Login
In Los Angeles, flight attendants Jenny (Mercedes Masohn) and Paula (Bre Blair) prepare for a late-night flight to Kansas City, facilitating the arrival of the passengers and pilots. Before departure, Jenny helps a 12-year-old boy (Mattie Liptak) who is flying alone, and she gets friendly with Henry (Josh Cooke), an intelligent kindergarten teacher transporting his class pets. Once in the air, an obese passenger (George Back) shows signs of illness, and his condition deteriorates as he vomits and foams at the mouth. With the passenger beginning a rampage as he tries to access the cockpit, the pilots coordinate an emergency landing with reluctant directions from the closest air control tower, pulling up at a jetway manned by a baggage handler named Ed (Ignacio Serricchio). As the passengers frantically disembark, they realise that the government has no intention of allowing them to leave the building, with scientists and armed soldiers surrounding the de facto quarantine area as the passengers fight to survive.
Whereas Rec 2 directly followed on from the events of its predecessor and returned viewers to the apartment building, Quarantine 2 takes a different approach; it's a standalone sequel with tenuous ties to the first movie. (It would be unsurprising if Quarantine 2's screenplay started as another movie entirely before a rewrite to turn it into a sequel.) Pogue's sequel efficiently explores the virus's origins, even including discussions about the value of the human race that become relevant as the script reveals more details. Pogue also smartly connects to the original Quarantine, with characters watching news reports and hearing rumours about the apartment building outbreak while government agencies respond to the mid-air situation with awareness of the virus that turns people into bite-crazy, frenzied zombies. Pogue maintains a furious sense of momentum as the first attack happens on the aircraft, and the sense of peril is all the more immediate due to the confined space. Unfortunately, the movie hits a demonstratable lull once the action shifts to the baggage handling area, particularly with the characters bickering and squabbling too much, leading to uneven pacing.
With a lower budget, Quarantine 2 lacks scope and does not feel overly cinematic - there are no external shots of the aeroplane in mid-air, nor are there any exterior shots of the airport or the plane disembarking once the characters reach the ground. Additionally, the movie lacks visual gravitas, as the cinematography and general appearance give away the picture's straight-to-video origins - in fact, it looks more like a found footage movie from an aesthetic perspective, making it ironic that Pogue decided against a found footage approach. However, Pogue's handling of the set pieces is frequently top-notch, with an astonishingly unnerving initial attack sequence on the plane and several intense interludes within the airport, including effective use of shadows and dark hallways. Pogue favours sturdy handheld cinematography (he cited Paul Greengrass as an inspiration) that augments the immediacy without affecting the coherency of the set pieces, as director of photography Matthew Irving does not devolve into a routine of headache-inducing shaky cam.
Quarantine 2: Terminal lacks star power as the cast consists of unknowns to keep the budget under control, but the performances are surprisingly robust across the board, even if the actors essentially play stock characters. Although the movie achieves nothing groundbreaking, Pogue's approach to this sequel deserves major plaudits, arranging an organic and satisfying continuation with limited sets and a small ensemble cast while paying attention to the visceral ingredients that generate effective horror. Catching sight of an infected individual is unsettling, while the exceptional sound design ensures the zombies remain scary even when not on-screen. Although it lacks strong characters and emotional resonance, it is a recommended late-night watch for genre fans. Considering the low bar for direct-to-video sequels (and direct-to-video horror movies in general, for that matter), it is pleasing to see something as competent and thrilling as Quarantine 2. Despite feeling zero excitement for this sequel considering the lacklustre first movie, it is now a shame that no further instalments have materialised as of 2024, especially since this follow-up is better than all of Rec's hit-and-miss sequels.
6.7/10
