Let’s get this out of the way: [Rec.] is a terrific horror film. It manages to steer clear of the grating qualities that made Cloverfield less than stellar, while retaining the aesthetic verisimilitude that made The Blair Witch Project memorable and frightening. The story begins as a Spanish reporter, Angela (Manuela Velasco), and her cameraman, Manu (Ferran Terraza), set out to document the life of fire fighters over the course of an evening. They are called to an apartment where an old woman is screaming and causing a ruckus. What transpires is a terrifying, and often times, surreal, account of mayhem and blood-letting that is sure to stay with you long after the film has ended.
A mix of zombie horror and demonic possession, [Rec.] is a Spanish film that makes wonderful use of its setting (a dilapidated apartment building), small cast and minimal production. The atmosphere is of dread and doom from the moment a police officer is gruesomely attacked inside the apartment by the crazed woman. The suspense comes from the extremely restricted point-of-view. We only see what the cameraman decides to shoot and as a result, we are just as anxious and terrified of what’s around the corner as the characters are. Directors Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza make excellent use of their sound design by hinting at the horrors awaiting our characters with screaming, wailing and footsteps. They also manage to expand the story universe to outside of the building without actually venturing beyond. Police and health inspectors barricade the apartment from the outside, imprisoning the characters inside and leaving them with no chance of escape. For the majority of its short running time (70 minutes), [Rec.] resembles The Haunting in its depiction of horror, in that what isn’t shown is just as frightening as what’s seen and perceived. That’s not to say that the film squirms away from the gore. When it comes, it comes with terrifying efficiency and immediacy (think 28 Days Later and Night of the Living Dead).
The ending, which I won’t spoil here, is a work of genius. The images in the final confrontation are sure to breed countless nightmares. It’s sad to think that Quarantine, the American remake, has already come and gone in cinemas with little fanfare and yet the original has yet to find a North American distributor. What a shame it is that the market for intelligent, visceral horror stripped of contrived superficiality seems to garner little interest for mainstream audiences. This reality is the most frightening truth of all.
Richard Saad
© Cinephile Magazine, 2009