REC

(REC): As American remakes go, Quarantine wasn’t such a bad attempt. In fact, director John Erick Dowdle recreated some sequences from the original Spanish film almost shot for shot, avoiding the temptation to add his own creative “improvements.” And with the opportunity to finally see his source material, one can see why. (REC) is a shining example of high-concept on a low-budget, turning George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead into a carnival spook house on rails. Using the Cloverfield approach, the film is told from the camera’s point-of-view as a nightbeat reporter tags along with a team of firefighters called out to an unknown disturbance in an apartment building. The disturbance turns out to be a mutated communicable disease which quickly infects all the residents and rescuers. Authorities seal off the building, trapping the unlucky survivors inside with rapidly degenerating undead monsters. One of the hardest hurdles for any horror film to overcome is suspension of disbelief, but with their first-person documentary shooting style directors Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza are able to convincingly create a harrowing “you are there!” experience...not to mention disguise their budgetary limitations. The fact that (REC) unfolds in a complex one-take, real-time scenario is almost something you don’t appreciate until after the film is over. Technial accomplishment be damned, this is one scary movie! Those looking to compare it to Quarantine might find it overly familiar. But they’re bound to appreciate lead actress Manuela Velasco, whose take on the perky reporter is much more believable (and much less annoying) than Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter. Extras include a Making Of.