Sent on a reporting assignment to cover the life of the average fire department facility, T.V. personality Angela (Manuela Velasco) is stuck with the mundane details of fireman life. Becoming frustrated with her botched attempts to add some spice into this monotonous story, Angela's fortunes change when a call arrives requesting emergency assistance at an apartment complex. Tagging along with the fire trucks, Angela and her cameraman Pablo head into the building, only to be quickly sealed in by faceless government officials. Now trapped with angry cops, paranoid residents, and an anxious medical professional, Angela and her roving camera discover the true reason for the quarantine...and it's hungry for flesh.

There's something beautiful in the courageous way "Rec" composes scares. The market for reality horror has become saturated, and "Rec" doesn't feature the most original concept to flop around in buckets of blood, but directors Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza challenge the expectations set for this low-budget, high-concept endeavor by weaving together a symphony of scares in increasingly inventive fashion.

I was thrilled watching "Rec" snowball into a seething siren of panic, observing Angela and her camera fight to capture the unfolding drama of the quarantine, hoping for a juicy government injustice tale, only to witness the matter go from curious to life-threatening as the bodies start to pile up with no hope for survival. Shot POV from Pablo's television camera, "Rec" can be a jittery, quaky visual affair with liberal deployment of zooming and a penchant for actors screaming their lines hysterically into the lens. A lesser filmmaker would've abuse this privilege, but Balaguero and Plaza take the first-person format to dizzying new heights.

The editing here is tremendous, hiding the necessary cuts that turn moments of fright into utter madness. Also impressive is the cast, who rarely give the gimmick away, even in a few comedic scenes included to give the viewer a needed rest. As witnessed in the aforementioned "Cloverfield" and "Diary of the Dead," conjuring reality is not an easy accomplishment, yet "Rec" stays within the sight lines of plausibility, at least in terms of acting.

The rest of the film? Dear lord, I hope it remains fiction.

I don't want to give too much away when it comes to the finer points of "Rec" (sure to be thoroughly pantsed in the goofy-looking American remake "Quarantine," coming this fall), so I'll just write simply that Angela has to battle her way through a living nightmare of body-hurling, throat-munching, night-vision horrors, with plenty of surprises leaping feverishly around the frame for good measure. I wasn't tickled with the film's climatic stab at establishing some iffy logic to the proceedings, but it's an easily forgiven blunder in a movie this brilliantly executed and insistently frightening.

The concept couldn’t be more straightforward: Angela is a bubbly TV reporter shooting a documentary series on the late-night lives of firemen. Answering a routine rescue call to an apartment building, the crew find themselves in a world of shit when the would-be victim takes a meaty bite out of her rescuers. With cameras rolling, the crew and residents must find a way to survive the zombie outbreak when they find themselves quarantined inside the building by the trigger-happy military.

[REC] is directed by Filmax regulars Jaume (Darkness) Balageuro and Paco (Romasanta) Plaza, which automatically raised a few red flags. Both have produced visually stunning but utterly vapid movies that left me close to clawing my eyes out from boredom, and for the first act of this film, I wasn’t entirely won over. But by the time the end credits rolled, I found myself white-knuckled and gripping my seat from pure exhaustion. This is the kind of movie that is perfectly suited to the talents of these two filmmakers. [REC] isn’t so much a story as it is a ride, and what it lacks in substance, it more than makes up for in pure dripping style.

Balageuro and Plaza take their time to build the atmosphere around their location, then completely explode into a frenzied rollercoaster. Simply put, this experience feels like being trapped in a haunted maze, and there are images here that are the stuff of nightmares. It’s simple-minded, sure, but just when you’re ready to dismiss this one as another unoriginal zombie entry, the directors open the gates and unleash a whirlwind of chaos, claustrophobia, and jump-from-your-chair "Holy fuck!" moments. Natural performances and a lack of music only add to the realism that comes across even with lavish production values.

The final few minutes of this film are terrifying beyond words, leaving the viewer with no answered questions or quaint resolutions. Short and sweet, [REC] delivers a perfect fast-paced ride that will score big with horror fans everywhere despite its familiar elements. Just be sure to see it before the Hollywood-butchered remake.

REVIEW: When the atrociously boring "The Blair Witch Project" became a success it spawned several rip-offs as well as kicked off the whole reality-tv horror subgenre. Now, for whatever reason, this trend is back, but this time, it's back with a vengeance. The movies are more action-filled, more realistic and have severely better scripts, and REC is no exception. I'm not sure why so many people dislike Jaume Balagueró as I've always been a big fan of his. Los Sin Nombre was brilliant, Darkness was really good, Fragile was... errr... it was okay but his best work so far was his TV-flick "To Let", and while not even "REC" can beat that movie, it's obvious that Jaume Balagueró has stepped up his game again and is ready to scare the hell out of audiences all over the world.

