Customer Reviews

[Rec]

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I am going to assume that, if you are reading this, you already know that this movie is the original predecessor to the recent American film Quarantine. As of this writing, I have not seen that film, so I cannot fully compare the two. However, I will note that it seems the only positive reviews of the American adaptation came from those who did not view this movie first.

That being said, if you have seen and enjoyed Quarantine, I will wager that you will like this this movie. In fact, I consider this to be one of a very few "Must See" horror movies from the past 10 years.

The story is simple, and has been relayed in countless other reviews here, so I will keep the synopsis short:

A TV show hostess visits a local firehouse for an evening to see what a fireman's life is like, and upon finding that it can be boring, wishes there were some sort of call to go on. Soon enough, she gets her wish, as the firemen are called to an apartment building to rescue an old woman, something the firemen view as a routine call. However, upon arriving at the building, the group finds that things are not as routine as they expected, and they are quickly sealed in until further notice due to a possible outbreak of disease, with all contact to the outside world severed. As tensions rise among the tenants, the hostess and camera man set about documenting what they feel "the public needs to know." What they find is more horrific than they could ever imagine...

And now for my opinion:

The scares in this movie are not your typical "jumpers," meaning that they do not come from cheap musical effects while someone comes around a corner. No, the real scares here come from the dark, claustrophobic, hallways of the building and the noises coming from off camera. In short, the atmosphere of the film creates an edge-of-your-seat type of tension that slowly builds until something shocking pushes it over the top; where it begins all over again. In fact, even the things that I knew were about to happen still managed to scare me; something that is very rare these days.

The movie also doesn't resort to cheap gore effects to frighten the viewer. Now don't get me wrong, I like the red stuff just as much as the next guy, but it seems too many movies these days are just laying it on to get a reaction. This doesn't mean that there is no blood in this film. In fact, there is quite a bit of blood, but none of it is spilled without any reason or effect. The same can be said for the "monsters" in the film. For most of the time, they are kept just off camera (though you can hear their odd noises in the background all along), but when they reveal themselves you certainly get the effect that the filmmakers intended. And while I'm on the subject, the "monsters" are not zombies, as people have taken to calling them; they are people who have been infected by something that is not clearly revealed (though it is hinted at during the final climax).

The less-is-more approach used in this movie was perfect because, luckily, the directors kept the running time on the short side at a lean 73 minutes or so. This means that the movie avoids the dragging feeling that most others of it's type wind up producing (Blair Witch anyone?). Granted, the first 20 minutes or so (when the hostess is at the firehouse) are a little slow, but during that time you are basically getting to know the characters who will become your main focus, and this helps make what happens to them later all the more unpleasant. That being said, you must also keep in mind that once they get to the apartment building, the pace picks up greatly and the scares remain constant up through the last 10 minutes or so, where the situation explodes into a veritable frenzy of scares and suspense. In fact, these 10 minutes are the perfect culmination to the build-ups before them. Think of it as a roller coaster where they save the giant hill for last...

In short, I think that all horror fans should really take a chance and watch this movie. Additionally, I would strongly advise against viewing the remake beforehand as I have the feeling that it may ruin the suspense since you will know everything that is in store and I've heard that it is much less atmospheric.

Well, well, well; so after taking the remake rights, remaking the film for illiterate American consumption, retitling it Quarantine, milking the built in horror box office numbers, and releasing the DVD they are finally releasing the real film now that all of the money to be made off of this one has been snapped up by the major studios. Refusing to release a film in the USA until they can remake it and scrape up every last penny to be made just to deny the original creators their fair share of the profits for their work is vile, people. I hope you were smart enough to leave Quarantine alone and wait for the real thing. This is why hardcore film fans own region-free players. Don't settle for a copy of a copy of a copy or that is what we will continue to get. Support the original works so they can get the theatrical runs and treatment they deserve some day. Subtitles will not scorch your precious little eyeballs, foreign languages will not harm your ears, and watching a non-American cast should not upset you that much. A great film is a great film and it shouldn't have to be re-shot, dumbed-down and rendered creatively bankrupt for you to enjoy it.

