Quarantine 2

Whorticulture Reviews Quarantine 2

Hello Freaks.  This weekend I sat through Quarantine 2, based on a request I received in my last post.  I'm late to the party AS USUAL, so I think a lot of you have seen this already.  In any case, here's what I thought.

You probably know that the original Quarantine was basically a mirror image of the Spanish film REC, and you might know that I ranked REC 2 as one of the best horror movies I've ever seen.  Sadly, whoever came up with Quarantine 2 decided to say a big FUCK YOU to the glory that is the REC series and go a totally different way with this sequel.

First off, I want to point out that this movie is NOT a found footage film.  I know I've been bagging on ff a lot lately, but when it's done well I can't hate.  But why follow an ff movie with this?  It's just a movie about a bunch of people on a plane out of Los Angeles, taking place concurrently with the original Quarantine.

In the original Quarantine it's assumed that all of this mess starts because of some super-rabies virus, and that's confirmed here.  Apparently the residents of the apartment building were unwilling test subjects for this super-virus and it got out of hand LIKE IT ALWAYS DOES.  And there you go.  That, my friends, is horrendously inferior to the plot of REC2.

If you see this, keep all thoughts of REC2 out of your mind.  I think that's what ruined this for me, because it was just so goddamn inferior I couldn't enjoy it.  On it's own I think it's decent.  Maybe a 7 out of 10 (but more like a 6 on a good day).  The acting is mediocre at times - I found the chemistry between the two flight attendants awkward and unbelievable - but the suspense is pretty tight through the whole thing.  Maybe that's just because I'm a big wuss when it comes to flying.  A super turbulent emergency landing?  Yeah I can't with that mess.  It's fairly claustrophobic, so it's got that going for it.  I thought I would care more when the characters died but I mostly just meh'd through the whole thing.  Oh, and it went heavier on the gore this round, and while I'm usually a big fan of that, it didn't seem like a good fit.

So at the end you find out that they've made it to McCarran, Las Vegas's airport.  It's totally set up for a third and PLEASE YOU GUYS DON'T DO IT.  I could not give less of a fuck about these "zombies" invading Vegas, so let's just not and say we did, ok?

In short: I expected to hate it more than I did, it was pretty mediocre, and everyone should just go watch REC2 instead.

6/10 - Tell me what you think!

REC 2 - Must See!

Whorticulture.com Strongly Recommends REC 2

I just realized I never got around to reviewing REC, the original Quarantine.  If you haven't seen it, you should.

In any case, last night I finally got my hands on a copy of REC 2.  This shit seriously took about a year to get to my house.  Horror fans, it was definitely worth the wait.

Quick Plot:  It jumps right in where the first one lets off, as police are searching the quarantined building for survivors.  They've brought along a doctor, who actually turns out (tiny spoiler) to be a priest, and shit goes haywire from there.

In the original, they're dealing with a virus similar to rabies which is infecting the tenants of this building and turning them into zombies (I use the term "zombies" loosely.  They're more like 28 Days Later rage creatures).  The sequel delves a bit deeper into the virus, which isn't really a virus at all - well, I guess it is in the way it transmits by blood and saliva - but more the physiological effects of demonic possession.  This is an EPIC. TURN. and shoots the scare value way past 11.

There aren't any cheap scares in REC 2.  No loud noises or sudden jumps - unless you're really really jumpy, I guess.  Most scares are suspense based.  Same format as before: no soundtrack (A+) and entirely POV based.  This one adds a "jump-in" feature, where other characters can override the original camera with their POV cams, which feels like a video game at times, but I wouldn't say in a bad way.  Low to moderate on unnecessary gore.

REC 2 is totally HNL ('hole 'nother level) and shockingly good for a sequel.  Make the effort to get your hands on it, because while Quarantine and REC are extremely similar, Quarantine 2 is about some airplane bullshit and doesn't look nearly as good.  DO NOT WAIT FOR THE AMERICAN VERSION OF THIS MOVIE.  Suck it up and read some subtitles.  You will thank me SO HARD.  Total A+, 10/10.

The Descent vs. The Descent II

Whorticulture.com Compares The Descent Versus The Descent II

One of the most recommended movies on my "What's Your Favorite Scary Movie?" post was The Descent.  As it should be, because that movie kicks ass.  For some reason I always forget about it, so I wanted to make sure I made a post in recognition of how awesome it is.

The Descent is scary on so many levels.  Not only does the movie have underground monsters (modern day Morlocks, I decided) hunting a group of female cave explorers, it gives this whole added level of getting lost in an incredibly tight and small uncharted underground cave system, and nobody knows you're there.

There's a scene close to the beginning where a girl gets stuck as they're crawling through one of the tighter cave areas.  The space starts to collapse.  I almost wet myself.

It's a hard and serious scare.  I give it a 10/10 because of the numerous levels of scares.

AND THEN I WATCHED THE SEQUEL.

Boy oh boy was I disappointed.  For one thing, the monsters seemed different in a way I can't put my finger on.  Secondly, it seemed to try to rip-off the best scares from the first, and it failed. 

Not to say it didn't have its moments.  But it rode the coattails HARD of the first one.  And the ending went from insanely awesome to shamefully lame and WTF in a matter of moments.  Not a good note to end the movie on.  God only knows if they'll make a third.

The sequel only gets a 6/10 from me.

But dear God in Heaven check out the first one!  You won't be disappointed.  It tops the list for my recommendations.