Rec

Wow! This movie is the sort of movie that picks you up by the neck and drops you right in the middle of the excitement - literally. The way the movie is shot with the camera is amazing. It is like you are there yourself, being a part of that horrible experience of being boxed inside a relatively small area and being stalked by crazed infected people.

The infected were great, good make-up and effects, and brought a lot of excitement to the movie.

The scenery and sets brought life to the movie. It was so dark and brooding, that it totally made the screen come alive with sense of dread and enclosing doom. It all came together for a good sense of claustrophobia and hopelessness.

"Rec" had a good cast of actors. Everyone portrayed their roles well and made the characters stand out as believable and real people.

This is one of the better horror/thriller movies in a while, and it have a fresh sense of dread to it, which helps spices up the genre. The bad thing about "Rec" is that Hollywood decided to tap into the success of the Spanish movie and Americanize it. Usually Hollywood remakes of non-American movies is crap and an insult to the original versions. But seeing past Hollywood's greed, "Rec" is a really good movie that anyone with a taste for horror (and zombie movies, despite these here not being typical zombies) should watch.

This movie will keep you at the edge of the seats.

REC is a film that utilises the POV (Point of View) camera technique for the entirety of its duration. It is a technique in which the person behind the camera is a character that is integral to the plot, narrative and story of the film. In brief, REC is a horror film that begins with the crew of a TV show, called While You Sleep, making a documentary about firemen. As the film progresses the crew are lucky enough to accompany the fireman on a call out to a local apartment building.

Undoubtedly and unsurprisingly REC will be measured by the film The Blair Witch Project, especially given its plot and the manner in which the film plays out. Comparatively REC is also a horror, low budget, sticks to a female lead and has an ending that is very similar. Although The Blair Witch Project was a ground breaking film, given its illustrious marketing campaign and widespread fooling of audiences, if the two are to be judged purely on their viewing merits then REC is by far the superior – if anything REC is the film that the Blair Witch should have been. It is the film that I wanted to see when I queued up in the rain, 10 years ago full of hype, anticipation and adolescent excitement.

Despite REC being a better film than The Blair Witch Project some critics have attacked it for employing such a tired technique that has been used too much in recent films (i.e. Cloverfield and the forth coming Diary of The Dead). The method that has been employed in REC is, I believe, a method that is now firmly embedded in the medley of cinematic processes that a film-maker may chose to exert. It seems strange to me that once a new technique is discovered or employed and put to use regularly, people and critics complain – especially when it works. Granted, if we are subjected to a recent flurry of films all using similar methods then yes, it deserves further scrutiny and what usually surfaces is that greedy studios are exploiting market trends.

The film is co-directed by Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza and they have clearly dipped into the bucket of clichés with REC, but in doing so they have created something that is both fresh and reinvigorating. It should be noted that clichés aren't always a bad thing and when put to good use can give the audience exactly what they came to see. It's true that the plot is minimal and there are loose ends, but then the vast majority of horror films often suffer from these traits, and sometimes purposefully, but with REC it doesn't make the film any less enjoyable. It is also evident from the plot and the methods employed that the film is very low budget, but this does not do it any harm, instead it complements the narrative and increases the films appeal.

I believe the true quality of the film lies in its ability to cleverly use the history of the genre and the bare minimal of resources to its maximum potential and, unlike Cloverfield, there's little room to doubt the reasons for the cameraman to continue filming and this is (like Blair Witch) due to the fact it's his job. He is there to film a documentary and in true cameraman style his instincts take over. The acting on show here is also a lot better than Cloverfield and the people all look normal, some are even unattractive.

To put it bluntly REC contains some of the most fear inducing and scariest scenes of recent times. It achieves a level of fear that's rarely experienced in cinema and if watching the film carefully it can be seen how. REC has been made by people that are incredibly familiar with the horror genre and fans will recognise the homage's and the inspirations used, from Evil Dead, to The Shining, to 28 Days later and many more. With such a wealth of horror-viewing-experience combined with inspired film-making they are able to draw upon some of the best moments in horror history.

Towards the final reels the film plays like an amalgamation of ideas and inspirations. One of which is the influence of contemporary video gaming as some scenes allude to how certain computer games work (most notably first person shooters) and this is supported by the POV technique as we, the viewer, live the character of the cameraman much in the same way a gamer lives the character he/she is in control of. This notion is furthered by the different levels in the apartment building, the films use of rooms, the final scenes and several allegories to various computer games including Resident Evil, Alone in the Dark and Silent Hill.

For a feature film it is incredibly short at only 75 minutes, in fact it is closer to the length of a TV documentary which is perhaps its aim. I cannot recommend this film enough and have even tried to construct my review in a way as to not give too much away; as it is a film that needs to seen. Watch it with the lights off, with a friend and in a small room. Enjoy.

Watched it at Sitges Internation Film Festival.

Now.. Not being a fan of "home-made" cinema I was extremely suspecting about this film. The first 5 minutes really put you down.. I was thinking "Oh no.. Not another amateur experiment please!".. But that's exactly what they are meant for.

After you relax and even prepare for occasional laughter at how bad a film it is the story slowly swirls and sinks in you with pulsating intensity and believe me: You are going to jump all over your seat for the rest of the film.

Please: Do not take kids with you unless they are grown up enough to deal with horror movies or you are up to a few non-sleep nights full of tears and nightmares.

If you love good horror movies you'll love this one.

WOW! I'm so proud of you Jaume!!! By some weird psychological mechanism: Balagueró being from my area in Spain, and i being a fan of terror movies, it feels so good to witness the next turn of the screw in the history of this genre! It's hard to comment on this movie without spoiling it, but i'll try. It's very difficult, after 40 years of terror movies, to make something new or special anymore. Balagueró manages to master the false documentary style to create a really scary atmosphere and the movie beats all resistance to destroy the suspension of disbelieve. The jumps in your seat are guaranteed, and the adrenaline flow is sure, so good a medicine for us lovers of terror cinema. In the process, the film has certain social issues, a message against racism, a portrayal of more than 10 characters, and the sweet drops of necessary humor. We saw a interview in the Spanish TV last week, and the directors explained that most of the "actors" didn't know what was gonna happen to them and the camera never stopped recording whatever were their reactions to horrible surprises. Only one actor knows what to do, where to go, and he is the one leading the action from one place to the other of the house. The effect is a rushed and hysteric spontaneity, pure madness... WOW! Try to watch it in a good theatre, with a good sound quality and a good screen. I hope our fellow Americans will be able to watch this before watching the Hollywood replica (Quarantined). Our small cinema industry deserves it.

A beautiful female TV reporter and her cameraman follow a group of firemen on a call. They go to an apartment building where loud screams are heard from an elderly woman's unit. The fireman break into her apartment. She's bleeding and screaming nonstop and attacks them. It seems she's infected and the other residents might be too. Authorities seal off the building allowing no one out and they all have to deal with each other...and the infection.

VERY bloody and gory with good acting. Even better it moves quickly (it's only 78 minutes) and never stops. Very scary and unsettling. It was remade in the US as "Quarantine" in 2008. That's good too but this is better!