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Quarantine 2: Terminal (2011)
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Released: 8/2/2011
All Ratings out of
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Video:
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Extras: No Extras
Review by Mike Long, Posted on 8/5/2011
For some reason, my youngest daughter is very wary of sequels. (OK, to be fair, she's probably very wise to not trust sequels given some of the abominations we've seen in the past.) If you offer a sequel to her, her first question is always, "Does it have the same people?". I'm not sure where she got burned by a cast change, but it's a fair question, because, let's face it, if none of the original actors come back, it's not a good sign. So, how would she react to Quarantine 2: Terminal, a movie which not only offers a brand new cast, but changes the entire style of the series.
In
Quarantine, we saw that a rabies-like virus had effected an apartment building in Los Angeles, and that those inside had been quarantined by a group of soldiers and scientists in an attempt to contain the disease. Quarantine 2: Terminal opens at an airport, as flight attendants Jenny (Mercedes Masohn) and Paula (Bre Blair) arrive just in time for their flight. As the passengers load, the pilots prepare for takeoff, and soon, the plane is in the air. Everything seems routine until Ralph (George Back) becomes ill and then violent. The captain is alerted and the plane makes an emergency landing. The passengers and crew begin to de-board the plane, but find the door to the terminal locked. Ed (Ignacio Serricchio), an airport employee, assists the group in getting into the baggage processing area of the building, but this too is sealed off. Suddenly, the place is surrounded by soldiers who begin encasing the building in plastic sheeting. As the disease begins to spread and more of the people goes berserk, those left unaffected must try to find a way out.OK, see if you can follow me on this.
[REC] was a 2007 Spanish film which took the "found footage" aesthetic popularized by The Blair Witch Project and placed it inside of a building ravaged by zombie-like creatures. The movie became an international hit, save for in America, where we got a remake, called Quarantine, instead. [REC 2] was released in 2009, and it continued the "first person" camerawork from the first film (and presented some really interesting twists in the story). Given this, it wasn't surprising that we got Quarantine 2. What is surprising is that the movie dumps the "found footage" video look and is shot like a traditional narrative film. No explanation for this is given. It's made obvious that the story takes place in the same universe as Quarantine and that its occurring in the same period of time, but the look is completely different. That would blow my daughter's mind!You know what blew my mind? For a direct-to-video sequel, Quarantine 2: Terminal is pretty good. At first glance, I thought that the movie was going to be in the vein of Snakes on a Plane or worse,
Flight of the Living Dead, with the entire film taking place on the plane. So, I was relieved when the plane landed (as were the passengers). At this point, the movie become yet another siege film, as the group realizes that they are trapped in the building and must find a way out without getting bitten by one of the infected.So, Quarantine 2: Terminal doesn't break any new ground in the genre. But, Writer/Director John Pogue, here making his directorial debut, makes the wise decision to set up the story and then focus on the action. The movie isn't scary by any means, but it does offer some suspenseful scenes as the group is stalked. There are few breaks in the violence in the final act, as the number of uninfected dwindles. This focus on keeping things moving along is accented by some nice plot twists. The connection to the first film isn't necessarily creative, but it makes for a good surprise. There is also a inspired touch which explores how the virus affects certain people.
Is Quarantine 2: Terminal as good as [REC 2]? No, not even close. But, again. for a low-budget sequel which features few involved with the first movie, it's not bad. The movie involves some good plot points and a liberal amount of action. There's nothing new here as far as story or movie-making, but a decent sequel is a rarity.
Quarantine 2: Terminal will make you reconsider checking your baggage on DVD courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is sharp and clear, showing minimal grain and no defects from the source material. The colors look good and the image is never overly dark or bright, despite the fact that many of the scenes take place in dark places. The image shows little artifacting and is rarely soft. For a DVD, the level of detail is pretty good. The DVD carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. There was time when Sony DVDs could always be relied upon for good sound, and I'm pleased to say that this still occurs today, even in the age of Blu-ray Discs. This audio track offers impressive surround sound which illustrates the sounds happening in the building. The stereo effects are nicely done as well, featuring good detail and separation. The subwoofer effects bring the subwoofer into the mix, accenting the action scenes.
The Quarantine 2: Terminal DVD features no special features.
Review Copyright 2011 by Mike Long