[REC] (2007)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  8 / 10

  [Rec] can be best described in one word: hectic. I've seen this film a few times, I remember the first viewing and I literally couldn't make it the whole way through (I was a young teenager at the time, don't judge). Sure the scare factor has worn off after several viewings but it still remains one of the scariest films I've seen, if not THE scariest. The main reason for that is because of how realistic it is, the whole scenario could actually happen in reality. No supernatural entities, no serial killers running around with a tool...this is infection. Infection is a damn dangerous thing. We follow a TV crew filming a documentary about firefighters for one night, they're called to an apartment block and all hell breaks loose. We have screaming old women, a screaming child, screaming police officers, screaming fire fighters...everybody is screaming in Spanish. The dialogue is hardly coherent and structured, and that's what makes it so realistic. Each character in the apartment complex is introduced through a TV interview which was a good way to utilise the careers of our main characters. Oh yes, and everything is filmed through the reporter's camera so it is a "found footage" horror. Again, it just assists with the realism. The first half is tame, it teases you with some scares...then the biting begins and the infection spreads. BAM! It is relentless. We're running up stairs to avoid death, finding keys to open doors to avoid death (that scene is so tense) and filming in night vision mode whilst remaining silent...to avoid death. This isn't a pleasant film, death is around every corner and I genuinely feel the dread. It's powerful stuff. Oh and the ending scene...so good! My issues are with the camera, it's constantly zooming in and out and it does that annoying thing where it randomly glitches in order to switch scenes. I hate those types of transitions. Also the runtime is so short, I wish we could have a more fleshed out story with some more deathly situations. But this beats the American remake any day.

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