The beginning of [REC] shows a film crew on site at a local fire station, creating a television show about the jobs people do while the general population is still asleep. The featurette on the making of [REC], included on this DVD, explains that the film's creators were convinced they needed to cast unknown actors in all parts and cast a real news anchor in the lead role. She does a fantastic job, and the man behind the camera plays a dual role as her cameraman Pablo, and his actual job as Director of Photography for [REC]. This dualism sets [REC] apart from previously released "amateur video" flicks like Blair Witch or last year's Cloverfield. [REC] has more in common with Cloverfield in that it layers a lot of high-budget effects around the otherwise low-budget, handheld film treatment. It's subtle, but the dirty little secret of handheld video is that it can obscure any rough spots in a special effect that might be more obvious to a "perfect" film camera. Another neat twist introduced for [REC] was the practice of only keeping the actors informed about the pieces of each scene they absolutely needed, in the hopes of maintaining spontaneity in their reactions to events happening around them. The filmed events (since there would be no editing in-camera) take place in real time, somewhat like the approach taken in the show 24.
Without giving away the thrills and chills, we'll say that [REC] pays homage to some of the better scary fare released recently, such as 28 Days Later, I Am Legend, and of course, Cloverfield. There's no sci-fi twist to [REC], and no real zombie angle, but things get very bloody and intense once the film's "film crew" tags along with their firemen on a routine call to a nearby apartment building. Once the doors to this building close, things quickly spin out of control for the crew. [REC] does an amazing job building tension right up to when the credits roll, something that Danny Boyle also did with 28 Days Later. Fans of zombie and creature-feature films will get a kick out of [REC], and it delivers the goods for almost anyone seeking a good scare. The determination to make [REC] authentic shows in so many little touches that you may not notice on the first viewing, such as the absence of music. The list of horror flicks we'd seek out for a second viewing is not long, and it's a testament to the success of [REC] that we will now include it on this list.