Just like in "To Let", REC takes place in an apartment building where horror ensues. This time the entire thing is filmed with a hand-held camera to give it a more realistic look and it really works. Together with Paco Plaza he has created a memorable and original zombie movie that you won't forget easily. It doesn't come without its flaws and it's not as terrifying as some people have made it out to be but REC is overall a great zombie flick but I'm just getting started here so let's break the movie down shall we?

REC starts out fairly dull without any opening credits or anything, it didn't really peek my interest at all but since I've seen many Balagueró films before, I knew that it was bound to get better. Well it did get better but after half an hour I still wasn't convinced. So far it had only been a rather mediocre ride and it wasn't all that entertaining. I now realize that it was meant to be this way so that it would feel more realistic because life is overall fairly uneventful. After the first half of the movie was over, things started to happen, and they happened fast. I soon found myself on a wild rollercoaster as everything that REC lacked in the first half, came back threefold in the second half. There's not a moment of calmness, it doesn't let up until the end credits start to roll.

But let's talk about what happens right before the end credits appear on the screen. The final five minutes of this movie are clearly the best and is probably the entire reason as to why I ended up liking this movie so much. Up until that point I only thought that it was a mildly entertaining movie, but those final five minutes will go to history. I can assure you that. No, they didn't scare the hell out of me, I jumped once, but they sure were intense minutes. Jaume and Pazo obviously make a great team and I will definitely recommend this movie to all horror fans out there. It's the most original zombie flick that I've had the pleasure of viewing in years. It's not quite as good as people make it out to be but it's still an entertaining ride and I strongly recommend it.

GORE: Not a lot of gore, some gory wounds, some blood splatter and very little more. Could have used more gore.

SOUNDTRACK: Nothing.

BOTTOM LINE: Highly recommended zombie movie which brings something new to the plate. While not quite as terrifying and shocking as I had heard that it would be, it's still a very entertaining horror flick and it's nice to see that Jaume Balagueró is back in the game after his mediocre thriller "Fragile". Still, it doesn't beat "To Let" though so be sure to watch that as well.

The film turns on a young TV reporter and her cameraman who cover the night shift at the local fire station. Receiving a call from an old lady trapped in her house, they reach her building to hear horrifying screams -- which begin a long nightmare and a uniquely dramatic TV report.

If I could have my way I’d tell you to stop reading this review right now and go see the movie, but unfortunately it probably won’t see the light of day here in the States until after the remake (Quarantine) arrives in theaters next October… (In a perfect world.) What’s really effective about [REC] is the unknown and having no clue what to expect. Originally I thought what I was seeing was just another ghost film, when actually it’s a quasi self-contained zombie movie.

What most movies fail to do is heighten the suspense, action and violence until the very last frame; most drop the ball around the third act – but not [REC]. Once sh-t hits the fan what transpires is non-stop madness. The infected are extremely creepy as they make really odd noises, scream high pitch squeals and run at their victims faster than any previous zombie-esque film. The way suspense is built is nothing new, but it is exceptionally executed. Because everything is first person we get loads of suspense just from that - we see the cameraman having to walk around handcuffed zombies, there’s a segment where the lights go out and he’s forced to use night vision and when things pop out of the shadows to attack it’s almost as if you’re standing right there. In fact, you never even see the cameraman, it’s almost as if he’s you!

As the film escalates the situation goes from under control to loose cannon to complete chaos, ending in what could be one of the scariest moments ever caught on film. My nails were dug deep into the armrest of the seats and I found myself howling in excitement nearly ever few minutes. [REC] has it all and is probably one of the best Spanish horror films in recent memory. There are buckets of blood used, well-developed characters, a wonderful twist, a good solid story and a finale that will ensure you leave the theater in shock. I cannot stress enough that you should see this in a theater if possible (check out BDTV for fan reactions at Sitges). Either way I give [REC] the B-D stamp of approval and smile at the fact that something extraordinary has finally come out of Filmax.

In the film we follow an ambitious young reporter named Angela, who's the host of a late night television program, who along with her cameraman, decide to feature the latest episode on firefighters and what they do when they're on the job. After spending most of the night with the men (watching their usual routine of relaxing and waiting for a call), the siren finally roars, and Angela and her cameraman are off to the scene. On their way to an apartment building, the firemen know little of what they're actually called out for, but once there, they discover that there's no fire, but an old woman is in some sort of distress in one of the upper floors.

Following the firemen, Angela and the rest of the crew are witness to what seems to a bloody and very violent and hysterical old woman. It doesn't take long for them to realize that something's off about some of the tenants in the upper floors and before they can find out what exactly is going on, they're sealed inside the building, with word from authorities on the outside that the building and those inside it are quarantined and not to leave the premises. Now, not only are the survivors stuck in with a group of infectious rage-induced violent psychopaths, but there appears to be no escape. Angela and her cameraman capture all the details, unraveling clues of what's happening along the way.

