Be careful what you wish for, a lesson that reporter Angela Vidal will learn all too well in Quarantine, as Angela crosses her fingers for a little action to shoot during the long night. When she and her cameraman, Scott, are assigned to cover the goings-on at a fire department in Los Angeles, they have no idea the turn the night will take.

At first, the night is a slow one, and Angela (Jennifer Carpenter) and Scott (Steve Harris) find themselves watching handball games and bantering with the firemen, most notably Jake (Jay Hernandez) and George (Jonathan Schaech). Jake is a likable enough guy, but the randier George finds himself the center of attention, unafraid of a suggestive comment or blue language.

The alarm is sounded, and the television crew find themselves tagging along on a call. At an apartment building, a woman has been heard screaming and the firemen are charged with breaking down the door and providing medical assistance, if needed. And, boy, is it needed. Old Miss Espinoza has been infected with something, a nasty little something, that makes her all but catatonic. That is, until she bites one of the police officers on the scene.

talking lothario, who seems to be the type of guy you would see in any number of movies. The problem is, this isn't supposed to play like a movie.

Carpenter is quite good in the role of Angela, especially as the situation unravels, along with her ability to see through to a happy ending. Hernandez falls into some of the acting traps that Schaech does, but, for the most part, does a fine job as well. The ambient sounds of the film are well done, with the flap of helicopters and the bleating of megaphones around the building adding to the mood. Still, there are too many moments where the audience is reminded that they are seeing something pretending to be real, without ever seeming real.

None of that makes much of a difference, in a thrill ride film like this, if there's no payoff. I'm happy to say, the payoff is there. The final act of this film propels itself along on a greased rail, jumping from set to set and scare to scare with a great degree of agility. For those who will see this film, I promise not to ruin the fun. Suffice to say, the audience I saw this with let out a collective scream in just the right spot. It scared people, and that's what this movie is - a scare machine. On that level, this movie works just fine. It may not be high art, but it gets the job done.

The infection quickly spreads, as the tenants of the building, the firemen and police officers and the camera crew all struggle to understand what is happening around them before they become infected. Soon, the numbers of the uninfected are dwindling, and the film becomes a mad race for survival through the darkened corridors of the building.

The film is shot in a cinema verite style, which makes some of the scares during the insanely-paced third act that much more effective. However, the tone is shaky, at first, as the camera work is a little too polished, the characters too, well, character-like. The style of the film suggests realism, and there are often moments where the movie plays too much like cinema, and not enough like the impromptu documentary that seems to be the goal. Particularly with the character of George, the smooth-talking lothario, who seems to be the type of guy you would see in any number of movies. The problem is, this isn't supposed to play like a movie.

Now, I have carefully avoided comparisons to [REC], but I will do so here for those who have seen the original. [REC] is clearly a superior film to Quarantine. Perhaps it's a function of the language barrier, but [REC] felt more authentic, where Quarantine often feels staged. The scares are truer, the acting more believable, the whole thing a leaner, better spookhouse reflection of this sometimes bloated American version. Yet, Quarantine remains true to its origins, aside from some differences in the rationale for the infection and a few extra scenes, that will please or frustrate you depending on your level of fandom. Though I liked Quarantine, I love [REC], a film which is almost assuredly at the top of my list for the year's best. While Quarantine will be remembered as the movie I had a good time with, but it mostly reminded me of how much I loved that frantic, terrifying Spanish import.