Spain
[REC]
Review by Cameron Maitland
It's a hard thing for a horror movie to get footing at a film festival without being particularly unique in its storytelling or style. Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza's [REC] may at first seem to be an interestingly styled, run-of-the-mill horror film but, in the end, it proves to be a very unique experience.
The story, seen through the lens of her cameraman, follows a news reporter who covers a fire rescue gone wrong in an apartment building that quickly becomes the site of violent attacks. From there the crew and those trapped in the apartment begin to turn on each other and things quickly descend into horror. The film's use of the first-person perspective in making the cameraman a character isn't a brand new idea but Plaza and Balagueró take the idea and run with it, creating one of the more effective uses of the idea ever put to film.
What really ought to be praised though is the ability of the directors to create tension. From the first frame - before any attacks - they have the viewers on edge waiting for a fire alarm to go off and once the real horror is underway they barely give you a moment as an audience to catch your breath. The film clocks in at just slightly over 70 minutes but all that time on the edge of your seat makes it seem longer and it is just the right amount to not overstress the viewer.
While the film can be faulted for delving into plot clichés and has plenty of cheap pop-out scares, there is a bit more under the surface. The last few reels of the film at the outset seem to fall for the foreign horror trap of attempting to be unique by placing a preposterous premise on top of the existing fantastic premise. But it shows the dual directors' creativity in the fact that, by the end of their night vision sequence and once the audience sees some of the amazing creature effects, all is forgiven.
[REC] may very rarely raise itself above popcorn entertainment level fun, but in it's unique twists and mastery of certain elements of the horror genre, it deserves a place among the film festival elite.
[REC]
Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza | Spain | 2007 | 75min
Wed. Oct. 8 | 9:45pm | Empire Granville Theatre 7
Thur. Oct. 9 | 4:00pm | Empire Granville Theatre 7
Thur. Oct. 9 | 9:30pm | Empire Granville Theatre 2