Just when you thought American versions of foreign horror films were winding down to a close, along comes Quarantine to give this dead horse one last beating. Instead of an Asian import, it's the much-lauded Spanish picture [Rec] that's been redone this time around. I've yet to see [Rec], but I've heard that its American counterpart does next to nothing to differentiate itself from the original. If this is true, then Quarantine finds itself the latest victim of Hollywood's lazy attitude toward these remakes, which involves showing more concern about aping its source material as much as possible rather than making its own mark on the horror genre.

Employing a first-person point of view, Quarantine follows TV reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) on what starts out as a night just like any other. With her cameraman Scott (Steve Harris) in tow, Angela shadows two firefighters (Jay Hernandez and Johnathan Schaech) as they go about their usual business. Just when things are starting to get pretty mellow and boring, an emergency call summons L.A.'s finest to an old apartment complex where things get really freaky, really fast. A sickly old woman proceeds to violently lash out and attack those trying to help her, and after a couple of the other tenants begin showing similar symptoms, everyone fears the worst. It soon  becomes apparent that some sort of virus is weaving its way through the building, spreading by bites and turning those infected into enraged monsters. Worse yet, the authorities outside have locked them in, leaving Angela, Steve, and those left standing to fend for themselves against the growing numbers of the infected.

More often than not, studios try to hide a film's surprises, rather than give them away in any promotional materials. But not only does Quarantine's trailer spill most of its secrets, the poster itself shows the movie's final shot. It's not the kind of marketing strategy I'd go with, but then again, I'm the guy who thought Beverly Hills Chihuahua would die a swift box office death. In any case, Quarantine leaves viewers with very little reason to buy a ticket, other than a decent premise and a scant few moments where some truly crazy stuff goes down. It's pretty standard horror material, a blood-soaked funhouse in which shrieking harpies leap out every once in a while to deliver some "Gotcha!"-style scares to the audience. The one thing the film has going for it is the first-person perspective (shot entirely through Scott's camera), but this technique probably disorients viewers more than it adds to the film's fright factor.

Such an approach was effective in Cloverfield and even carried thematic weight in Diary of the Dead. In Quarantine, though, it often confuses viewers in its attempt to acquaint them with the story's very frantic atmosphere. Characters randomly pop up infected at the convenience of the story, and sometimes, the camera whips around so much, it's hard to tell who's munching and who's being munched on. Horror movies aren't really known for strong characterizations, but even the most prominent members of Quarantine's cast are little more than glorified monster chow. Still, the film does yield some positive results in the scare department. The filmmakers have set just the right balance between suspense and gore, incorporating enough of the former so that instances of the latter become all the more effective. Plus, while the cinematography makes The Blair Witch Project look like an Ingmar Bergman film, I can't deny the few moments when it wraps the viewer up in sheer, unadulterated frenzy.

Clearly, Quarantine will have an effect on many audience members, probably those who prefer a more in-your-face approach to horror. For most, though, it's more likely to stir up a nasty headache instead of  any feelings of fear or dread.

MY RATING: ** (out of ****)

(Released by Screen Gems and rated "R" for bloody violent and disturbing content, terror and language.)