Containment

Containment

Starring Lee Ross, Sheila Reid, Andrew Leung, Gabriel Senior

Directed by Neil McEnery-West

The Story:
Mark (Lee Ross), an artist in the middle of a custody battle, wakes up late due to an unexplained power outage.  He soon discovers there's no water, and as he's about to leave his apartment, he finds the door has been sealed shut.  He tries to communicate through the phone, but there's no reception.

Then his neighbor, Sergei (Andrew Leung) and his young brother Nicu (Gabriel Senior) literally break through his wall, and they get together with fellow neighbors as they try to find out what's going on.  They see military in Hazmat suits outside, taking people from a neighboring apartment complex to a makeshift hospital. 

Then they see their neighbors getting shot.  Soon they come for Mark and his neighbors, and it's a fight for survival as they try to understand what's going on, and how they could make it out alive.

The Synopsis:
"Containment" is a well-done little film that follows the subgenre of virus outbreaks.  There's no big name actors, no big budget effects, and no lavish scenery.  Instead, we're treated with seemingly ordinary people facing an extraordinary event, all taking place within the small confines of an apartment complex.

The biggest mystery is what the disease is, where it came from, and how it spreads.  As the audience, we're often treated to knowledge beyond the characters - but not in this case.  We're just as clueless as our hapless heroes, and it adds an additional depth of mystery to the tale, and keeps us intrigued in hopes of finding out the truth.

What I enjoy most about these types of films is the character study of the people.  What happens when normal civilization collapses?  What do we become when we're faced with our greatest fear?  Will we fight, run, or turn into uncivilized monsters?  "Containment" tackles those questions head-on in a very satisfying way.

That's not to say there's no flaws in the film.  As usual for a film of this type, there's stock characters - the old woman, the rough take-no-prisoners guy, the kid, the over-reactive worrywart, and the token hero.  The performances weren't the greatest, but that's one minor flaw in an otherwise compelling story.

The Summary:
A small film with small actors and a small set, "Containment" foregoes the huge Hollywood blockbuster and focuses in on a small group of people struggling to survive.

The Score: B+