What was the film about, you ask? Take the none-too-new-but-still-effective handy cam footage gimmick of films like Cloverfield and Diary of the Dead, mix in a bit of 28 Days Later, and top off with a healthy dose of Japanese ghost story, mix well, bake until black, serves as many as will have it. This is the sort of movie that starts off innocently enough, introducing some tension-building elements, allowing that feeling of dread to make the hairs on your neck stand up before allowing all hell to break loose, making sure you know there is no escaping from this nightmare. It's true, once inside the apartment building and those plastic sheets come down over the windows and doors, you do not have a prayer. The only question remaining is just how long will you last before the hammer drops.
Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) is a young reporter doing a remote with a local firehouse with her cameraman Scott (Steve Harris), where she will be shadowing a pair of firefighters, Jake (Jay Hernandez) and Fletcher (Jonathan Schaech). It starts simply, a little fluff piece, a tour of the house, a slide down the pole, and a little off-color banter that can be "edited out." The bell rings and the crew, with Angela and Scott in tow, head out. What will the call be? An actual fire, or perhaps a medical emergency? Once they arrive, it is not immediately known.
The police are there with a group of tenants milling about the lobby. Our heroes climb the stairs and bust in the door, only to find an elderly woman standing there breathing funny. After a few tense moments, she lunges from the shadows and a chain reaction of death and terror is begun. People die, blood is spilled, and the military shows up outside, sealing them inside.
Now we are in full-on survival mode. The tenants, firemen, police, and intrepid Angela discuss, argue, and try to figure out what is going on and what they need to do. The problem is that the longer they wait, the harder it is going to be to avoid the inevitable.
There is a lot of running, screaming, and plenty of blood. I knew what I was watching was something I have seen before, but the atmosphere, jump scares, and surprisingly crowd-pleasing moments dragged me along, waiting, wondering what was around the next corner. What is the cause of this? Who is behind this? Why are the reports saying everyone is out? Good question. You get a few bits of information to make an informed guess, but the truth of the situation is still out there.
Article comments
1 - Olivia
I saw this movie on the first day it came out and as someone who thorughly enjoys blood a gore, and the suspense of something waiting around the corner, I was pleased with this movie. But at the end I did find myself left with a few questions. Mainly it was were did the diesease or whatever it was that turned them into canibal zombies come from? Alittle bit of searching and some google and wikipedia articles explained to to me but I was still dissapionted that they did not explain the plot enough for somebody to understand. But still, I am pretty sure that my scary movie bar has been raised alittle higher curtosey of this movie!
2 - Chris Beaumont
Hi Olivia,
Interesting, I found the movie gave just the right amount of information to guess how it started. Sure, the bits are scattered throughout, but they are there. I also believe that a couple of these details are different from the original film. Even more detail than Cloverfield contained, and I loved that flick.