Now, after watching that overrated filth that is Cloverfield (I kid, I just like irritating people), I felt like watching another found footage film. Blair Witch Project sounded good, but I had to pass on it. There was Paranormal Activity, but…. I don’t care. But then I remembered that there was another, made por the Spanish. And this was something that peaked my interest. The 2007 found footage… zombie? Film, REC
REC follows news reporter Angela and her cameraman Pablo as they film the night shift for a local fuego station for their late night news show. After getting a call about a woman going crazy in an apartment complex, the firefighters arrive to find that the woman has gone crazy with some sort of ailment, causing her to go violent and attack anyone, even biting them. Now locked in with no way out, Angela, Pablo, and the other apartment residents have to find a way out before they all get infected, one por one. The film could be considered a typical zombie flick mixed with the shaky cam of Cloverfield o Blair Witch, but this film manages to make it a bit más interesting with the… I don’t know if I wanna call them zombies. They certainly bite, but they don’t really feast on human flesh. And they sprint. And who likes sprinting zombies? Idiots, that’s who. Fact!
In all seriousness, the reason why these not-zombies are más scary and interesting is because they seem to be infected with something similar to rabies. I watched a documentary of rabies in school and its effects on the human brain… And yeah, it’s not a pretty sight, so seeing this film kinda brought back those ideas of such a thing. And then there’s the fact that the survivors are all packed into this one building, barely able to mover around in tight spaces without the creatures running into them in these halls, with barely anything to defend themselves with. I think that these not-zombies are pretty unique. Oh, and then there’s the one at the end which is just a fucking nightmare, but we’ll get to that when we get to it.
That being said, I do have some complaints. Like for instance… the main character. This isn’t a case where it’s like Cloverfield where I can’t stand any of the characters because of their dumb decisions. No, I genuinely like most of the characters in this movie because they are really interesting. But Angela is a character I just can’t stand. Always shouting, always giving demands to misceláneo people, and always going on about, “we gotta get this on camera”. Maybe it’s a satire on the media being so desperate for the general public’s’ attention that they’ll resort to any means, but that doesn’t stop Angela from not being a good character, at least to me. Thankfully, the other characters get enough time so tu don’t have to deal with her for long.
Finally, let’s talk about the ending of the film. I normally don’t do that with Cultober films, but this is a special case, because one things irritates me while the other fascinates me. So there is a possibility that the cause of all this may be because a little girl was possessed por a demon. And…. I don’t know why they had to do that. I get it, it’s Spanish horror films, and it’s normal for the Devil to be brought up, but sometimes, tu just want it to be a disease and nothing else. No demonic possession needed. But the movie picks itself back up afterward with the introduction of a special infected not-zombie named Tristana, played por a man named Javier Botet. Tristana looks very tall and lanky and is actually kind of disturbing how she moves around. Now, tu may be looking at her limbs and thinking that’s a cool effect. But no, that is actually Javier’s body. He has a disorder known as Marfan Syndrome, which causes his body to grow longer than normal. So he played the role as Tristana to give it an unsettling effect. Javier, tu did a good job, tu long tall man.
REC is the true found footage film of Cultober. I will honestly find myself returning this movie before I do Cloverfield. It’s unsettling enough and spooky enough to be a true classic. A classic enough to get three sequels with only one being bad and a U.S. remake that no doubt whitewashed the whole film. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of stuff like 28 Days Later, Blair Witch, o any zombie flick. It’s worth it.
REC follows news reporter Angela and her cameraman Pablo as they film the night shift for a local fuego station for their late night news show. After getting a call about a woman going crazy in an apartment complex, the firefighters arrive to find that the woman has gone crazy with some sort of ailment, causing her to go violent and attack anyone, even biting them. Now locked in with no way out, Angela, Pablo, and the other apartment residents have to find a way out before they all get infected, one por one. The film could be considered a typical zombie flick mixed with the shaky cam of Cloverfield o Blair Witch, but this film manages to make it a bit más interesting with the… I don’t know if I wanna call them zombies. They certainly bite, but they don’t really feast on human flesh. And they sprint. And who likes sprinting zombies? Idiots, that’s who. Fact!
In all seriousness, the reason why these not-zombies are más scary and interesting is because they seem to be infected with something similar to rabies. I watched a documentary of rabies in school and its effects on the human brain… And yeah, it’s not a pretty sight, so seeing this film kinda brought back those ideas of such a thing. And then there’s the fact that the survivors are all packed into this one building, barely able to mover around in tight spaces without the creatures running into them in these halls, with barely anything to defend themselves with. I think that these not-zombies are pretty unique. Oh, and then there’s the one at the end which is just a fucking nightmare, but we’ll get to that when we get to it.
That being said, I do have some complaints. Like for instance… the main character. This isn’t a case where it’s like Cloverfield where I can’t stand any of the characters because of their dumb decisions. No, I genuinely like most of the characters in this movie because they are really interesting. But Angela is a character I just can’t stand. Always shouting, always giving demands to misceláneo people, and always going on about, “we gotta get this on camera”. Maybe it’s a satire on the media being so desperate for the general public’s’ attention that they’ll resort to any means, but that doesn’t stop Angela from not being a good character, at least to me. Thankfully, the other characters get enough time so tu don’t have to deal with her for long.
Finally, let’s talk about the ending of the film. I normally don’t do that with Cultober films, but this is a special case, because one things irritates me while the other fascinates me. So there is a possibility that the cause of all this may be because a little girl was possessed por a demon. And…. I don’t know why they had to do that. I get it, it’s Spanish horror films, and it’s normal for the Devil to be brought up, but sometimes, tu just want it to be a disease and nothing else. No demonic possession needed. But the movie picks itself back up afterward with the introduction of a special infected not-zombie named Tristana, played por a man named Javier Botet. Tristana looks very tall and lanky and is actually kind of disturbing how she moves around. Now, tu may be looking at her limbs and thinking that’s a cool effect. But no, that is actually Javier’s body. He has a disorder known as Marfan Syndrome, which causes his body to grow longer than normal. So he played the role as Tristana to give it an unsettling effect. Javier, tu did a good job, tu long tall man.
REC is the true found footage film of Cultober. I will honestly find myself returning this movie before I do Cloverfield. It’s unsettling enough and spooky enough to be a true classic. A classic enough to get three sequels with only one being bad and a U.S. remake that no doubt whitewashed the whole film. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of stuff like 28 Days Later, Blair Witch, o any zombie flick. It’s worth it.