I've seen a handful of P.O.V. camera-themed films, but this is probably the worst, in terms of keeping the camera clear, well lit, and steady. In fact, there are a lot of scenes that spend a little too long being either too dark or too blurry. Although, I understand that they tried to capture everything as real as possible, I would think that an experienced cameraman would know how to fix a blurry scene in a matter of seconds. I guess I can excuse some of it to being in danger, but it seriously ruins a number of potentially scary scenes. There's also a lot of shaky camera business, but I had a harder time dealing with the blurry or dark ones to even care whether the camera was steady or not. You'll probably often find yourself wondering what you're actually looking at, especially when the action finally kicks in.

That's pretty much my only gripe about the movie. The rest of the film is pretty solid in my book, although it does get a little slow in the halfway point, but that's only to establish the situation and characters, so it's excusable. So what the hell is causing everyone to become like this? Taking cues from 28 Days Later, it's apparently some sort of mutated form of the rabies virus, causing its victims to become filled with rage. The virus can be transmitted with the saliva, so naturally those bitten also become infected, and depending on their blood type, the symptoms can occur in a matter of minutes or a matter of hours.

Like I said before, the film had a chance to offer a series of potentially scary scenes, but thanks to the lack of lighting and blurry camerawork, we're left with only a lot of yelling and screaming. However, the ending is probably one of the scariest moments in the movie, and we're luckily given a somewhat clear shot of what's happening. The film couldn't have ended any better, in my opinion. The US remake was greenlit shortly after the original started to get publicity, so expect to catch that in October of this year. I'm sure it'll offer scenes that'll be easier to see, so I'm not entirely opposed of the remake, but whether it'll actually be scary or not remains to be seen.

OVERALL
Although the movie is good, many of its scenes suffer from being either too dark, out of focus, or just damn shaky, so a lot of potentially scary scenes are lost. Even though this is one of the worst P.O.V. films I've seen in terms of giving the audience a clear view of what's happening, it's still remains as one of the best in the sub-genre. So, if you can sit through all that mess, you'll be given an entertaining watch, with a somewhat chilling climax. Check this one out whenever you get a chance.

REVIEW
When the atrociously boring "The Blair Witch Project" became a success it spawned several rip-offs as well as kicked off the whole reality-tv horror subgenre. Now, for whatever reason, this trend is back, but this time, it's back with a vengeance. The movies are more action-filled, more realistic and have severely better scripts, and REC is no exception. I'm not sure why so many people dislike Jaume Balagueró as I've always been a big fan of his. Los Sin Nombre was brilliant, Darkness was really good, Fragile was... errr... it was okay but his best work so far was his TV-flick "To Let", and while not even "REC" can beat that movie, it's obvious that Jaume Balagueró has stepped up his game again and is ready to scare the hell out of audiences all over the world.

Just like in "To Let", REC takes place in an apartment building where horror ensues. This time the entire thing is filmed with a hand-held camera to give it a more realistic look and it really works. Together with Paco Plaza he has created a memorable and original zombie movie that you won't forget easily. It doesn't come without its flaws and it's not as terrifying as some people have made it out to be but REC is overall a great zombie flick but I'm just getting started here so let's break the movie down shall we?

REC starts out fairly dull without any opening credits or anything, it didn't really peek my interest at all but since I've seen many Balagueró films before, I knew that it was bound to get better. Well it did get better but after half an hour I still wasn't convinced. So far it had only been a rather mediocre ride and it wasn't all that entertaining. I now realize that it was meant to be this way so that it would feel more realistic because life is overall fairly uneventful. After the first half of the movie was over, things started to happen, and they happened fast. I soon found myself on a wild rollercoaster as everything that REC lacked in the first half, came back threefold in the second half. There's not a moment of calmness, it doesn't let up until the end credits start to roll.

But let's talk about what happens right before the end credits appear on the screen. The final five minutes of this movie are clearly the best and is probably the entire reason as to why I ended up liking this movie so much. Up until that point I only thought that it was a mildly entertaining movie, but those final five minutes will go to history. I can assure you that. No, they didn't scare the hell out of me, I jumped once, but they sure were intense minutes. Jaume and Pazo obviously make a great team and I will definitely recommend this movie to all horror fans out there. It's the most original zombie flick that I've had the pleasure of viewing in years. It's not quite as good as people make it out to be but it's still an entertaining ride and I strongly recommend it.

GORE
Not a lot of gore, some gory wounds, some blood splatter and very little more. Could have used more gore.

SOUNDTRACK
Nothing.

BOTTOM LINE
Highly recommended zombie movie which brings something new to the plate. While not quite as terrifying and shocking as I had heard that it would be, it's still a very entertaining horror flick and it's nice to see that Jaume Balagueró is back in the game after his mediocre thriller "Fragile". Still, it doesn't beat "To Let" though so be sure to watch that as well.