The film follows a small paramilitary unit dispatched the quarantined apartment building of the original film.  In fact, [REC] 2 picks up literally seconds after the end of the original.  The original occupants of the building (as well as the firefighters and news crew of 1) have become contaminated with a rage-inducing virus, reducing them to blood thirsty zombies.

The soldiers are each equipped with cameras on their helmets.  This allows the storytelling to be told not just through the lens of one single camera as before, but up to five.  This certainly allows the plot to be a bit more complex, but the frightening realism of the single camera method is lessened.  Midway through the film, the story turns from the soldiers to a group of three Spanish teenagers who sneak into the building in search of an adventure.  The films quick pace comes to screeching halt for a few minutes here, and never fully recovers (until the explosive and chilling finale that most certainly leaves room for a [REC] 3).

There are flaws, to be sure.  Everyone is moving so quickly in such dark hallways, it’s very difficult to tell who is being eaten by what.  The character development of [REC] is lacking.  There’s a tad too much anti-Catholicism (priests infecting too many children).  But the realism of the filming, the lack of a score, the terrifying zombie creatures, they’re all still wicked effective.  If you can get back the gallons and gallons of blood and violence, you’re in for a pretty good scare that rates above most horror sequels.

3 out of 4 stars

I’m so tired of people bagging on this film because it’s a remake of[rec] since [rec] is a rip off of The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, and every other film that has done gonzo before them.  Let’s just be straight right now, neither of these films are original.

Understandably so, a commenter or two was a little upset that I was putting Quarantine and [REC] in the same regard.  Thanks to a Sheik named Mazoolah, I finally got my hands on a bootlegged copy (it hasn’t been released in the US yet) and watched it last night.

The story follows a reporter Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) and her cameraman Pablo (who never really enters the screen). They tag along behind a team of firefighters in Barcelona for a night, hoping to follow along on an emergency call. They get their wish, the crew is called to an apartment building where the tenants are reporting seriously disturbing behavior by one of the more eccentric neighbors. For unknown reasons, outside authorities quarantine the building, refusing to allow anyone out (even the sick or wounded, or anyone in).

It’s difficult to explain exactly how [REC] (coming to us from Spain) outshines it’s glossy American, bastardized version since many of the scenes are exactly the same dialogue, extremely similar shots, but it there’s no question which one is more skillfully made. It’s fair to say that directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, are masters as suspense. The final 45 minutes are full of thrills, terrifying moments and some incredible acting that make suspending our disbelief easier than finding a piece on CNN about how terrific Obama is. The two directors were joined by Luis Berdejo in writing the script, chock-full of realism that will make you shudder with its intensity.  The entire film is shot gonzo style, as if it really was a story happening to someone who just happened to have a camera.  This will surely be a cult classic as soon as whoever own the American distribution rights decides to release it.

If you’re lucky enough not to have seen Quarantine yet, don’t.  Find someone selling bootlegs of [REC] off eBay.  It’s worth the wait. The trailer below is in Spanish, I couldn’t find one with subtitles, but it’s far better than the one made for English viewers.

3.5 out of 4 stars