Going Through A Carpenteresque Phase

Venturing into the oddball world of international horror films I discovered Phase 7 (or Fase 7) a Carpenter-esque siege movie from Argentina. Although it has the set up of a classic Zombie film, Phase 7 chooses to go with a straightforward pandemic story focusing on a young couple holed up in their modern apartments block after government forces impose a strict quarantine.

As with all good films of this nature, the suspense comes from the interaction of the paranoid and frightened characters trapped within the location and not so much the virus that threatens them. There’s a welcome helping of splatter, some offbeat characters, a smart, socially relevant subtext and cool direction and musical score that riffs off John Carpenter movies circa 1988. Suspenseful and atmospheric.