[REC] (2007)
[REC] (2007)
9/10
Found footage films which are associated with the horror genre, have become a slight trend (or gimmick, however you look at it) over the past 10 years though it has been around for a bit longer than that. It is an intriguing technique because it limits the audiences’ perspective; we can only see from the point of view of whoever is taping. A limited point of view heightens the suspense. In addition to this, found footage films also have a feeling of realism to them which is helped by the standard casting choice of relatively unknowns. These films are always interesting and vary in effectiveness but [REC] was the one that, for me, was the most engaging, the scariest and the most effective overall despite several other films in this subgenre being worthy of praise.
[REC] follows Angela Vidal (Manuela Velasco), a local television reporter and her cameraman Pablo (Pablo Rosso) who films all of the footage. They have a show called "While You’re Asleep" and the episode they are about to film takes place at a fire department in Barcelona where they hope to learn about the nightly on goings of people within the occupation. At one point they get a call from an apartment building about a woman who is trapped. Once they arrive they encounter said woman who is extremely aggressive and bites a policeman putting him in critical condition. Angela and Pablo get everything on tape and soon after a fireman is thrown down the stairwell the residents of the apartment building, the remaining policeman and fireman and Angela and Pablo are told they are being quarantined for the time being. This sets up the film which consists of these people trapped in the apartment complex, attempting to figure out what is going on, figure a way out and fight off people who have become infected.
There are many sequences in [REC] that almost feel like one is going through a haunted house or playing a video game. This is a compliment as it makes for a thrilling experience. The film has a mounting sense of tension to it as hopelessness becomes more prevalent and panic gradually becomes the sole emotion running through the remaining characters. This sense of hopelessness and panic is easily transferred over to the audience through directors Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza ability to build on tension and sustain it.
Something else about [REC] that works so well is the presentation of the characters. There is little character development throughout but in a film like this, it is acceptable as long as we still care about them. We are given enough information about the characters to not think of them as simply faces but what really works about the characters is how real they feel. A lot of run-of-the-mill stock horror characters especially these days do not feel like human beings but hollow people who seem nice and sympathetic because a screenwriter wants them to be. Here, the characters feel like real people and in addition they feel real as a collective group of tenants living in the same building. When they feel like real people, unguided by a screenwriter, then we do care to some degree what happens to them.
From start to finish [REC] is an unusually compelling horror film that manages to build and sustain tension and panic both within the film and within the viewer. It is exhaustively suspenseful and once it starts it does not let up. It strides past the gimmick of found footage with ease creating something that exists on its own terms packing a pretty massive punch in the last 10 minutes as it adds an unexpected level of unease to the proceedings. [REC] is easily one of the best horror films of the past 10 years. Led by an aggressively present performance by Manuela Velasco, it is a film that does its job better than others in the subgenre and demands and deserves to be seen.
9/10
Found footage films which are associated with the horror genre, have become a slight trend (or gimmick, however you look at it) over the past 10 years though it has been around for a bit longer than that. It is an intriguing technique because it limits the audiences’ perspective; we can only see from the point of view of whoever is taping. A limited point of view heightens the suspense. In addition to this, found footage films also have a feeling of realism to them which is helped by the standard casting choice of relatively unknowns. These films are always interesting and vary in effectiveness but [REC] was the one that, for me, was the most engaging, the scariest and the most effective overall despite several other films in this subgenre being worthy of praise.
[REC] follows Angela Vidal (Manuela Velasco), a local television reporter and her cameraman Pablo (Pablo Rosso) who films all of the footage. They have a show called "While You’re Asleep" and the episode they are about to film takes place at a fire department in Barcelona where they hope to learn about the nightly on goings of people within the occupation. At one point they get a call from an apartment building about a woman who is trapped. Once they arrive they encounter said woman who is extremely aggressive and bites a policeman putting him in critical condition. Angela and Pablo get everything on tape and soon after a fireman is thrown down the stairwell the residents of the apartment building, the remaining policeman and fireman and Angela and Pablo are told they are being quarantined for the time being. This sets up the film which consists of these people trapped in the apartment complex, attempting to figure out what is going on, figure a way out and fight off people who have become infected.
There are many sequences in [REC] that almost feel like one is going through a haunted house or playing a video game. This is a compliment as it makes for a thrilling experience. The film has a mounting sense of tension to it as hopelessness becomes more prevalent and panic gradually becomes the sole emotion running through the remaining characters. This sense of hopelessness and panic is easily transferred over to the audience through directors Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza ability to build on tension and sustain it.
Something else about [REC] that works so well is the presentation of the characters. There is little character development throughout but in a film like this, it is acceptable as long as we still care about them. We are given enough information about the characters to not think of them as simply faces but what really works about the characters is how real they feel. A lot of run-of-the-mill stock horror characters especially these days do not feel like human beings but hollow people who seem nice and sympathetic because a screenwriter wants them to be. Here, the characters feel like real people and in addition they feel real as a collective group of tenants living in the same building. When they feel like real people, unguided by a screenwriter, then we do care to some degree what happens to them.
From start to finish [REC] is an unusually compelling horror film that manages to build and sustain tension and panic both within the film and within the viewer. It is exhaustively suspenseful and once it starts it does not let up. It strides past the gimmick of found footage with ease creating something that exists on its own terms packing a pretty massive punch in the last 10 minutes as it adds an unexpected level of unease to the proceedings. [REC] is easily one of the best horror films of the past 10 years. Led by an aggressively present performance by Manuela Velasco, it is a film that does its job better than others in the subgenre and demands and deserves to be seen.
Cinema is Truth
Cinema is Truth
Horrorphile
I reviewed [REC] here
And Quarantine here
Still waiting for [REC] 2 to be released down under.
Film & TV on DVD
I am still to see REC 2, but have heard good things.
Cinema Enthusiast
Thoughts from a Cinephile
Thoughts from a TV Watcher