REC - 2008

Incredibly Strange Film Festival
REC - 2007

One line review: Blair Witch with BALLS. Spanish zombie fest. Recommended to see with an audience.

Perky Spanish reporter and her cameraman are on a late night reporting fluff piece down at the local fire station. They go on a routine call out with the fire crew to help an elderly lady trapped in her apartment. The elderly lady is not so much trapped, as infected. Things go from bad to worse, to much much worse.

Yep, cinéma vérité horror has been done before, and everyone seems to have their own spin on it. Give a character a reason to have a camera with them, then put em through hell. Cannibal Holocaust was convincing and gory enough that the director had to prove in court he had not actually killed his cast. Blair Witch had atmosphere to spare and stealth marketing that convinced many of its veracity and drove it to massive profitability. Cloverfield put the mega monster spin on things. The only thing all films in this sub genre have in common is, if they are done poorly it kills the suspension of disbelief, done properly the plausibility can freak an audience out, and if you suffer from motion sickness the camera work is going to make you suffer.

REC takes a long time to get going, but when it does, things get suitably bat shit crazy. Think fast zombies in enclosed spaces. This probably wouldn't be as good at home on DVD, but in an audience with a bit of group think going on, there will be people (like the couple next to me) literally on the edge of their seat. Check it out while you have the chance on the big screen. Hollywood is already shooting a remake that will be out before the end of the year ("Quarantine - 2008")

The originals always seem to be better. Very glad I saw this in its original form with an appreciative audience.