[Rec] and [Rec] ²

[Rec] and [Rec] ² were very popular over in Europe, so much so that Hollywood decided to remake the first one into Quarantine (starring Dexter's sister.) I've been wanting to check these horror flicks out and see what all the fuss is about. Now I have and will impart my wisdom upon you.

[Rec]
(2007) [Trailer]
Directors: Jaume Balagueró (IMDB), Paco Plaza (IMDB)

[Rec] is a pretty solid horror movie in my book. It rides on the whole "found footage" wave of movies that seem to be popping up everywhere ever since Blair Witch. I know some people are tired of these kinds of films, but I enjoy them if they're done well and take a unique spin on the genre, which [Rec] does.

The story centers around some semi-annoying TV host and her camera guy who are shooting a show on firemen. They follow the firemen on a call for help at an apartment building. Shit gets real when they find out they're quarantined in the building with some not so friendly zombies and have to try and save themselves from becoming snack food for the undead.

Overall I think [Rec] is a pretty decent watch. The movie is definitely suspenseful and pretty creepy. I did have issues with the main girl, she tends to be a little over dramatic at times. I also have a couple of nit pics here and there but nothing that really ruined it for me. I would pick it up from nexflix and check it out if you're in the mood for something scary.



[Rec] ²
(2009) [Trailer]
Directors: Jaume Balagueró (IMDB), Paco Plaza (IMDB)

Unfortunately the follow up to Spain's smash hit is...not so much a smash. I really had high hopes that the directors of [Rec] would be like a fine wine and get better with age, but sadly they were more like Dr Pepper...nice and carbonated at first then flat after a while.

[Rec] ² picks up right where the first part left off. This time around a SWAT team and health inspector enter the quarantined apartment and do battle with the zombies. The team soon realize that the inspector isn't who he appears to be and has carte blanche to carry out a secret mission. This is where the movie takes a turn for the worst. The mission is to find an antidote to the infection causing these zombies...and how do they do that you ask? Well thru the power of God of course. Turns out the inpector is a priest and the zombie infection is actually a demonic plague. Now the zombies can be put on pause with a little hail Mary. To make matter worse they inject some annoying teens into the movie who just happen to find a hidden passage through the sewers into the apartment.

There's a lot I hated about this film and I could definitely lay out a list of shit that didn't work with it. Normally I love a good horror movie with religion in the fold but it seemed to not really work for this one. I really think taking that angle and also bringing the teens into the mix were pointless. They did nothing to elevate the plot, only way it down. The SWAT team were unbelievable. Real trained elite police would have acted much different. I don't know of any police agency that would have sent a team into something like that without being thoroughly briefed or only giving one guy the ability to clear them all to leave. There's some other things that boarder on spoiler territory, so I'll save it. There were some creepy moments here and there but not enough to save this flick.