[Rec] (2007)

November 2, 2014 4:03 PM

[REC] was made in 2007 by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, and stars Manuela Velasco, Ferrán Terraza, Jorge-Yaman Serrano, Pablo Rosso, David Vert, Vicente Gil and Martha Carbonell.
posted by tel3path (13 comments total)

Pros: Pretty effective and convincingly atmospheric. I haven't watched the last 10 minutes yet cuz it's too uncomfortable.

Cons: bog standard adrenalin shocker. plot holes like: the first two victims take ages to show symptoms, the little girl only shows symptoms after she's questioned and then everyone else goes berserk fairly instantly. Everyone being annoying from the start: blaming each other, standing talking for half an hour next to a gate behind which a recently bitten victim is locked (chomp chomp motherfucker).

Making as much noise as possible while trying to be stealthy: what's happening Álex? Shh! what's happening Álex? Shh! what's happening Álex? Shh! what's happening Álex? Shh! I know a song that'll get on your nerves, get on your nerves, get on your nerves...

Especially towards the end, it's realistic enough given how adrenalized they are, but still. Also, that room was not sealed off remotely effectively if you can open the trapdoor just by brushing against the chain.

Isn't a penthouse usually windowed? Oh well.

I will watch the ending tomorrow but eh, I guess the night reclaimed Buffy.

Also, if patient zero was a dog, the infection will be all over the city by now. Gee, I wonder what the sequels will be about.
posted by tel3path at 5:06 PM on November 2, 2014

This was the movie I watched with my new husband our honeymoon weekend in a posh hotel. I remember it as being really good, actually.
posted by Kitteh at 6:25 AM on November 3, 2014

I think it is, I'm just morose and cynical. It's said to be one of the best films of its type, and I can believe that.

Nearly all the actors are very convincing in it, and the atmosphere is very convincing too.
posted by tel3path at 10:38 AM on November 3, 2014

I think the last 10 minutes offers some possible explanations for some of the behavior of the infected. I won't specify since tel3path hasn't finished it yet.

I was studying Spanish when I watched this movie, and that added an extra layer of enjoyment for me. Due to the documentary style, they would constantly say what they were doing, so it was easy to follow the dialogue in Spanish. "We are now at a firehouse. Here are the firemen. I'm trying on the fireman equipment. Soy un bombero!" Great stuff.

I had mixed feelings about the finale but I thought it was great to see a different twist on the regular old zombie/infected movie.
posted by isthmus at 11:23 AM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

Another potentially great horror movie that failed the stick the landing. It must be hard to have a movie that is based upon, and works so well, on multiple layers of disorientation - you have the rapidly escalating chaos going on inside the building and then the equally chaotic unknown going on outside the building. The creators must have thought they had to answer all the questions and so grafted on that conceptually and tonally completely different ending. I don't know why they thought they needed to do that. An explanation wasn't necessary.
posted by rtimmel at 2:57 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

IDK? Their mission was to record everything, only to discover that they weren't the first people to leave findable footage. (Though the first person apparently got away and was in full control of the situation.)

I actually thought the situation looked different when presumed Patient Zero appeared. She looked like a terribly oppressed human who had been held in an oubliette for years. She moved around with purpose and intent, not like the others.

Still though... nothing unexpected about the ending. You get further and further in while saying "we're going to get out"... sigh.
posted by tel3path at 3:21 PM on November 3, 2014

I think the ending explains why the government knew about the threat, given the tight ties between the Church and the Francoist era government.
posted by Pope Guilty at 3:29 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

Right but the image is so heavily Catholic, it says "establishment" whether or not you know about the Francoist era.

And the tape recording makes it clear the guy had extensive resources and a level of control over the situation that wouldn't have been possible if he'd been even some Mulder type.

The boy in the attic wasn't the boy from the Japanese family? He was someone completely new? So the penthouse must have been opened at least once since then. And Guillem had the key, and the guy "in charge" of the situation was really In Charge, Guillem being the custodian of more than just the building. The threat originated from inside the building? A rodent got out and bit the dog?

There's something impressive about their complete commitment to filming it ALL even in the most severe and frightening circumstances. But if the girl is an observer and not an influencer of the action she'll not be leading an Undead Rehabilitation Revolution any time soon.
posted by tel3path at 3:42 PM on November 3, 2014

The thing in the attic is the Portuguese girl from the clippings, the Medeiros girl.
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:35 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

There was also a little boy.
posted by tel3path at 11:24 PM on November 3, 2014

Ah of course, the monster was moving around purposefully because she was looking for the keys.
posted by tel3path at 12:19 AM on November 4, 2014

Though this was a superior film of it's type when I watched it.

Would have enjoyed it even better if I hadn't seen the trailer for the US remake which manages to spoiler the original (It even includes the final shot!)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:57 AM on November 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Perfect scary film, a fast-paced 78 minutes and stays centered in my favorite part of zombie apocalypse narratives, where the world hasn't been taken over yet and people are still figuring out what the heck is going on.
posted by iamkimiam at 3:01 PM on October 24, 2020