Directed by Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza
Review based on a theatrical screening in 2008
Finally, as a seriously hardened veteran of the genre, a horror movie that really does live up to the hype!
I feel quite spoilt really, as I recently watched the French horror "Frontier(s)" and then now the Spanish equivalent in "[REC]". What this proves to me, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is that European cinema is far more audacious, engaging and intelligent than the sanitised film factory we know as Hollywood.
"[REC]" is an incredibly powerful and engaging piece of cinema, which gripped me like a vice from the intriguing character development at the beginning, to the truly horrifying yet completely unexpected climax.
Sure, it isn't exactly anything new on closer inspection, but what it does so brilliantly is that it literally stitches together the bloody wounds from other genre flic
ks. As a result, "[REC]" creates a genuinely scary hybrid, which at the same time feels completely fresh.The film's premise is focussed on a documentary crew working in Spain on a show called "While You're Sleeping". The host and her cameraman are following a crew of firemen on their nightshift, and getting bored filming life around the fire station. That is until a call comes in.
The cry for help leads them to an apartment, where someone has apparently been trapped. Instead, what they find are hysterical residents, a crazed woman, and a possible virus outbreak...
For the next 40 minutes or so, "[REC]" then seems to become a Spanish version of Romero's "Diary of the Dead", but with far more realism and grit. However, this is where the film succeeds so brilliantly, as from this point onwards the movie totally blindsides the audience by becoming something altogether more terrifying.
"[REC]" undeniably succeeds where Hollywood attempts like "Cloverfield" failed to use their pseudo-"Blair Witch" camerawork to full effect. The last 10 minutes of this movie is like nothing you have seen in a while, being all at once inventive, mesmerising and absolutely terrifying.
The directors, (Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza, who made the interesting flick "Romasanta") shape a film that
really does feel completely real. The shots are very long indeed, and must have taken a great deal of time to set up, as the editing here appears very minimal indeed. It is this combined with the immersive performances of the cast and a confident script that make "[REC]" work so perfectly.I recommend this movie with these simple words: it is the best horror genre piece of the last 10 years. I really do mean it. But please, don't take my word for it. Mark what I say, if you really value your love of cinema, see this film and get everyone else to do the same. In short, "[REC]" is a not only a masterpiece of modern Euro-Horror and but also cinema in general.
10 out of 10
A true modern masterpiece of terror filmmaking that will set your pulse racing... simply brilliant
