Horror Movie Review: Quarantine 2 – Terminal (2011)
After the absolutely shocking shot for shot remake of Rec that was the first Quarantine, it is at least somewhat comforting to see this sequel decide to go off on its own path. It’s just a pity that this path is littered with the debris of bad acting, a boring story & absolutely no originality at all.
Buckle up, were about to hit turbulence.
Set partially on a plane but mostly in the non-public baggage area of an airport (fun), a flight from LA to Nashville has a few unwanted guests. A couple of lab rats (the owner managing to convince people that they are actually hamsters) bite a passenger who gets sick. The flight attendants try to help him but he goes crazy & attempts to break into the cockpit forcing the plane to land. The people on-board manage to restrain him & get off the plane. They end up in the baggage area where they learn that they’ve now been…quarantined.
The group of passengers & flight staff are now trapped & people are injured. A group head back to the plane to find medical supplies but find the pilot & co-pilot are now infected too. Chaos ensues as the group are forced to band together, hold off the infected & find a way out.
Who cares!? Zero-character development in a huge cast means you won’t care at all about who lives or dies. The most time given to any character is during check-in & boarding. Unfortunately, it’s brief & just shows how bland the one-dimensional characters are. Even ones that look like they could have an interesting arc are wasted. Take Doc Stevens (Tom Thon) who happens to be a paralysed mute. This should have been a really interesting & heart-wrenching character. Instead he’s forgotten about before getting infected & suddenly being able to walk, scream & roar.
Not just any old infection but a miracle cure for paralysis too!
Story arcs regarding a teenager flying alone are meaningless when the characters are so bland & the actors barely trying. The villain of the movie (obvious from the moment he is introduced) is lacklustre & seems to be falling asleep as he spouts his ‘save the world by infecting everyone’ rubbish dialogue.
Where Quarantine 2 does pick up though is with the infected portrayal. Visually they look good & they seem incredibly dangerous. When they do get their hands on someone it can be a bit harrowing & the gore flies. However, the rules regarding them are confusing. Some die from the kind of wounds/attacks that a normal human would while others seem almost super-human.
If there hadn’t been an absolute saturation of the zombie market, Quarantine 2 might have stood a better chance. Instead it’s total lack of originality hurts it badly. It’s boring & all you’ll think throughout is “I’ve seen it all before”. Slightly better than the first Quarantine movie though purely because at least it tries to tell its own story away from the Rec movies.
Quarantine 2 - Terminal
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The Final Score - 5/10
5/10