Cinematography:
Pablo RossoCast:
Manuela Velasco, Javier Botet, Manuel Bronchud, Martha Carbonell, Clàudia Silva, Vicente Gil, Ferran Terraza, Pablo Rosso, Ana Isabel Velásquez, David Vert (more)Plots(1)
A television film crew, documenting the night shift of a Barcelona fire brigade, get much more than they bargained for when they attend an apparently routine call-out. Upon arrival at an inner city apartment, the firefighters are viciously attacked by the elderly female occupant, who appears to be in the throes of some sort of viral infection. Before long, the virus has taken hold of the entire building, which is cordoned off by the authorities. Trapped inside, the television crew - using their cameras to capture the events as they unfold - and the other remaining survivors find themselves pitched into a nightmare of unimaginable proportions. (Arrow Films)
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Reviews (10)
The fact that the Americans are currently lagging far behind Europe in horror filmmaking is something we have seen several times recently, and this Spanish psychological thriller is a prime example of the European domination. REC combines to perfection all the tried-and-tested horror techniques, such as handheld camerawork, shooting in a small space and the complete absence of music, resulting in a disturbing and bloody adrenaline ride with an appropriately short runtime that doesn't allow the viewer to slack off for a moment, forcing them to constantly chew their fingernails. The grand finale in the style of Silence of the Lambs deserves my respect just because I was sweating at least five times more intensely than in the case of the famous thriller. The potential for a sequel is great, but the bar is set perhaps too high. Very strong 4*.
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They told me I was going to be scared, and they were right. At night and with headphones on my ears, nothing was more believable for me than that frantic panic that gradually increased in [Rec], until finally erupting to the fullest. All this performed by unknown actors and shot by a TV camera... The zombie horror according to the proven model made it even more intense than I expected.
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This movie is awesome! It’s been long since a horror film pulled me into the story in such way that I felt scared. REC is probably the best and most original zombie flick I’ve even seen and far above all the other films shot with a “handheld camera”. Unlike Blair Witch, it never gets boring (really, things move at full steam from beginning to end, there isn’t a single quiet moment), the characters are very believable in their fear, terror and ignorance, and their behaviour is logical (unlike Cloverfield). The old house and the fact that danger can lurk behind every door generate an amazing atmosphere that is best enjoyed watching the film alone and in the dark. I now must correct my ranking of favourite horror movies. Wholeheartedly recommended.
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An intense horror inferno in which the directors hit the viewer with such vigor that you won't care about the questionable handheld camera - even though it has a strong defense for being there given that it’s part of a TV show where journalists want to film everything. Knowing that there’s not much new you can do with zombies, the film brings an excellent group of characters to the scene, who crystalize in the calm opening so that you can cheer them on, tooth and nail, in the final inferno. The main character is a decent character and I realized that I haven't worried about anyone in a movie as much as I did about her in a long time. The few shocking moments (the fall down the stairs, the little girl with her mother) and the entire ending, starting with the entrance to the attic, is a chapter of its own, for which I would gild the filmmakers' hands. I’d have to look far back in time to find SUCH a quality horror film.
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Even though this film’s creators don’t bring anything new to the table, instead just combining the technique from The Blair Witch Project with the final exposition of The Silence of the Lambs (the green night-vision mode, similar setting), their low-budget result still managed to raise my adrenalin level and in places I was scared so much that I wanted to avert my eyes from the screen (which hasn’t happened to me in some fifteen years). The climax is truly BADASS, because it doesn’t stay in the realm of pure film entertainment, but throws in an unsettling this-could-actually-happen feeling. Brrr!
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