Starring: Manuela Valasco, Javier Botet, Claudia Silva, Pablo Rosso
Directed by Paco Plaza and Jaume Balaguero
Before I begin the review, there is something I must address. Many of you may remember a 2008 handheld zombie flick named Quarantine, either fondly or woefully. What many of you may not know, however, is that Quarantine was actually a shot for shot remake of a vastly superior Spanish movie named REC (short for "Record," pronounced like, "wreck"). The changes between the original and remake are minor, but important, and include much worse acting, a complete lack of tension (especially in the final scenes), and a terribly hackneyed explanation that involves *cough* "super rabies." Other than that, the movies are nearly identical, which is the greatest crime of all. If you have already seen Quarantine, much of the tension in REC will be lost on you, since for the most part, you already know what's going to happen next, and that's a major tragedy. Still, REC is worth a watch, since you've basically just been given a lackluster high school shadow cast version. Spoilers aside, it's still a pretty scary movie, even on repeat viewings, and a few things that carry over into the remake with make a hell of a lot more sense.
End rant. Begin review.
REC opens on a reporter, Angela (Manuela Velasco), doing a special documentary on the lives of firemen. They get a rescue call to an apartment building and head out immediately, with Angela and her cameraman Pablo (Pablo Rosso) following, recording everything. It all seems standard and routine, until the rescue call turns foul and one of the firemen gets a big chunk bitten out of his neck by an old blood-soaked woman. They all soon realize that the building is surrounded by police officers who are dead set on keeping everyone inside the building, by force if necessary.
It starts off slow, with few scares occurring in the early portions of the movie, but there is a growing sense of confusion and dread, as there is no way out in sight and bodies keep piling up. Eventually though, everything hits the fan, and you realize exactly why they are being held up inside the building. This is basically the claustrophobic cousin of 28 Days Later and from that moment until close to the end, the movie is nonstop panic and terror. I won't go into what sets everything off, and I won't go into any specifics on this part, because this needs to be experienced, not merely read about.
The movie is filmed handy cam style, and you're probably familiar with it by now. Don't think of this in terms of The Blaire Witch Project or Paranormal Activity, though. Think of this in terms of the subway scene in Cloverfield. The handy cam aspect of the movie works in its' favor very well, really making you feel like you're in that apartment building. It adds to the claustrophobia greatly.
In the brief moments of rest that the movie allows you to have before forcing you to relieve your bowels all over your pants one final time, you receive the only scraps of exposition that you're going to get. Angela stumbles across a nest of newspaper clippings and an old tape recorder (similar to the one in The Evil Dead). The explanation is there, but the movie doesn't hold your hand. It expects you to pick it out. What's written on these clippings and said on this recorder are about as much as you're going to get. It suggests something sinister, and something never before done in a zombie movie, but again, I won't go into specifics.
The final scene of this movie remains one of the scariest final scenes in any movie I have ever seen, and it is entirely based on the execution. This scene, above all else, is why I regard REC so highly. It's almost entirely in the dark, you see almost nothing, and half of the time is spent holding your breath, waiting to see if someone gets their face ripped off (figuratively speaking).
Overall, there's really not a lot I can explain about the movie that will do it justice. It's a terrifying thrill ride from the second it kicks in until the final pants-crapping moments. Watch it alone in your bedroom in the dark for the full effect.
4.5/5
Zak "the Jolly Goblin" Greene is a Connecticut-based artist and film enthusiast. Aside from his weekly reviews for Nergasms & Geek-Rage, he posts his own video-reviews over at ReelCreepy. Check it out!
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