[REC] 4 - Apocalipsis

This follow-up packs a sinister and horrifying atmosphere by means of shaky camera as well as the former Spanish films titled Rec 1 , 2 and 3 . Horror story plenty of suspense , restless terror and in thrilling style . The story starts with an elite squad of soldiers attempting to rescue to the young reporter Angela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) at a Barcelona apartment complex teeming with the victims of a demonic possession virus that has transformed them into vicious killers . After army doctor Guzman (Paco Manzanedo) and soldier Lucas rescue TV reporter Angela Vidal from the apartment building where occurred the viral outbreak and its immediate follow-up occurred , they all find themselves at sea on a ship that's been commandeered as a temporary quarantine . Then the action now takes place miles away from the original location and giving the film an entirely fresh yet disturbing new reality . As Angela Vidal manages to make it out alive , but what the soldiers don't know is that she carries the seed of the strange infection . She is to be taken to a provisional quarantine facility , a high-security installation where she will have to stay in isolation for several days . An old oil tanker, miles off shore and surrounded by water on all sides , has been especially equipped for the quarantine . As our starring Television reporter Ángela is rescued from the building and taken to an oil tanker commanded by Capitán Ortega (Mariano Venancio) to be examined by a medical team run by Dr Ricarte (Héctor Colomé) . However, it is unknown whether it is her who is carrying the seed of the mysterious demonic virus whose origin results to be the possessed girl (Tristana Medeiros is the only character to appear in all four films) who started the outbreak . But the infection has contaminated the tanker and events go wrong . Later on , the ship turns into a nightmare when horrific events take place as some of the crew start showing signs of a strange illness . Also aboard is a little-old-lady wedding guest (Maria Alfonso Rosso) who slept through the third film's massacre, and thus was the only person to survive it . As our protagonists find seamen have been possessed by strange demoniac forces . They are brutally attacked by psycho people ; they soon learn that people on the boat have been infected by something unknown .

This fast paced and entertaining fourth entry contains familiar faces behind and in front of the camera and with the ordinary living dead virus . Highly engrossing horror , this exciting movie contains noisy action , thrills , chills and loads of blood and gore . The film was well produced by Julio Fernandez and Castelao Pictures, and co-written by Balaguero and Manu Diez . This is the only installment of the franchise that is not filmed as found footage at all and it took 8 months to film and only 3 to edit . Picking up where the first sequel ended — with a desultory nod to "Rec 3's" underwhelming wedding-party digression — this supposedly final though none-too-conclusive chapter . This sequel to one of the highest earning horror movies of the last years titled ¨Rec¨ is realized in similar premise to original and displays a good cast such as Manuela Velasco , Paco Manzanedo , Mariano Venancio and special mention for recently deceased Héctor Colomé as Dr. Ricarte . And Maria Alfonso Rosso as the elderly woman on the ship is a survivor of the Rec ³: Genesis (2012) wedding massacre , although she believes she is still attending the party . This stirring terror picture displays horrific scenes , drama , action, suspense, and results to be quite entertaining . The frightening as well as scary story begins well and grows more and more until a surprising finale . The horror moments are compactly made and fast moving . The origins of the demonic outbreak are explained in the graphic novel ¨Rec : Untold Stories¨ , released alongside "Génesis" in Europe . In a clever twist that draws together the plots of the first three movies, this fourth part of the saga also works as a decoder to uncover information hidden in the first two films . The movie is a great sequel as well as a parallel story to the events of ¨Rec¨ , as the writers provide a well-knit plot with mystery and horror, giving full rein to Jaume Balaguero natural talent for the terror genre .

Most of the film was shot on an actual oil rig ship , some of the sets had to be recreated from the ship at the studio in order to allow space to film and do stunts . Appropriate cinematography by Pablo Grosso , series's usual , and atmospheric musical score by Arnau Bataller fitted perfectly to action . The flick was nicely produced by the chairman of Filmax and Castelao Productions , Julio Fernandez who along with his brother Carlos Fernandez are two successful producers and experts on Horror genre , producers of hits as ¨The machinist¨ ,¨ Fragiles¨, ¨Darkness¨, and many others . The picture was professionally directed by Jaume Balaguero . Balaguero along with Paco Plaza are the main Spanish filmmakers expert on terror cinema , both of whom have realized the box-office big successes such as these ¨Rec 1¨ , ¨Rec 2¨, stumbling with third entry ¨Rec¨ 3 , but the original is far superior , it did good biz in territories already infected by the earlier fright flicks . It's an entertaining terror and sometimes graphically gory and turns out to be an acceptable attempt to cash in the Zombie sub-genre .

