[REC]

We have to tape everything, Pablo.

REC is a 2007 horror movie from Spain, a movie which I just recently discovered, slowpoke that I am.  It’s shot in much the same way that Cloverfield or The Blair Witch Project was and, in some areas, is a lot more effective.

The story follows reporter Angela, with her cameraman, Pablo.  They work on a early/late night news show called “While You’re Asleep”.  For their latest show, they’re spending the night with the crew of a local fire house, interviewing them about their job and documenting what the crews do during the night.  Eventually they get a call about a woman trapped inside her apartment building, a pretty ordinary call, which Angela and Pablo follow them along on.  Of course, it turns out to be anything but ordinary and their soon dragged down into a nightmare.

I’ll say no more, in case people haven’t seen it, it’s one of those movies where the subsequent viewings are never as good as the first.

I mentioned before that it’s shot in the same way as Cloverfield.  This movie came out three months before Cloverfield, so one could argue that this movie inspired Cloverfield for some of its ideas and shots, but I’d rather just say that they both took inspiration from Alien.  I told myself I wasn’t going to mention Cloverfield much, but I guess it was inevitable.  It’s a very claustrophobic movie, it draws you in very quickly and lets you share the fear that the characters are all facing.  I found it to be one of the better horror movies to come along in the last few years.

At 1 hour and 15 minutes, it’s a short and satisfying movie and because of the movie’s length, it avoids getting dragged down into monotony.  Just for the record, this movie doesn’t really do anything new.  It’s just that what it aims to do, it does it rather well.  Word from the recent Cannes festival is that Spain is planning on making a sequel, which, if they don’t drag it down like most sequels, should be very cool.  On another note, Hollywood is working on a remake, due out October 17th, called Quarantine.  This is another issue entirely, one of which I’ll talk about soon, but in my mind it’s both unnecessary and unwanted.

If you’re a fan of the horror genre, you’re probably going to want to check this film out.  It’s currently not available in the States, so you’d probably have to get a hold of an imported copy, but in my mind it’s well worth it.