REC (2007)
Sub-Genre- Epidemic/Viral Zombie
In Attendance- Me...
Cast Members of Note- A bunch of Spanish actors that I can't begin to name. They did real good-like though, real good.
What's it about?- When fearless reporter Angela tags along with a company of Firemen on a routine midnight call, the terror of her big mouth and disregard for anything other than the damn camera filming her begins!
Apparently, the fat chick from the Dawn of the Dead remake is back, and is trying to eat people in her quaint little apartment building, so the firemen along with two bumbling cops try to help her, and end up fucking up so bad that everyone ends up screwed. They kill her 24 times to no avail, and finally decide to lock her in a room with a ham, hoping she will choke to death. Does the daring plan work? You'll see...
Once bitten, the new infected zombies get really mad and try to eat everyone else; one little girl even tries to eat her mother... creepy little fuck. They start dropping like flies, these Spaniards, until there are only three of them left; thank god the guy with the camera and the loud mouthed twit of a reporter are two of them.
The rest of the movie is a cat and mouse survival type of thing, with the jerk off FEMA team ordering the tenants at gunpoint to remain in the building and await "instructions." If by "Await instructions" they mean "Stay in there and die or we will shoot you ourselves", then they got their point across. Apparently FEMA sucks in Europe too.
I wont spoil the ending here, but trust me when I say that you will poop your pants, and perhaps even the pants of those near you when you see it. (I know I never expected to see Barbara Walters naked with a hammer in this movie.)
The Good- I don't think I've seen an ending as terrifying as this one in a long while. The last 10 minutes absolutely changed the movie for me, and took it to a much creepier place than just your standard "Infected people turning into killer zombie" fare. I loved the twist, and would have like to have seen that premise explored more. I'm hoping Rec 2 will give me what I want!
I don't want to ruin it by saying much more, but suffice it to say that the place where the virus comes from makes me giddy. I want to see an entire movie dedicated to that subject matter.
REC is definitely frightening in a lot of ways, especially the premise. An unknown virus turning everyone around you into flesh eating madmen, while you're locked in a building with them and cant get out... that makes for some intense moments.
The shaky-cam thing that is so popular in movies lately (Thanks for that one Cloverfield), is a bit distracting, but not to Blair Witch proportions. Once the creepiness begins, you'll barely notice it.
The Bad- It always drives me crazy in these movies when people wont shut up when they need to be as quiet as possible. I mean, Let's scream, argue while screaming, and scream some more when were fighting for our lives against a bunch of rabid Spaniards! Stupido.
I still say that if the situation were real, that the camera wouldn't be used as much, and later on in the film, would be shut off completely... then again, if they did that, there wouldn't be a movie, so I digress. Still, the reporter chick didn't need to wheedle her way in front of the camera every chance she got.
The Downright Horrendous- How someone didn't smack the reporter bitch in the face multiple times throughout the movie is beyond me. "Evil is after us, dummy... How about you don't scream!?!?!"
The Gory- A good mix of on screen blood and nastiness, and off screen violence you can hear but cant see. Not a gore fest, but certainly bloody enough.
What did we learn?- Dogs are evil, and not to be trusted.
Rating- B+ The only reason I didn't give this one an A, was that I cant get around the blatantly dumb actions of some of the characters. Other than that, this one is well worth a rent or a buy, but see it either way.Final Thoughts- It's already being re-made in the U.S., as Quarantine. Look for it in October. Sigh. (*Update- Quarantine was nowhere near as good or effective as REC was.)