Oh, right; I was going to review the movie. Sorry about that.
"REC" is a Spanish horror film that follows the trend of films like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project by having the entire story told through the lens of a constantly-filming camera and throws in some of 28 Days Later's mad intensity to create a film that is annoyingly familiar in execution, but still a must-see. The execution here is fantastic and the end result is as frightening as any of the films mentioned above.

In "REC", a young, beautiful reporter hosting a late night show is doing a story about firefighters working the graveyard shift entitled "While You're Asleep". After a meet-and-greet and a few fluff segments our heroine Angela and her cameraman, Pablo, follow the firefighters on a routine call. They end up inside of an apartment building where a call was placed about a disturbance. They head upstairs to check it out and see an old woman standing motionless in the dark, her clothes bloodied. This sort of thing seldom ends well. After some doings transpire, the residents, firefighters, policemen, and reporter duo find that the building has been sealed off and is surrounded by police threatening deadly force. BNC (Biological, Nuclear, and Chemical) protocol is in effect on the entire building and nobody is getting out. Nobody seems to know what's going on. Then the killing starts.

"REC" is unoriginal on several levels; essentially a hodgepodge of concepts and techniques that have come before, but it is damned effective because it only steals the best. If you didn't like the style of "Cloverfield" or Diary of the Dead then you are unlikely to enjoy this either. In fact, the camera might be even shakier on this one. You'd think with a supposed pro handling the camera, the picture would be more stable. While there is nothing approaching the deep, dark, cutting social statements of Romero's work, there is a little bit to chew on. While interviewing residents, Angela finds one man matter-of-factly rambling about his "Chinese" neighbors (they're Japanese) and their disgusting eating habits while essentially implying that they must be the root cause of the rumored infection. This is so very true to life it almost hurts. Blaming the foreigners never gets old no matter what country you live in. A very nice touch. As the story unfolds and the characters start to unravel, the pace of the film picks up substantially. The result is several minutes of pure chaos. The mystery infection can take minutes, hours, or days to manifest symptoms, making everybody in the building a liability. Talk about tension.

While the pacing is a bit slow at times, there are some amazing scenes. Before I saw "REC", there had been only a few children in cinema history that truly frightened me. Add another to that list. Jaw-dropping performance. The final act is a masterpiece of suspense and intensity. With the power cut and the police outside practically waiting for everyone inside to die, Pablo and Angela -with their camera as the only available light in the building (genius)- attempt to escape upstairs, hoping to find an attic leading outside. What they find is a supposedly abandoned room that contains the answers to the story's mysteries and one of the most terrifying apparitions ever seen in a horror film. There are some amazing shots, genuine scares, violence with a little gore, and plenty of screams along the way. My God, are there screams. I have to say that in spite of the fact that much of this had been done in previous films, I wanted more of "REC" and am looking forward to the sequel. Not the inevitable remake sequel. The film is a short hour and fifteen minutes and the ending was annoyingly abrupt and ended with lame music, but hey nobody's perfect.

Either you enjoy these kinds of films or you do not. For fans of the emerging shaky-cam horror genre, this is for you. If you're not a fan, either skip it or take some dramamine beforehand; this one's not for the faint-hearted. A lesson in low-budget intensity is this movie. It is unexceptional considering what has come before, but it is executed well enough to make it well worth a watch. Consider "REC" a rec.

Additional message from the soapbox, incoming...

Let's face it, people: foreign horror is kicking our tails. It has been for a decade at least. If we want America's sleeping horror giant to wake up again, we've got to stop supporting the sub-par recycled garbage that is piling on top of it. That means saving your cash for the films that deserve it -independent, controversial, hardcore, R-rated, uncompromising HORROR- and forsaking all others. No Tara Reids or Paris Hiltons, no PG-13s, no Paul Andersons or Michael Bays, and no more God-cursed remakes. Take the money for that ticket and again I implore you to go buy a DVD of the original works instead. It'll make you a real American hero.

Forever hunting for a good horror flick, I was very pleased with this one.

To show my appreciation for having been able to watch a streaming copy online, I would be more than happy to order the DVD this instant, if only there was a region one release available.