REC 4 opens as army doctor Guzmán (Paco Manzanedo) and soldier Lucas (Críspulo Cabezas) rescue TV reporter Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) from the apartment block where the original movie took place. The trio are put on a quarantine ship where scientists conduct experiments into creating an antivirus. However, the true nature of the infection means that it isn't long before the survivors are running for their lives from drooling, crazed, flesh-hungry 'zombies'.

Part 3 of the REC series had quite a lot of detractors, but I enjoyed it for its refreshing change in approach, which saw the introduction of a touch of humour and a lot more splatter. REC 4: Apocalypse is a return to the dark, claustrophobic atmosphere of the first two films (but thankfully, with minimal found footage style camera-work); as such, it will be seen as a welcome case of 'back to basics' by many, but to me it felt very predictable, and, as a result, less satisfying. I also found the gore lacking and was surprised by how few scares there were.

Oh well, at least director Jaume Balagueró had his heroine strip to a tight white vest and got her good and sweaty for the finalé (sometimes, it's the simple things in life).

5.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

While the first REC was a very atmospheric, genuinely scary movie with some new genre elements added, especially in the way the action was captured, by now the REC series has slipped into the cliché trap.

This time around it's zombies on a boat. The director tries to emanate the claustrophobic feeling of a setting like the isolated camp in The Thing, but falls short.

The production is quite good for a horror movie, especially the acting stands out, but one can not help but feeling this is a cash machine franchise that has been milked too far by now. It's still a far better production than most straight to video horror flicks, but by now REC is not the captivating (low budget) horror sensation of the first movie, it's slightly better than run of the mill zombie movies.

Not essential and only if you are a big fan of the series.

I really lost hope after i saw Rec 3 !!! A wedding !! a Bride who does a karate Moves :P

But thank god Rec is Back to the Story of "Ángela Vidal" and they connected the story to the first two movies ,,, amazing turn of events ..

The plot this time literally elevated to a new level ... Ohh and the ending is just another thing.

The scenes is so thrilling this time,, Jumped out of my seat a couple of times ;)

I still have no idea if there's another movie Rec 5 ;) but if there is ,they better make it connected and around the same story..

The Set is Genius.,. full of surprises and curves which were useful to make more frightening.. it's really amazed me though how you can do so much in such a small Set or location ..

So it must be also said the cinematography and the visual effects are Applaudable.

The fourth & final instalment in the REC franchise, REC 4: Apocalypse concludes the horror that began in 2007 with REC, which still remains one of the scariest horror flicks ever made, was followed by an inferior yet effective sequel in 2009 before hitting an absolute low with a needless third entry that was more a spin-off than a sequel and replaced the nerve-racking tension of the first two films with elements of comedy to serve as a parody of the series.

With REC 4, the tense & claustrophobic atmosphere of the first two films makes its return & so does the ever-adorable Manuela Velasco. Set right after the events of REC 2, the story of REC 4: Apocalypse follows Ángela Vidal who after being rescued from the doomed building is taken to a ship, that's miles off the shore, for further examination. However, things are set in motion when a test subject escapes from the lab and ends up infecting the ship crew.

Co-written & directed by Jaume Balagueró, REC 4 discards the found footage style that was so expertly employed in the first film and replaces it with conventional photography but with that, the effectiveness of those chaotic, frenzy camera-work also diminishes. It still uses the shaky cam technique but it fails to recreate the same chilling vibe of the original. The story isn't compelling enough for a final chapter and what Balagueró has done with Ángela's arc is just absurd.

Despite picking up the story from where it left off in the second chapter, REC 4 spends too much time in setting up its premise by introducing characters no one gives a damn about, and even when the terror begins, it's all poorly executed. The scares are cheap & ineffective and the film as a whole feels more like a generic action flick than a visceral horror. It's good to have Manuela Velasco back but her character undergoes a sudden transition which never works in the film's favour.

On an overall scale, REC 4: Apocalypse is definitely a step up when compared to the turd that was REC 3: Genesis, is similar in look & tone to the first two chapters of the franchise and although by no means it is a fulfilling conclusion of the series, there is no denying that it could've been much worse. Failing to completely tie up all the loose ends, leaving a few questions unanswered and utterly devoid of any scares, REC 4 may not be a total disaster but it's still finishes as a forgettable finale.