I was looking forward to this flick for a long while, as I enjoy a good independent film and am a fan of many of the gems to come out of the UK. Containment also has a number of awards under its belt including some for direction, acting, editing, sound design and supporting roles. Needless to say I was hyped.
As you can probably tell by my lack of enthusiasm, I honestly wasn’t all that impressed. I had all been done before. There was absolutely nothing fresh or new here all. It felt like a watered-down version of [REC]. The acting was fine, but that’s about as big a compliment I am willing to give. Enid (Sheila Reid) was the only character that really seemed genuine and who I absolutely adored, but with the rest of the cast the acting often seemed forced. In retrospect, I feel that the fault probably lay with the script rather than the ability of the actors, but I cannot be sure. I draw this conclusion as the script was pretty thin and unbelievably generic.
There was very little gore or need for special effects, which was probably a good thing when came to the budget, but not such a great thing for the viewers. The movie is supposed to be about a viral outbreak, the government cover-up and all the chaos and wanton carnage that one expects from such a situation. Perhaps a mutation? Some kind of modified rabies? Zombies? Sparkly vampires? Nothing. Well, if you consider a tiny mob of angry Brits politely demanding things and apologizing for murdering someone a horror movie, then go right ahead and grab this.
Look, I am a huge fan of horror in almost all shapes and forms and the viral subgenre is one that I usually enjoy. This was simply too lackluster for me. An extremely forgettable movie. Grab a look at the trailer below and decide for yourself.
