Containment

In this low-budget contagion thriller from first-time director Neil Mcenery-West and writer David Lemon, the residents of a Southampton tower block wake to find their doors and windows sealed and people in orange hazmat suits erecting tent hospitals down below, while a recorded message asserts "the situation is under control". An artist who should be at a custody hearing (Lee Ross) tentatively joins forces with immediate neighbours including Louise Brealey's nurse, Andrew Leung's thug and his catatonic little brother Gabriel Senior, and Sheila Reid's moaning pensioner, while Mcenery-West wrings tension from claustrophobia and paranoia until a crisis point is reached. Recalling comparable chamber thrillers Tower Block (where the threat was a sniper) and Right at Your Door (dirty bomb attack), Containment does well with limited resources and even finds urban beauty in a sunrise shot through those spikes that discourage pigeons. With insufficient incident to carry even a foreshortened running time, the film gets by on resourcefulness and sincerity.