[REC]²

The first Rec was one of the better horror films i had seen in recent years and because of that success it's no surprise that it spurned a sequel so soon. And like most sequels , this turned out to be a bitter disappointment.

This film carries on straight after the first. The virus ( or so it seams) is still in the building and this time a special ops team and a specialist go in to stop it in it's tracks. Obviously then things then turn really ugly.

I found Rec 2 a bit of a mess. It's extremely loud and at times disorientating with the speed camera work. The members of the Swat team shout constantly and they make some stupid decisions and it's as if they have left their brains at the door and if you are thinking of watching this i suggest you do to.

It does have a couple of scary moments but not nearly enough for my liking.

excerpt, full review at my location - REC splattered its way onto our screens three years ago, and part of its power was the fact this small- budget Spanish horror tale seemed to come out of nowhere. The sequel will struggle to match it simply because it lacks the surprise element which made the first one so great, right?

Apparently there are to be two more films, one a straight sequel and a prequel. The sequel will, like this one, carry on pretty much straight after the ending, but it will be hard matched to equal this one. REC2 introduces some humour which the first one lacked, but to go down that road too much will spoil all the hard work that the first two. We'll see…

A gloriously nasty Spanish roller-coaster ride up and down the stairs of that Barcelona apartment block – just don't eat too close to the film. Seriously, it's that gory.

Getting to the main point of my LOVE and HATE that I have for rec, I think it was said best from a previous review that the main difference between these two movies....and this may be a semi spoiler behind the infection...is that the first one is more of a scientific infection while the second film is more of a religious infection. So with that said, I will write a summary of the film as well as two small reviews. One for die hard zombie fans and one for horror fans.

First, the summary of the movie as a whole. The second film begins exactly where the other one left off. A small SWAT team enters the building with another QUARANTINE type doctor and are asked to document everything. The camera work goes from one camera to numerous cameras such as another video camera and mini cams put on the SWAT member's helmets. I felt this was really cool giving us numerous shots and cuts without taking away from the first person view. In the middle of the film, we're introduced to a trio of teens who find their way into the building with a camera of their own. And then, as the first film, the group must fight to stay alive.

Second, the review for Zombie fans of the first film….If you're a zombie fan, you have to like the mass hysteria of the unknown, and that's something that the first film presents to us. What seems like a routine call at an apartment building turns out to be one of the first responses to an infection outbreak. The first film satisfies these rules of infection, aggressive attacks, and not knowing what exactly is going on to the T. The second film is a slap in the face to us zombie fans because it takes away from a disease that turns us into homicidal maniacs with the hunger for flesh, and changes it into possessed puppets of a demonic force. The infection turns out to be in fact demons traveling through people by way of bites. Possessed people can talk, are scared of the cross, can change voices and walk on walls. But they're not zombies. They're not infected with rage. They're not infected with mutated rabies . And again, this is truly a slap in the face for zombie fans. We don't go and see Vampire part 2, only to find out they're really mummies. And we don't see werewolf part 2 only to find out they're really vampires. This change of infection to possession may ruin the movie for some of us zombie fans and therefore, turn out to be a crappy sequel with a few scares. 4/10

Third, the review for Rec and horror fans…..If you're not a DIE HARD zombie fan, and loved the first one as a good horror movie, this film may be seen as a pretty cool sequel. The character development is no where near as good as the first film, but it's still pretty good. Right away, the scares are there. The power has gone out from the first film, so this time around, our characters are left in the dark, adding an edge to everyone's already big fear. The infection's back story….and again, semi spoiler for it's origins….is not in fact an infection, but possession. It's not often that possession doesn't look cheesy and funny thanks to spoof movies on the exorcists. These possessed people look scary as hell and the way they speak really scared me. On one of the first jump scenes, I screamed. Movies don't usually get me to scream so there you go. The movie is a very good follow up to an instant classic of a film. And I'm sure horror fans of Rec would definitely fall in love with it's sequel. 6/10

A somewhat nice continuation of the first "Rec" movie.

"Rec 2" picks up right where "Rec" left you when it ended. So that is nice.

The characters in the movie were believable and well portrayed, especially because they have that every-day-man-and-woman feel to them, they are just like you and me. That makes the movie all the more real.

Again, picking up the scenery and sets from the first "Rec" movie makes for a good scenery with a constant underlying sense of dread and claustrophobia.

The make up on the infected were good, and the effects were nice as well.

Again the camera work was amazing, makes you feel like you are right there in the middle of the chaos. The way the movie is shot works so well, it is like participating in a superb horror game.

Now, what I didn't like about "Rec 2" was the whole possession and Christian propaganda approach they had decided to turn the story to. But looking beyond that, the movie in its entirety came together as a good experience. There were no major frights though, but there was a constant thrill and a sense of being stalked and feeling boxed it. That worked so well.

The ending was very predictable and anti-climatic though. And as such the movie experience is just a notch below the first "Rec" movie. And I am sure this will also spawn a crappy Hollywood Americanized version of the movie, like the first "Rec" movie. It is a disgrace to movies worldwide when Hollywood decides to sink their greedy claws into a good product and milk it for what its worth.

Good sequel, about as good as the original. I thought the camcorder-perspective might be a worn medium, but it is well and originally done here. Suspense is great, effects are good, plot is fairly original. Maybe too many twists, too many contrivances and other horror clichés, but it all works out OK in the end.