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Rec is a film by Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza, and Luis
Berdejo. It stars Manuela Velasco and co-stars Javier Botet,
Manuel Bronchud, Martha Carbonell, Claudia Font, Vicente
Gil. It received its first theatrical releases in 2007.
***
A TV journalist and her camera person spend the night
in a local fire department. It’s hours worth of boring interviews
and nothing to do of interest until a call comes through
from a woman trapped in a building. The news crew follows
the fire department to the scene of the rescue – and that’s
when things take an unexpected turn. ***
Horror movies of recent years have been a joke. Film
companies and directors have been rehashing and remaking
the same old stories for the last decade, and the whole
genre has just gotten stale and uninteresting – but what’s
that, you say? Rec is actually a GOOD modern horror movie?
***
Yep, believe it or not, Rec is a damn good movie. The
Spanish film crew has managed to create something that feels
more like an homage than a rip-off, and the end result is
the best20horror movie this reviewer has seen in a decade
or so. The result is something that feels like a cross between
classic “zombie” movies like the George A. Romero “Living
Dead” series, and the more recent stabs at “docu-horror”
like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project. It’s the best
of all things horror. The only real shortcomings here are
the one-dimensional supporting cast, but that hardly knocks
Rec down a notch. ***
Rec is an excellent horror movie – hands down the best
one this reviewer has seen in the last 10 years. If you’re
in the mood for superb horror and none of the American movies
of recent years have done anything for you, give Rec a rental
and see some horror done right for the first time in a long
time. ---
Image and Sound: This is a solid transfer. Lighting
and camera work were done very well for the film, and it
manages to maintain a natural appearance throughout. Sound
is also superb, which is good considering how important
a part of horror films it is, particularly this one. All
in all, a very good transfer. ---
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