[REC] - Zombie Film Review

Rec is the film that the American made Quarantine was based on.  The film was made in Spain, and so is in Spanish with English subtitles.

The plot, and what happens is identical to Quarantine, so for more details look at that review.  Basically a reporter and her cameraman enter a apartment building on the trail of a Fire crew they are following.  Some sort of highly contagious virus is loose in the building, and as a result the building is sealed off by the military.

The whole film is shot Blair Witch style from the perspective of the cameraman.  The film is only 74 minutes long, so runs at a far quicker pace than the sometimes stretched out Quarantine.  Many times the camera cuts out and comes back at a different point, as such it does not feel as much real time as Quarantine which never cut out at all (as far as I can remember).  The effects are obviously not as good, being a film with a much smaller budget, but they are effective regardless.  The zombies (well, infected people) look great, especially the zombie child.

Quarantine is the more exciting film to watch due to quite a lot of stuff added.  There are no lifts full of dogs, or crazed rats in this film, or death via camera, but the films shortness really ramps up the horror.  It was interesting that the cause of the virus was different in this film which was cool.  The acting seemed good (hard to tell being in Spanish) and the main character of the reporter was again very effectively played.

I plan to go to Milton Keynes tomorrow to watch Rec 2 that has just come out.  Apparently that film starts 5 minutes after the end of this one.  No doubt the fate of the apartment dwellers will be revealed.  Cannot wait! (provided I can afford to drive to MK)

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