[REC]

[Jim H]

I just saw [REC]. 

For those who don't know, [REC] is what the American horror film Quarantine is a remake of.  Both films (from what I gather, they're VERY VERY similar) are about a reporter lady who is doing a piece on the daily lives of fire fighters, and ends up stuck in a building where people are infected with something that makes them extremely violent - and of course, they're contagious.

The whole film takes place from the viewpoint of the camera the woman's cameraman is holding.  Unlike Cloverfield, however, this doesn't stretch believability too badly.  She is a reporter, and has good reason to record what is going on.  Towards the beginning of the third act is the only time I found it hard to believe, and the last sequence there's a VERY good reason they're using the camera. 

Overall, the film does a good job of startling and shocking the viewer with its outbursts of horror and violence (one boo scare in this might be the best I've seen).  The climax of the film in particular is stellar, one of the most effectively chilling and frightening moments in film I've ever seen. 

My only complaint is the middle half hour drags on just a little too long.  Which is kind of funny, as the movie minus credits is a mere 70 minutes.  Still, these scenes are buoyed by good performances and believable characters. 

Overall, an 8/10.

[Caronte]

Amazing movie, as you say is the movie in wich "quarantine" ( ) is based. At least one spanish movie to be proud of   Action, horror and a good story.

PS: In a few weeks the premiere of REC 2 will be here in Spain. In Venice movie fest had good critics

[Neville]

More than the scares, I liked a lot the game the directors kept playing, opposing the rules of survival horror to the ones of reality TV. The prologue at the fireman station, for instance, where absolutely nothing happens, is fascinating in its uselessness. Or the scene where the cop is forced to shoot the first infected. His genuinely realistic reaction adds to an otherwise standard zombie movie moment.

This said, the film has a few great horror moments. That bit where the camera furtively shoots the medical unit while they analise the blood of the infected is great.

The sequel, "[REC] 2", has already been screened in Venice to positive reaction. It opens here in Spain in October. Here's the teaser trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqBecMu2q5s

[3mnkids]

I loved this movie. Quarantine is almost a shot for shot of this and it still failed to pull off the creepiness and the, for me anyway, sense of claustrophobia that REC had.

[zombie no.one]

saw [REC] a few months back. didn't really think it was all that. reminded me of blair witch project, pretty contrived stuff IMO

[BeyondTheGrave]

I liked Rec much more than Quarantine for the simply fact that their all the extra scenes that are in Quarantine change the film in different direction like the whole "Rabies" theory in Quarantine.

[Jim H]

I liked Rec much more than Quarantine for the simply fact that their all the extra scenes that are in Quarantine change the film in different direction like the whole "Rabies" theory in Quarantine.

HUGE HUGE HUGE SPOILERS FOR REC AND REC 2!
****


It looks like in [REC]2 they're going with the demonic theory.  That is, the zombies are in fact possessed by demons, who spread the possession through biting.  It's different at least.  Well, sort of, it's a lot like Demons.



***

[InformationGeek]

REC was kind of a genius idea of showing everything through the view of a camera like The Blair Witch Project or Diary of the Dead.  However, I'm not really into the film at all and the same thing goes for that remake they did.  I am a little surprise that they are doing a REC 2 though.  I don't think there is anything that would warrant a sequel, but I am not in the movie business.

[Neville]

It was a sleeper hit here in Spain, and that's enough. They interview the directors in this month's issue of my favourite movie magazine, and at some point the interviewer mentions [REC] 2 is the first Spanish horror sequel in 10 years. Last one was some film starring Paul Naschy.

[Justin]

I really enjoyed this one, those last 10-15 minutes are the creepiest I've seen in quite sometime.
I never bothered with pointless QUARENTINE remake. 

[Monster Jungle X-Ray]

[REC] is far superior in all aspects to Quarantine, especially the effects in the final sequence. For those who had not caught the original first, Quarantine suffered from some horrible advertising that gave away the end of the movie in both the trailer, and on the box art. I had already seen [REC] some months earlier to the release of Quarantine, and knew what to expect, but whoever put the advertising together blew it.

[Torgo]

Love this movie! I'm so glad that it FINALLY got a region  one DVD release though I was a bit ticked that a lot of the extras on the 2 disc Spanish DVD weren't ported over. I'm looking forward to the sequel. Oh yeah,  Quaratine was complete crap in comparison.

[wickednick]

I like them both the american version a little better. There both almost identical movies so I can't say much bad about either of them. This was also one of the few movies that used the hand held camera style of film making very well in fact is probably the best example of it.

[Neville]

Saw [REC 2] last weekend, and thought that rather than starting a new thread I could post here.

So, is it better than the original? Nope. The whole "what we're watching here is really happening" vibe is gone, this time the whole thing is far more action packed. The directors have mentioned repeteadely that they were aiming for what "Aliens" was compared to the first "Alien", and in their best scenes they do. The downside to this is that [REC 2] feels much more as a genre movie than its predecesor, and therefore a big deal of the surprise effect is gone. And there's also a big chunk of movie that follows a gang of teenagers who enter the building that's just too silly.

But is it still worth watching? Absolutely, just switch off your brain and enjoy. As I said, the film is much more action packed than the first [REC], and its much more of a rollercoaster ride too. And in the second half the filmmakers manage to succesfully expand some of the subplots of the original, while we get some satisfying answer to to our questions.

I'm told the makers of Quarantine are planning a sequel on their own, without bothering to check this second movie. I'd like to see how that does play out, although it wouldn't surprise me if the ended up "borrowing" stuff from here.