I found the movie visually appealing, and the story kept me interested throughout. Really good movie; I gave it five stars.

I never heard about [REC] until early last year when someone on a message board for 28 Days Later suggested it. I watched it a few days later, and recommended it to all of my friends who, like me, were getting bored of horror movies doing the same things these days. That's not to make [REC] sound like it's something completely original, but it certainly was a breath of fresh air in this era of torture movies like Saw, Hostel and many others. This movie does everything right, and really is one of the best 'found footage' movies I've ever seen. If you're one of the people who were disappointed with The Blair Witch Project for not showing you much to be afraid of, [REC] might be more up your alley, because it sure as heck doesn't hold back. Just keep in mind that this movie is originally in Spanish, something that a lot of reviewers apparently take personally. Reading a movie?! Preposterous! Oh the memories of working in a movie store are coming back to me...

Angela is the hostess for a show called While You're Asleep, which covers various jobs and events that take place while the people of Barcelona are sleeping. She, with her cameraman Pablo, are covering a local fire station, and things aren't very exciting. They trudge around showing the firemen doing incredible things like eating dinner, sleeping and showing off their suits. Suddenly they get an emergency call for a woman trapped in her apartment and they take off. Angela and Pablo go along with them to the building, and the few residents that live there are all waiting in the hallway. It's in the early AM hours, so tension is a bit high, especially when police have the area surrounded for some odd reason. Angela and Pablo follow a few men to the trapped woman's room, and it's obvious that something's wrong. She attacks and bites one of them, and everyone else rushes out. Things take a huge turn for the worse when the building is sealed and no one's letting the residents know what's going on. Even the special agent who's supposed to give orders is left in the dark for the most part. A virus is spreading, and in such a confined area, with limited lights and no way out...things don't look very good for our reporter.

A lot happens as soon as Angela and Pablo enter the apartment, and the movie moves at such a fast pace that you can't believe it's over when it is. There were no boring parts, all of the actors were genuine in their delivery and expressions, and the infection plot, while definitely overused now, is at least a little more interesting than every other zombie movie or game that comes out on a monthly basis. Since the movie's all filmed on Pablo's camera, you're put right into the situation, stuck with him and Angela as they try to find safety in the slim apartment building. None of his shots are pointless, and there's always something happening that he's capturing on film, moving the story along at the perfect pace. It also helps to have Manuela Velasco, who's very easy on the eyes, in nearly every shot. The characters never really make any stupid moves and react realistically, and I had a lot of sympathy for everyone here, which is rare. There's no self-centered jerk who you want to get killed off, no annoying would-be leader who makes poor decisions, none of the usual stereotypes in horror movies. Kills are relatively quick but still gruesome to see with little CG work. In fact, nearly everything here looks to be done with good ol' makeup. There's nothing bad I can say about the movie except for that I didn't care for the ending. Granted, [REC]2 came out not too long ago, but I would've liked a little more substance to how this one ended.

Yeah, there's still no US blu-ray of this movie, so I'm stuck reviewing the dvd, which isn't bad. In fact, since the movie's shot on small video cameras, it won't look much better on blu-ray anyway. The picture quality is great for what it is, but still hard to say anything bad about given the style. You get some 'errors' in the picture here and there, but they're obviously intentional. The audio's done in an effective 5.1 Surround mix, with screams and howls going on all over the place and audio 'errors' exactly where they should be when something happens to the camera or microphone. The dvd that I watched only had audio in Spanish with optional English subtitles. If you want an English dub, you'll have to wait, or just go with Quarantine (oh come on, it's the SAME MOVIE).

The special features are a bit lacking, but what's here is still nice. You get a great Making Of featurette that covers a lot of ground and answers a lot of questions regarding the story and what was happening with the virus. I loved hearing that the actors didn't get to see a lot of things until the filming began, in order to get real reactions to things. It reminded me of how no one got to see LeatherFace in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre until it came to the actor's death scenes. What better way to get a scared reaction?

[REC] is one of my favorite horror movies by far. I can see why people who loved 28 Days Later love this one as well, and am ashamed of myself for not seeing the sequel yet. If 'reading a movie' bothers you, then you can watch Quarantine and essentially get the same thing out of it. And if you're sick of movies that do nothing but try to show off cool ways of killing people, you will more than likely like this little beauty here.

