Movie Melting Pot…'[Rec]’ (Spain, 2007)

‘[REC]’ is a Spanish horror film released in 2007 and directed by Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza. It follows two trends that are becoming more and more annoying in films today. First off, it is a film shot on video by a character in the film. It follows the “found footage” horror element that ‘Blair Witch’ made so famous back in ’99. Secondly, ‘[REC]’ follows the trend of popular, foreign, horror films getting the Hollywood remake treatment before the original is even offered to American audiences. ‘Quarantine’ comes out this Friday, October 10. From the looks of it, it is a shot-for-shot remake of ‘[REC]’. That is about all I can hope for, because ‘[REC]’ is one scary movie.

The film centers on a young, television reporter who is doing a piece on firefighters working the night shift. In the middle of the night, a call comes in about an elderly woman trapped in her apartment. The young reporter and her cameraman follow in tow. Once they enter the building, all hell breaks loose.

Just a fair warning, there be spoilers ahead.

‘[REC]’ is scary as hell. The first part of the film offers some clever surprises even to diehard fans of the genre. What makes the scares work even better is that many of them were kept from the actors during shooting. The gimmick of the found footage fit in well with the story, and, unlike ‘Cloverfield’, you never get the sense that the person with the camera would have stopped filming long ago. He and the reporter are there to get an interesting story, and what is more interesting than an apartment building overrun with zombies?

And yes, for those who have not seen the film, it is zombies running loose in the building. However, these are more ’28 Days Later’ zombies as oppossed to Romero zombies. They run up the stairs clawing at the people they are chasing. Simply holding a door shut in front of them will not slow them down. This was a good choice. Unlike Romero’s last, ‘Diary of the Dead’, we really get a sense of tension here. Being in such a confined space and with the zombies running at full speed, there isn’t really much time to think about what is happening.

‘[REC]’ has received tremendous praise from critics and fans of the horror genre. on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 93% fresh rating. It’s only from 14 reviews, but those are from such sources as Empire Magazin, Fearnet, and Variety. Okay, the chick from Variety panned it, but she doesn’t even seem to have seen the movie. She said the film “offers nothing new for genre fans”. I wholeheartedly disagree with her.

Now, about ‘Quarantine’, the American remake. On one hand, I hope the film is a shot-for-shot remake of the original. If it is, ‘Quarantine’ is going to be one of the scariest, American films in recent years, probably since ‘Blair Witch’. On the other hand, if the film is a shot-for-shot remake, than I have a bone to pick with the marketing. Why you would show the last shot of the movie not only in the previews and commercials but on the poster for the film is beyond me.

One part of me hopes that is the end of the film, because it is highly effective. In fact, the last ten minutes of ‘[REC]’ had me glued to the screen in anticipation. Another part of me hopes there is something else to offer those of us who have seen ‘[REC]’. Still, another part of me wishes that ‘Quarantine’ were never made.

‘[REC]’ is an easily accessible film for American audiences. It would have been much cheaper to just buy the rights to it and release that film to American audiences. They could even dub in English to adhere to people who hate reading subtitles. That would have been a much more satisfactory way of getting ‘[REC]’ out to the public.

If you haven’t seen ‘[REC]’, than, by all means, check it out. Unfortunately, the film is only availabe on region 2 disc, and even that is out of stock at most places. Sony Screen Gems was suppossed to have a copy out before the release of ‘Quarantine’, but that seems to have not been followed through on. Maybe your best bet is to see ‘Quarantine’ in theaters if that is the best way to experience how scary the film really is. However, I can’t guarantee it will be as scary or as intense as ‘[REC]’.