[REC] 4: Apocalypse

It's a good go-ahead but a bad one. The film is about Angela's story after she escaped the building. The surprises inside the film obviously liked it. Especially the images shown from the 1st and 2nd movies were beautiful. It's really ridiculous in some parts of his fiction. The end result is the same as many virus-related films. Apart from the first one, I would say that three other films were definitely shot for money. The reason is that I think the concept of other films is more action oriented. If you do not watch movies other than the first REC.

⭐ 100/50

Although being better than REC 3, REC 4 Apocalypse still is a big letdown. Of course, a major part in this being a letdown is the fact that it's not shot with a hand-held camera which made the first two instalments so great. What's the point in calling it a REC movie when the hand-held camera is missing? Next to that this movie just felt like some kind of action movie. It doesn't have the creepy atmosphere that the first and second movies had. There is a lot of action going on, with a lot of gore, but the creepiness is nowhere to be found. There were a couple of promising scenes that could have been scary, but failed to do so because they weren't executed right. The plot and dialogue in REC 4 is pretty shallow and highly predictable. What made the first movie so great is that it was different, something new. It gave a good mysterious background about what the virus was, but they didn't do anything with it in the third and fourth movie, not even continue it. There are a couple of good things about this movie and one of them is Manuela Velasco. Her acting is good and she gives a convincing performance. The second thing are the zombies. They look amazing, just like in the first two movies which is a big plus. I was really stoked for this movie and after the bad reviews on REC 3 I hoped they would go back to their success formula, but they didn't. It just didn't deliver and it couldn't live up to the high expectations/standards REC 1 & 2 had created. It was good on some ends, but it just had to many flaws.

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.

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.