[REC] (18)

Dir: Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, Spain, 2008, 78 minutes

Cast: Manuela Velasco, Ferrán Terraza, Jorge Yamam, Carlos Lasarte

Review by Nick Goundry

The Spaniards offer their own Blair Witch Project in this creepy and tense horror that swaps unseen ghouls for very visible zombies. When late-night television reporter Angela (Velasco) and her unseen cameraman follow a team of Barcelona firefighters on a routine call to a seemingly innocuous apartment-block, events rapidly spiral out of control as a demented old woman viciously attacks an accompanying cop. Before long the lives of everyone in the building are under threat as the place is sealed off by the authorities. The increasing chaos all caught on camera by the stressed-out news team.

[.REC] works best when neither the audience nor the characters know what the hell’s going on, which is the basic set-up for the first half of the film. Velasco makes a typically perky news reporter whose increasing restlessness investigating the night-shift (meeting the guys, playing some basketball, trying on the kit) is interrupted by the unusual call-out. The action is smoothly orchestrated by writer-director duo Balaguero and Plaza, who gradually amp up the tension and the confusion as firefighters and news crew are greeted by confused cops and residents in the apartment block. It’s fair to say that rarely has an old woman in a nightie been so creepy, and when the blood starts to flow and events take a turn for the bizarre, it’s truly nail-biting stuff. There’s a feeling of uncharted dramatic territory (especially if you’re watching it cold, without having seen the impressive teaser-trailer), amplified by hair-raising visuals that revel in shadowy spaces and teasing, silhouetted half-reveals of characters who may not be entirely benevolent.

The impressive set-up is let down when the full reality of the situation is revealed. When the monsters are properly unleashed, Balaguero and Plaza seem happy to fall back in line with the accepted rules of the genre, gleefully raiding every cinematic cliché; the camera goes wild as Angela and her cameraman run about a bit, and yes, there’s even a scary-looking child to contend with. She may look oh so sweet and passive from a distance, but surely nobody would be stupid enough to get too close… The final act could easily have been cut together with unused footage from 28 Days Later..., which comes as massively disappointing given the film’s strong opening. Against expectations, the directors then pick themselves up again for an inspiring and terrifying finale shot entirely in night-vision. While not enough to make up for the lazy second act, the sum parts are just about enough to make it stand up on its own. A diverting night’s entertainment and horror fans should watch it before the English-language remake plagues cinemas in the Autumn.