Spanish Horror Film REC: Film Review
The Terrifying Inspiration for Recent US Remake Quarantine
Dec 1, 2008
There was a time, not so long ago when The Blair Witch Project had a monopoly on the world of hand-held horror films. This past year though has seen this sparsely-populated genre go through a resurgence: an unspeakable terror smashed Manhattan to bits in Cloverfield and George Romero went low-fi for zombie flick Diary Of The Dead.
Add to that burgeoning list the Spanish film [REC], an intense horror experience that at less than an hour and a half feels more like a rollercoaster than a proper film, but what a ride it is! This is one of those rarities that is genuinely disturbing and liable to give viewers nightmares for weeks on end. No surprises then that Hollywood has already capitalised on it - the US remake Quarantine has already made an impressive $31 million.
Don't Look Now: [REC]
Based around a premise so simple it's brilliant, the film follows bubbly blonde TV presenter Angela Vidal (Manuela Valesco) and her rarely seen cameraman Pablo (Pablo Rosso) as they make a documentary on local firefighters. From this introduction it's hard to believe this could possibly turn into one of the scariest horror films of the decade as Angela chats to the fire crew, recites her lines and becomes noticeably bored with the rather humdrum pace.
Things pick up a gear however when she and Pablo accompany two of the firefighters to an apartment block where an elderly resident is kicking up a fuss. Arriving at the destination though they discover that Police Officers are already present and head upstairs to find the source of the complaint.
And then things start to go wrong very quickly indeed.
To say that the film offers up intense scares is a bit like saying that Haagen Daaz make the occasional ice-cream. There are so many leap-out-of-the-seat scares crammed into the sparse running time that there'll be dents in the ceiling. Where The Blair Witch relied on a gradual erosion of safety, [Rec] is packed with utter chaos. Bodies unexpectedly come smashing to the floor, barely-visible nightmares leap out of the darkness and dead bodies rise to wreak havoc on their former friends.
Zombies, Blood And Spanish Horror
As the tension and claustrophobia build to breaking point, Pablo's constant filming keeps the audience firmly locked in the tower with the residents. Unlike the monster-fodder of the aforementioned Cloverfield though, these are not beautiful GAP Models moonlighting as actors but genuine human beings, thoroughly ordinary and believable. It only makes the terror more convincing.
Despite all the pulse-pounding violence however [Rec] saves it's best bits for the closing ten minutes. Locked in the supposedly deserted Penthouse, the survivors cluster in a creepy rats nest of urban decay and consider looking in the attic for a possible escape. But then the lights go out and the only illumination comes from the night-vision filter on the lens as something comes shuffling out of the darkness. 'White-knuckle' doesn't even begin to describe it.
Detractors of the horror genre claim it has had it's heyday and that movies are not as scary as they once were. [Rec] is conclusive proof of how redundant that argument is. Add this to the likes of The Descent and The Mist as examples of excellent post-millenium shockers. Horror is alive, just remember to keep the lights on while watching and pretend that it's not that scary...really.
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