Ever since The Blair Witch Project, the faux horror documentary has had many imitators, culminating with the big-budget Cloverfield. Unfortunately all these imitators failed to do the one thing demanded of the new genre: scare the hell out of us. We're happy to report that [REC] makes up for prior transgressions with the story of perky TV reporter Angela, whose show "While You Sleep" covers the nocturnal activities of Barcelona firemen.
When a report of a screaming woman in an apartment block comes in, Angela and her crew of two follow the dedicated team to the emergency. Festival audiences have been screaming at characters during the last five minutes "PLEASE DON'T GO THERE!". Get ready to poop your pants, NZ. [Source: Incredibly Strange Festival 08]
I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
There are no delusions of grandeur here; [REC] knows it's nothing more than a simple genre film. Instead of resulting in lazy, derivative filmmaking, this has allowed the creators to focus on conjuring and almost flawlessly executing moments of genuine terror. Even the most predictable events have you gripping the armrests in white knuckled fear. There is the odd fresh concept introduced to the mockumentary template, but those are just garnishes for the scares that keep the story unfolding at a rollicking rate. The narrative is simple and straightforward, but the pacing allows this to be an asset rather than a detriment.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of [REC] is its brevity, clocking in at a skeletal 76 minutes. This length means that there is no wasted screen time and the claustrophobic tension remains at fever pitch from the moment events take a turn for the worse. Sure, if you're trying to get across some deep social or existential commentary, by all means take your time. If however you can scare the hell out of your audience in little over an hour, there's no point in diluting the impact with superfluous scenes just to kick it up to a more 'respectable' running time.
If you're going to a horror movie, it's because you want to be scared senseless. In this regard, they don't come better than [REC]. Even a pseudo-intellectual film critic such as myself forgot about looking for technical and structural flaws and submitted to the non-stop fright-fest. I suppose you could wait for the already completed Hollywood remake Quarantine, but I doubt it will be as much fun.
By Andreas Heinemann, Flicks.co.nz
Yuck what a disgusting movie
This came highly recommended to me, but I was underwhelmed. For those familiar with the genre, there is nothing new here. Aside from a couple of moments of tense suspense, this is strictly by-the-numbers and quite unremarkable. Characters are paper thin, hand-held 'real' camerawork is all over the show, and the dialogue and plot are just plain bad. We get a lot of shouting, a lot of zombies rushing around yelling 'blergh!', and worst, some laughable exposition from a handy tape recorder. Above average, perhaps, for fright value. But all these 5-stars I see below are missing the mark. All you pant-sh*tters should be embarrassed.
just a word of advice for you there... because this is sh*t yourself scary.
THIS IS THE MOST SCARIEST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN
Some movies will terrify you with sudden shocks. Some movies will Terrify you with a sense of dread through claustrophobia, or some other means of unease. This film does both and it is far too effective. If I say anything more than the above synopsis it will ruin the whole experience . . . But it is an experience. Seeing this will make you forgive the makers of BLAIR WITCH and CLOVERFIELD, because they set the bar that this film leaps over on its way to sink its teeth into your most tender emotions.
A runaway rollercoaster of a fright flick, [Rec]'s strength lies in how well it sets up its over-familiar zombie meltdown
Even thought it's the third such effort to employ handheld camera in a zombie flick, this has more than enough shocks to hold its own.
The film corners you with the ferocity of a Spanish inquisitor with a branding iron and holds you there to the bitter end.
The violence is certainly creepy, with the zombies lurking in shadows and attacking with a ferocity not seen in Robert Rodriguez's recent big budget "grindhouse" effort, Planet Terror.
Co-helmers Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza rely entirely on the stale gimmick of filtering action through a video lens. Lazily scripted, without even a pretense of character development or psychological depth, it offers nothing new for genre fans.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 28th Aug 2008.
Release date: August 28th 2008.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