After viewing and enjoying Quarantine, I learned that it was a remake of a Spanish language film called Rec (as in "record"). First things first. If you see Quarantine first, you'll realize how it's a near copycat of the original. There are a few differences: some characters are added while some are deleted entirely, the causes behind the "infection" share nothing in common, and of course the differences in language and location. Everything else is almost identical, right down to the set and more than a few of the shots. Rec improves on parts of it's American counterpart, most of all a scene that shocked the actors because they had no idea it was coming. Their genuine horror makes Quarantine's characters response border on the unfazed. Another amazing fact is that only a few of the actors in the film are "legit". Most of the performers had never acted before, but you'd never guess it since they're so believable. Another improvement over Quarantine is the reveal of the final character. A creature really. It's not CGI although it looks like it. Perfect! I can't say which film is the best because both have what the other lacks imo. I suggest giving both a try to come to your own conclusion. You're guaranteed entertainment.

If you don't own a region-free DVD, do what I did and get one here at Amazon thru it's various marketers. I got a JVC that is both region free and converts PAL to NTSC - and it was cheap. That said, this is the type of film that made my purchase of a region-free player, worthwhile. With the pending release of the american "version" of this film (and those who prefer the asian version of Grudge, The Eye...etc know what I mean)I was not overly hopeful this would come to us in our local version. So I bought the import and have been VERY happy with the film. just think 28 DAYS.........after drinking a whole case of RedBull.

Unfortunately Hollywood is caught up in remakes and "reimaginings." This is the movie remade as Quarantine in the US. If you're unafraid of sub- titles you'll love this movie (unsure as to whether the DVD will be dubbed) If you liked 28 Days/weeks and Dawn 2004 you should love this movie. The flipside is that if you have already seen Quarantine you may find this movie repetitive (a sad irony considering this is the original) Rec 2 is on the way, I guess I'll have to "find" that one online first since they seem unwilling to release a DVD in a timely manner.

"REC" is a Spanish horror film that follows the trend of films like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project by having the entire story told through the lens of a constantly-filming camera and throws in some of 28 Days Later's mad intensity to create a film that is annoyingly familiar in execution, but still a must-see. In less than a year, Hollywood has managed to bang out a remake titled Quarantine. What a disgrace. A copy of a copy of a copy. As usual, the reasons the film had to be remade for American audiences are twofold: most Americans are believed to be functionally illiterate and will therefore flee from the sight or even thought of subtitles, or they are bigots who will not pay to see a movie that isn't packed with pasty skin, blonde hair, and familiar overpaid faces. Do me a favor, America: PROVE THEM WRONG! Do not pay your hard-earned cash to see these useless, unimaginative, and inferior remakes; buy the real deal even if it means getting a region-free DVD player. Support true original horror regardless of nationality and quarantine crummy remakes.

Oh, right; I had a movie review going on here. Sorry about that. In "REC", a young, beautiful reporter hosting a late night show is doing a story about firefighters working the graveyard shift entitled "While You're Asleep". After a meet-and-greet and a few fluff segments our heroine Angela and her cameraman, Pablo, follow the firefighters on a routine call. They end up inside of an apartment building where a call was placed about a disturbance. They head upstairs to check it out and see an old woman standing motionless in the dark, her clothes bloodied. This sort of thing seldom ends well. After some doings transpire, the residents, firefighters, policemen, and reporter duo find that the building has been sealed off and is surrounded by police threatening deadly force. BNC (Biological, Nuclear, and Chemical) protocol is in effect on the entire building and nobody is getting out. Nobody seems to know what's going on. Then the killing starts.

