me really wonder. Maybe I'm new, but anybody who stands there, breathing both heavily and horsely, like they've got the plague, and starts gnawing on arms when you try to reach for them.....IS a Zombie. But since the characters can't call them Zombies, they stupidly try to help "the infected" as they call them, and MORE THAN ONCE!
Problem #3 Lack of common sense/Logic.
I understand that there has to a certain lack of common sense in these movies, but still this amount is insulting. These characters are against Zombies, yet NO ONE picks up a weapon! Not even a blunt object. Let's not even talk about how no one grabbed the POLICE OFFICERS GUN when he was eaten. The only person who makes any sense in this whole movie.....is the douchebag character. He fancies the idea of barricading a door and waiting it out. THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE! But the others stupidly wander the hallways and rooms searching for survivors [knowing damn well there aren't any] And they encounter Zombie after Zombie to the same result of death and dismemberment. Seriously, Let's ponder this: The first guy you meet who bares the same characteristics as a Zombie turns out to be one, and the next person you meet bares those EXACT same characteristics, what do you think he'll be?
Near the end of the film, the little girl they have with them turns out to be the cause. But it takes her 3/4 of the movie to change, but anyone bitten becomes a Zombie within 5 minutes. Does this girl have the SLOWEST METABOLISM EVER? And when she turns she escapes to a different part of the house, what do out heroes do? THEY GO LOOK FOR HER! IT'S DARK, YOU CAN'T SEE ANYTHING, AND THIS LITTLE GIRL WILL CHEW YOU FACE OFF....SCREW HER! LET HER RUN AROUND ALL SHE WANTS!
It was painful to see this much stupidiy in one place.
Problem #4 OVERACTING
There is a female lead in the movie who overacts so badly it takes away from an already lackluster film.
Problem #5 Lighting
It's hard to get scared when I can't see anything, on top of the camera being a poor choice of lighting.
SLIGHTLY REDEEMING MOMENT:
There is a scene where the Zombie is attacking the cameraman, who uses the CAMERA ITSELF as a weapon, the problem is he just rams it into his face LENS-FIRST, normally, you would take that damn thing and swing for the fences, however it is comical.
If you want to see this type of film done right, the 28 Days Later series is way better.
Wow.......what an embarrassment.
Synopsis: There is a Late night TV show film crew documenting firemen. They respond to a distress call at an apartment, but then there is a virus (T-Virus, maybe?) localized within the building. The cause of said virus, and those believed to be infected are Quarantined inside. (unbelievably quickly, given our current Government..) The military says anyone who attempts to escape...will be shot on site. Those inside, [Along with a film crew shooting for a , yeah, it sounds stupid already] Together 8-10 unlucky souls [ranging from Douche bags to Fireman] attempt to fend for themselves and survive.
First, a little back story this is actually a remake of a Spanish movie. Now, let's be honest, with the latest load of remakes within the past year or so, none have been very good.
Halloween - All due respect to Rob Zombie, but....Carpenters was a masterpiece
One missed call - Japanese > USA
The Eye - See above.
There are RARE occasions where a remake surpasses an original, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2004) was IMO better due to the fact that the original was made in 1979, so it's a huge upgrade in special effects, stunts, and make-up.
This however, was not one of them.
DO NOT SEE THIS FILM.
[glow=red,2,300]***************SPOILERS*************[/glow]
This poster is pretty much a spoiler. THIS IS THE END OF THE MOVIE!
SO what went wrong you ask?
PROBLEM #1 The Camera
The movie rips off two very average movies to start off. Present in both "The Blair Witch Project" and "Cloverfield" is the hand-held camera POV. Which was scary for a few moments in each film. But the effects wore off real quick, now it's just annoying, and the whole movie is shot like this.But like in those films, the camera operator seems to have a horrendous case of Parkinson's. I understand that in time of crisis, you will not have the steadiest hands in the world, but even during calm scenes, the camera shakes uncontrollably. Although, it slightly makes up for this by being used as a weapon [Albeit incorrectly]
Problem #2 Bad Dialog
The dialog in the film makes everyone seem so damn stupid. And apparently, the writers of this film said don't use the word "zombie" dispute the fact that's EXACTLY what they are! They don't call them Zombies, so the characters seem clueless as to what to call them. Lines like"What's wrong with him?" "He needs help" and "He needs to be sedated" makes me really wonder. Maybe I'm new, but anybody who stands there, breathing both heavily and horsely, like they've got the plague, and starts gnawing on arms when you try to reach for them.....IS a Zombie. But since the characters can't call them Zombies, they stupidly try to help "the infected" as they call them, and MORE THAN ONCE!
Problem #3 Lack of common sense/Logic.
I understand that there has to a certain lack of common sense in these movies, but still this amount is insulting. These characters are against Zombies, yet NO ONE picks up a weapon! Not even a blunt object. Let's not even talk about how no one grabbed the POLICE OFFICERS GUN when he was eaten. The only person who makes any sense in this whole movie.....is the douchebag character. He fancies the idea of barricading a door and waiting it out. THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE! But the others stupidly wander the hallways and rooms searching for survivors [knowing damn well there aren't any] And they encounter Zombie after Zombie to the same result of death and dismemberment. Seriously, Let's ponder this: The first guy you meet who bares the same characteristics as a Zombie turns out to be one, and the next person you meet bares those EXACT same characteristics, what do you think he'll be?
Near the end of the film, the little girl they have with them turns out to be the cause. But it takes her 3/4 of the movie to change, but anyone bitten becomes a Zombie within 5 minutes. Does this girl have the SLOWEST METABOLISM EVER? And when she turns she escapes to a different part of the house, what do out heroes do? THEY GO LOOK FOR HER! IT'S DARK, YOU CAN'T SEE ANYTHING, AND THIS LITTLE GIRL WILL CHEW YOU FACE OFF....SCREW HER! LET HER RUN AROUND ALL SHE WANTS!
It was painful to see this much stupidiy in one place.
Problem #4 OVERACTING
There is a female lead in the movie who overacts so badly it takes away from an already lackluster film.
Problem #5 Lighting
It's hard to get scared when I can't see anything, on top of the camera being a poor choice of lighting.
SLIGHTLY REDEEMING MOMENT:
There is a scene where the Zombie is attacking the cameraman, who uses the CAMERA ITSELF as a weapon, the problem is he just rams it into his face LENS-FIRST, normally, you would take that damn thing and swing for the fences, however it is comical.
If you want to see this type of film done right, the 28 Days Later series is way better.