Synopsis
REC (square brackets removed for forum) is a budget Spanish zombie horror about a film crew trapped in an infected building after following firemen on a routine call. It's in Spanish with subtitles, which made it no less enjoyable for me but might put some off. Of interest to note is that a lot of the action was improvised apparently - all the actors were briefed on what to do during a scene, but not what each other would be doing, and then they rolled the camera without a break for the whole scene. The film, as is farily accurately written on the box, comes out like a cross between the Blair Witch Project and 28 Days Later.
The Good
The whole film is chaotic and extremely fast, and I actually think the subtitles added to it for me because not understanding the rapid Spanish made it all the more hectic. The way it's been filmed means the actors react genuinely and spend much of their time screaming at, and over, each other. It adds up to a pace that outstrips anything I can remember seeing recently. The story is reasonably obvious, but there's a few good jumps, a few bits which made me laugh (but probably shouldn't have, I can't help it, zombies are funny to me), and a mild but cinematically good twist at the end. The effects are low budget, and work far better than the obvious CGI of many modern zombie flicks.
The Bad
Most obvious is that the subtitles will immediately put off many people, and if you can't read fast you're going to suffer from either missing the action or the dialogue. It's a shame, but without the pace the film would have been Diary of the Dead. Which leads me nicely to the shakeycam. I hate them, but in this case I found the film enjoyable anyway. The characters are really the only flaw. There are quite a few of them, few of whom are really explored. The TV crew aren't particularly likeable, and the firemen fairly shallow considering their part in the film. In a zombie movie you need a bit of empathy so you feel their inevitable loss, but here you don't really notice they're gone. It would be worse in a more contemplative movie, but REC is so fast you don't have time to do a head count anyway. Other than that, aside from a few obvious cheap shocks, there's not a lot of bad to complain about.
Conclusion
The biggest compliment I can give this film is that I was so nervous after watching it that I now need a poo. The natural flow and speed works brilliantly to keep up the tension, and it manages to uphold some good zombie movie values without looking too cliched.
Rating
