[REC] – Spain – 2007 – Horror, Thriller
Directed by: Jaume Balagueró; Paco Plaza
Written by: Jaume Balagueró; Luiso Berdejo; Paco Plaza
Main Players: Manuela Velasco

Opening at a first station, reporter Ángela Vidal (Velasco) explains her typical evening news rotation has her spending time with the fire crew this night. This story is told from the camera’s point of view, so it focuses on her as she gets her intro monologue perfected. She needs a few takes, but eventually tells of her plan to spend the night rounds observing the inner lives of these men during this segment of “While You Were Sleeping.”
After talking to some firemen and trying on some equipment, the crew gets a service call at an apartment building. Entering this building, they are all transported into a world of absolute terror, all conveniently documented by Ángela and her cameraman.
If you are into horror and know nothing about [REC], then letting its effective opening play out will give you a great experience. While the camera’s perspective can be a bit limiting in films, in this case it is so well utilized that it puts you squarely in the terror as the viewer. Like, right the fuck in it.
This little movie is extremely effective and when it gets going it is relatively unrelenting. It has a short runtime, has good practical effects, is creatively shot, has some downright chilling scenes, and is a pretty great time. While I don’t know the foreign cast well, they all do a great job. [REC] is a short investment of time, and can prove to be just the jolt that a tension seeker needs.
One caveat is that there will be plenty of viewers which do not like the shaky point of view of the camera movements. Personally, the moving shots did not bother me and added to the chaos of the atmosphere effectively.
This was remade in 2008 as Quarantine, but I don’t think I ever saw that version. I would recommend this version for sure, as I heard mixed things about Quarantine, despite Jennifer Carpenter who is always great.
See This If You Liked:
Night of the Living Dead (1968; 1990); Dawn of the Dead (1978; 2004); 28 Days Later; The Descent; Barbarian; Evil Dead Rise; The Taking of Deborah Logan; The Crazies (2010); Cloverfield; Afflicted
Score:
8.0