Quarantine

Do you like scary movies?

Been a while since I caught a decent film, I thought. I skipped 007, didn't get to catch Blindness, sat through the ordeal that was Max Payne, and even Madagascar 2 was somewhat of a disappointment.

Then I decided to catch Quarantine, with the girlfriend, on Saturday.

Ooooooooh damn. If you've never seen someone get hit full in the face repeatedly with a television camera, now's the time to do it. Here's my breakdown of it, for those of you contemplating getting some practice in holding your breath.

Firstly, I'll say this. If you are one of the few people I know who liked Cloverfield, you deserve a high-five, and will also bask in the knowledge that there is a high chance that you'll like this one too. The style of cinematography aside, there is a big "Oh-shit-what's-happening" feel to it, and I would actually say that this one doesn't have a single thing at all wrong with the plot.

And my regular minions will know how picky I am about things like plot-holes.

A simple, but not stupid story, told at a good pace and punctuated with sudden, heart-stopping scenes of carnage and suspense. I like.

Cast-wise, I'm quite happy with the one chosen to play the lead female. She isn't hot. Not at all. Which makes Quarantine that much more realistic than Cloverfield, with whoever it is I can't remember acting as that somewhat hot girl. Which made the unsteady camera even more annoying. For Quarantine, the only hot girl I could see was seated beside me. There's Maya though.

The only real complain I have about it is actually the people around me. Nothing on-screen can be construed to be less than good, let alone bad. Two rows to the front, a bunch of German teenagers were making more noise than Hitler at a World War rally, and behind me was a Chinese couple, blabbering incessantly about what was happening to the characters and the dogs.

As Khadi said, "Aren't there Chinese subtitles already? If you can't understand this show don't watch it lah."

Again, Quarantine is hardly rocket science.

There's no soundtrack of note, to so complaints about the music, and the special effects are actually very... wow. As I mentioned earlier, if you've never seen someone's head pummeled to an oozing pulp with a camera, now is the time to do it. The shots of bodies hurtling through the air would also leave you with a sense of awe as you start to comprehend the effects of gravity on a zombified human being.

Don't get me wrong, though. This is not a "zombie" flick. But then it would be, if you consider I am Legend to be a zombie movie. I won't say anything else about that, but some other movies that have attempted to portray a microbial antagonist should pay close attention to this one.

Finally, the end of the film is actually predictable, but that makes it all the more enjoyable. It's realistic, and not something that leaves you with a feeling of "how did that happen". If that has spoilt it for you, fear not, because if you know of the movie, you've probably already seen the end. But don't let that stop you.

After the first ten minutes of light humor, be ready to quake and shiver on the edge of your seat until that final night-vision scene. It isn't the go-home-and-be-scared-to-look-under-your-blanket kind of scary like Ju-On, but be ready for nearly two hours of apprehension.

4.5/5

Comic Relief #140