by: Shaun Anderson
Posted on 12.18.09 in All Horror Films > Thriller/Suspense > Zombie
Release Date: 2007

This Spanish film which emerged a couple of years ago proved that the heartbeat of European horror was still beating – if only half-heartedly. Its release coincided with several films that used the pseudo-documentary form, the heaviest hitter was Cloverfield (2008) and the most eagerly awaited was Diary of the Dead (2007). By the very nature of their form these films address issues relating to the prominence of reality TV, the question of surveillance and the intrusiveness that comes with it, and notions of truth and reality. All of these elements are present to varying degrees in this particular film, but [REC] also has a few other things going for it.

The first notable thing that emerges from this film is the desperate need media representatives have to record or document something out of the ordinary. This is initially illustrated by Angela’s (Maunela Velasco) burning desire for something to happen in the city beyond that will call on the services of the Firemen that she is following. Once in the apartment the fear that she and her cameraman Pablo (Pablo Rosso) feel is easily assuaged by the prospect of filming something exclusive and never-before-seen. This general theme permeates much of the film, and paints a rather unflattering picture of the lengths television crews will go to gain an audience. This naturally leads to discourses surrounding questions of truth and reality, and the validity of the images that we are surrounded by, in a world that seems to lack an adequate lexicon of truly original images. This aspect is aided by a suitably confined and claustrophobic location that turns out (surprise surprise!!) to be a microcosm of the society outside its four walls. We therefore bear witness to the simmering racial tensions that exist in Spanish society, but also our own. We see that in a moment of crisis it is far more likely for people to drift apart than pull together.

The network of apartments are used judiciously and effectively by a directing partnership who are clearly very conversant with the codes and expectations of the horror genre. They also cleverly reduce the sightings of the infected zombies to a minimum and in many cases rely on rather traditional techniques to achieve the scares (much of the success of this film is due to the framing of the shots, camera position and angle). This is particularly impressive because the filmmakers have opted to remove music, a device which creates a lot of the mood and tension in horror movies. It is in their approach to soundtrack that the film reveals some innovation. Whilst the sight of marauding zombies passing a blood infection on to people is nightmarish enough, the truly terrifying aspect of the film is in the response of the authorities to the crisis. This brings me on to the second major position of the film, which is to ask us to consider the covert nature of the government and the military and the myriad number of research units and branches that make up its network.

In other areas the film is not a success. I personally do not like the unwieldy puke-inducing camera movement of these ‘pseudo-documentaries’, they give an illusion of reality, which is quickly dissipated by the headache and nausea you get ten minutes into the film. The characterisation in this film is virtually non-existent, and the dialogue sounds as thought it has come from the pen of a Baboon. However, despite these and several other flaws [REC] genuinely succeeds in creating an atmosphere of lurking terror, and this reaches an unbearable crescendo of tension when our duo of reality TV morons are forced to move to the night vision facility on the camera. This is a pared down and snappy little horror film which bodes well for the future of European horror, and if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then its clear with Hollywood’s derivate remake Quarantine (2008) that [REC] was thought very highly of in some stuffy Hollywood boardroom.

• ★★★★★

  Acting:

• ★★★★★

  Blood:

• ★★★★★

  Violence:

• ★★★★★

  Partying:

• ★★★★★

  Language:

• ★★★★★

  Humor:

• ★★★★★

  Predictable:

• ★★★★★

  Girls:

• ★★★★★

  Gore:

• ★★★★★

  Sexuality:

• ★★★★★

  Torture:

• ★★★★★

  Overall:

I also want to add a comment or two about the ending of this film. It's amazing how terror was given its home, so to speak, or its source. This film really does enter into new territory within the whole zombie genre by giving the outbreak a center, or where the outbreak all began. Sure, sometimes hints as too what started the zombie outbreak have been in some films (28 days later) but rarely has the source of the outbreak had such a humane and incredibly terrifying center. What REC lacked in characterization and development (leading to a lack of personal enjoyment) it made up for in it's climatic brilliance. The film is a must see for all zombie fans.

Yes. They just want you to believe that it's footage. If you had to capture a one hour snap shot of my life, on film, as CRAZY as it may be, you wouldn't really have a chance to actually KNOW who I am, given the one hour time frame. Such as it is. I suppose that the art is having the viewer believe that it is actual footage. I wouldn't think that it's always easy, and when concerning films such as Cloverfield, sometimes maintaining such a raw feel to the film can be quite difficult.

I agree with you guys completely. These movies are essentially "footage", not films or stories, and while they may provide some thrills, they never offer the same enriching experience that a regular film can. Cloverfield attempted to insert a romantic subplot in and perhaps elevate above mere "footage" status - it ended up compromising the authenticity of the film for me as those type of events strictly only happen in the "movies". It's a real Catch-22. The one exception for me would be [Rec]; I thought it was an exceptional film, both frightening and engaging, even if it suffered from the same problem to a degree.

Good point about these type of films being devoid of a strong narrative. The problem is as soon as you start developing a complex narrative trajectory the techniques of cinema become crucial to achieving the realisation of the premise. These films cannot concede to all the formal techniques by the very nature of their pseudo documentary form, and as a result the narrative has to be thin and basic.

I usually welcome this type of film making. I've said this about J-Horror "ghost children films" too, and before long a grew sick of the tired old themes. Go figure. I really did enjoy PA and REC was no different. At the same time, I always feel that something is missing from these films, but that's not so say that this genre is doomed to never develop a solid story line either. But that's exactly what is missing. Sure, sometimes you do start to feel a bond with the characters, but sometimes a well thought out story line can be just as creepy as a shaky camera and one jump scare after another.