With a sequel already on the loose, and more to come, along with the inevitable and pointless US remake already released, Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza made a vital entry in the horror cannon with 2008’s [REC].
The film opens with a late night reality show being filmed at a fire station, and introduces presenter Angela and her cameraman Pablo, along with two firemen, Alex and Manu, who are responsible for her safety.
An eager for excitement Angela gets her wish when a call comes in for a trapped elderly woman at a building in the city. When the crew arrive at the address, they find all the other residents standing in the hallway, with two police officers preparing to go upstairs to calm the situation. At this point, nobody really knows what’s happening.
The two firemen follow the officers up the spiralling staircase to find an old woman lurking in the dark, clearly disorientated and covered in blood. As they try to calm her, and with the camera still rolling, she jumps on one of the officers and bites a horrific chunk out of his face. They rush downstairs to find that the building has been sealed off. That is the last chance the viewer has to breathe!
Following the first bite, everyone tries to establish why they are being held captive, and what exactly they’ve been trapped with. When the bite on the officer takes effect, panic defies logic.
Alongside this, there is an ongoing power struggle between the remaining officer Joven and Manu, as the officer tries to take charge of the situation and follow his orders, whilst fighting his own fears and the realisation that there is absolutely nothing he can do.
One by one, they are picked off by zombies, as the film advances towards an incredibly frightening conclusion.
Made with a tiny budget and barely any cast, and set chiefly in a single location, this is a refreshing take on the zombie genre, creating a build-up of tension within an incredibly sinister setting. Expect not even a hint of relief from a pitch-black and hopeless situation.
As the film is relatively short, it takes only twelve minutes before the first attack takes place, so there is little to no character development. However, that isn’t the point - it is the chaotic and violent scenario that everyone is left trying to escape.
With everything being filmed on a hand-held camera, it adds to the ongoing turmoil, and drags the audience into the disorientated terror each character is feeling. The entire building is barely lit, which leaves plenty of shadowy coves for the creatures to hide in. At some points, the only lighting comes from the camera, and eventually all that’s left is night vision. This is incredibly effective; as it becomes so claustrophobic it really gets the heart pounding.
Along with the lighting, another effective tool is the soundtrack, or lack of, because without any music at all, the viewer has no chance of being distracted or relieved from what’s happening - it piles on additional nerve shredding tension.
The film also briefly touches upon more sensitive subjects, such as the fear of social integration, specifically in two scenes where a Chinese family is accused of causing the problem for no logical reason - they are just the minority in the building. It also stabs at the ongoing fears of terrorist attacks, with the overall concept of an unknown and toxic virus spreading, and a panicked government doing it’s best to take control. Lastly, emphasising the dire need for reality TV in current society in a not-so-subtle fashion. But these are all minor factors, which are only secondary thoughts set around the horror of the overall story, and never doing anything to interfere with it.
Around the middle of the film, some of the residents are interviewed in various one on one shots, but it is a very brief respite, and feels slightly forced in to advance the narrative. However, it drags, and is a negative point.
An excellent addition to not only the zombie sub-genre, but the horror genre as a whole. A gruesomely unforgiving film, that’s so tense you won’t be left with any fingernails left to bite.
Fan: Sam Fryer
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