Filming is underway for Spanish late-night tv show, While You’re Asleep, with presenter Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) and cameraman Pablo (Pablo Rosso). Tonight they’re following the work of the local fire brigade, which takes them on a seemingly trivial callout to help someone trapped in their apartment.
Inside the building, the situation proves critical when an investigating officer is mortally wounded by a crazed resident and to make matters worse, they find their attempts to leave blocked by outside authorities, with the building placed under quarantine. To make things still worse, there’s a growing number of these crazed residents roaming the halls and stairwells.
Presented with a real scoop, Ángela and her cameraman must survive the night and document everything, sure in the assumption that things couldn’t possibly get any worse...
Rec Summary
Jaume Balagueró (Darkness, 2002 – US title: The Dark) hit the jackpot with this film, which, on the face of it, is just an excuse for yet another zombie-fest, albeit it in first-person.
Like Blair Witch, Cloverfield and the majority of other POV films, Rec has a short running time, which besides helping the film to skip happily along also minimizes the ocular trauma that comes with watching a film that seems determined to shake you off. In any case, Rec won’t have you reaching for the nearest convenient container because the camera is held by a professional cameraman (they’re supposed to be making a tv show after all). Rapid, shaky movements are common but not continuous.
So, for 65 of it’s 75 minutes, Rec is exactly what anyone would expect. Thanks to Balagueró, it’s nonetheless effective, with even the most basic kind of scaremongering thrust home so concisely that you might not even have time to jump. You’ll still feel it though and half way through the film, most horror aficionados will likely agree that this is, at least, a worthwhile watch. The last ten minutes, however, go far beyond merely predictable or just effective, when Sam Raimi’s old tape recorder turns up under a stack of papers.
Unlike the infamous, over-hyped and under-appreciated, Blair Witch, which opted for the ‘what you don’t see is scarier than what you do see’ philosophy, Rec plays a game of one-upmanship with its audience, using the expected to hide the unexpected. Ultimately, Rec is a great success for delivering what Blair Witch didn’t dare – ugly, in-your-face terror.
Despite the fact that Quarantine has done the rounds, this review would rather avoid giving the game away for those yet to see either of them, so all that will be said is when the full 75 minutes are up, the status of the film has been significantly elevated to something unforgettable, leaving a final impression that’s so much more rewarding than the usual zombie-affair.
Rec Cast
Besides being easy on the eye, Manuela Velasco carries the introductory stages of the film with gusto as presenter Ángela. Her mix of natural persona and professional presenter is highly believable and probably worked well for her given the nature of these semi-scripted exercises in film-making. It’s to be expected that her role – along with everyone else – is tapered into apprehension, panic, and time-to-change-your-pants terror before the end of the film, but a director and his audience couldn’t ask for more in terms of overall performance.
The faceless cameraman, Pablo Rosso, obviously doesn’t feature so much as a character, being a member of the real crew in what is his only credit as actor and cinematographer. He’s our eyes for the film and the camerawork, as mentioned, is a manageable blend of real-time reaction and contemplative framing.
Other, supporting, roles are filled by a medley of acting talent, from professionals Ferran Terraza and David Vert as firemen Manu and Álex, Vincente Gil and Jorge Serrano as local policemen, along with a host of non-professionals whose authenticity adds heaps to the result. There’s no legitimate fault to be found with any of them in the final edit.
Rec 2 Scheduled for October 2009 Release
It was this reviewer’s intention to follow Rec with it’s re-make, Quarantine, whose trailers were so mishandled. Despite a soft spot for Jennifer Carpenter, however, it’s become clear that Quarantine is little more than a shot-for-shot duplicate of it’s original, which, for now, is just plain off-putting.
The re-make insurgence, of course, is making unnecessary sequels look more and more like credible projects, but more importantly, the imminent Rec 2 will re-unite director, writer and, surprisingly, some cast members. There’s no denying that anyone who’s enjoyed this film will have wondered, “What happens next?”, so there’ll no doubt be some encouragement for the project – even at the risk of it being terrible. This is one sequal that’s more than worth a punt.
Unfortunately, the ‘October 2009’ tag on Rec 2 is currently for a Spanish and limited European release. With Rec yet to receive it’s US DVD release, it’s a good bet that a lot of us will have to wait until the sequel’s available to buy online. Of course, these details are subject to change, so here’s hoping it changes for the better. Check back for updates.
- Producer: Julio Fernández
- Director: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza (Post-production)
- Screenplay: Jaume Balagueró, Luis Berdejo, Paco Plaza
- Starring: Manuela Velasco, Pablo Rosso, David Vert, Ferran Terraza, Jorge Serrano
- Released: Oct 2007 by Filmax (Spain)
- Running Time: 75 mins
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