[REC] Review (2007) Worth Watching?

It's about a television reporter and a cameraman who follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.

[REC] is a Spanish infection survival horror film directed by Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza and stars Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Martha Carbonell, David Vert and Pablo Rosso.

Just One Witness.... A Video Camera

[REC] begins with a Spanish reporter Angela (Velasco) covering a standard day of the Barcelona Fire Department crew. After the general introduction, the firefighters get a call to investigate a disturbance at a small apartment building. Angela and her cameraman tag along thinking it will be a great addition to her story.

Once they reach the building, things change from casual to a suspenseful isolation survival horror. To be honest I was never a fan of shaky point of view camera shots but this is one of the rare films where it works. Especially once the special police forces barricade the doors and lock the tenants inside the complex. It does seem like a good idea to record everything as that video might be the only thing left to explain what happened.

Spanish films have great reviews, especially thrillers and horrors. And as you already know, a lot of foreign films get a US remake (usually shot for shot) and the same can be said for the Rec twin called Quarantine with only one minor change that can be noticed towards the end. While this original Spanish version chose to have a more religion themed apocalypse infection plot, the US version focused on a cult doomsday rabies like virus that gets released by accident.

Film received multiple sequels and even the US version got one. The sequels follow the story… Rec 2 continues where the first one ends (similar to Halloween 2) and Rec 3 Genesis focuses on how the virus spreads and reaches a wedding celebration. During all of this the Spanish CDC is working on blocking off the infected areas and removing the threat. Final part, Rec 4 Apocalypse is a search for the cure and figuring out what caused all the mayhem.

It is not a surprise that the highest rated is the original one since it is the one with the most original story but this is an awesome franchise and it should be placed on your “to watch” list. The acting is good. Atmosphere is tense, the action scenes are great and the story will keep you entertained. The only downside is the shaky cam.

With the release of the HBO’s series The Last of Us it seems that infection horror is back in full force. No matter the type of infection, be it fungal, bacterial or viral these horrors always worked for me as they are a close representation of what could actually happen and how quickly the world we know now would collapse.

Worth Watching?

I would say yes. For those that dislike subtitles and don’t speak Spanish the Quarantine version is a good substitute. Any fan of infection horror should not skip this one!

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