"REC" is unoriginal on several levels; essentially a hodgepodge of concepts and techniques that have come before, but it is damned effective because it only steals the best. If you didn't like the style of "Cloverfield" or Diary of the Dead then you are unlikely to enjoy this either. In fact, the camera might be even shakier on this one. You'd think with a pro handling the camera, the picture would be more stable. While there is nothing approaching the deep, dark, cutting social statements of Romero's work, there is a little bit to chew on. While interviewing residents, Angela finds one man matter-of-factly rambling about his "Chinese" neighbors (they're Japanese) and their disgusting eating habits while essentially implying that they must be the root cause of the rumored infection. This is so very true to life it almost hurts. Blaming the foreigners never gets old no matter what country you live in. A very nice touch. As the story unfolds and the characters start to unravel, the pace of the film picks up substantially. The result is several minutes of pure chaos. The mystery infection can take minutes, hours, or days to manifest symptoms, making everybody in the building a liability. Talk about tension.

While the pacing is a bit slow at times, there are some amazing scenes. Before I saw "REC", there had been only three children in cinema history that truly frightened me; The Exorcist, Pet Sematary and Night of the Living Dead. Add another to that list. Jaw-dropping performance. The final act is a masterpiece of suspense and intensity. With the power cut and the police outside practically waiting for everyone inside to die, Pablo and Angela -with their camera as the only available light in the building (genius)- attempt to escape upstairs, hoping to find an attic leading outside. What they find is a supposedly abandoned room that contains the answers to the story's mysteries and one of the most terrifying apparitions ever seen in a horror film. There are some amazing shots, genuine scares, violence with a little gore, and plenty of screams along the way. My God, are there screams. I have to say that in spite of the fact that much of this had been done in previous films, I wanted more of "REC". The film is a short hour and fifteen minutes and the ending was annoyingly abrupt and ended with lame music.

Either you enjoy these kinds of films or you do not. For fans of the emerging shaky-cam horror genre, this is for you. If you're not a fan, either skip it or take some dramamine beforehand; this one's not for the faint-hearted. A lesson in low-budget intensity in this movie. It is unexceptional considering what has come before, but it is executed well enough to make it well worth a watch. Consider "REC" a rec.

Message from the soapbox, incoming...

Let's face it, people: foreign horror is kicking our tails. It has been for a decade at least. If we want America's sleeping horror giant to wake up again, we've got to stop supporting the sub-par recycled garbage that is piling on top of it. That means saving your cash for the films that deserve it -independent, controversial, hardcore, R-rated, uncompromising HORROR- and forsaking all others. No Tara Reids or Paris Hiltons, no PG-13s, no Paul Andersons or Michael Bays, and no more God-cursed remakes. Take the money for that ticket and go buy a DVD of the original works instead. It'll make you a real American hero.

Rec is a gem in low budget horror flicks. Now, after reading several other reviews and how many people complained about the main characters incessant screaming throughout the film, I can only imagine that they must have watched it overdubbed in English. Being a native Spanish speaker, I was able to watch this film the way it was meant to. With that said, I can't explain how great the acting is. I don't want to spoil anything but when the events play out in that building, I felt the terror all those characters felt. Also, many people will complain about the way the camera shakes, as the entire film is shot through the first person perspective. It will be jumpy, but not as much as REC2 or even Cloverfield. But having played first person shooters my entire life I have no problems with watching a film shot this way. With a running time of an hour and fourteen minutes or so, it's really not much to endure.
Lately, I've been turning towards other countries to get my horror on and this was truly a nice catch. I haven't seen Quarantine, which was an American remake to REC but whether or not you speak Spanish, this is a great film to watch, IN SPANISH. So take lessons, date a foreigner, whatever. Just try and watch this film the way it was meant to be told and you will be rewarded. Even if you don't speak Spanish, just pretend you're watching an extended Youtube video about something bad that happened in Spain.

So Quarantine is not an original film huh? It's a redo or REC. I guess i shouldn't have been shocked, oh well. I watched this and felt like I was watching Quaratine but in Spanish. Yeesh, if your going to redo a film from another country, at least make it a little different no? Rec was good and the final creature at the end was way cooler looking. I really don't know what else to say. I should just copy what i said about Quarantine and paste on it here. Seems like a lot of movies now are either remakes of films from other places or from the 1970 or 80's.

I don't know when REC 2 came out, but i found copies of it at Toys n Joys. I watched it a few hours ago with my friend. It takes off right from the end of REC. It's good and scary with a surprise return person from REC.