[Rec]2
Weighing in at a slim and deft eighty or so minutes, [Rec]2 takes us back to that apartment building in Spain. The very same building we visited in 2007. Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza are thankfully back at the helm of a project that was, at the time, a relatively new take on the horror genre. Without this pair, it would have been all too easy to call Rec 2 simply nothing more than an obvious cash-in on previous (surprising) successes. Moreover, this direct sequel would no doubt have been largely ignored, which would have been a shame.
That said, however, if you have any brain cells lurking about in that head of yours, you will begin to question the validity of the film within the first quarter of an hour. The plot wastes no time in dropping you back into the heart of the action and the evidence of the previous nightmare is still apparent, being as this instalment is set immediately after the events of the first film. The same bloodstains and other body parts are carefully littered in the places you would expect to find them and it’s like we have never been away. And like the first instalment, Balaguero has chosen to film its entirety in POV (point of view) where the camera operator filming the scene is integral to the plot, if only by nothing more than his persistence with his camera. (which helpfully changes hands several times)
This does take away some of the realism of the first film and whilst I appreciate the need to keep feeding the plot with new victims so we’re not running out of unwilling, frightened bodies to sacrifice, the idea to drop three kids into an apparently impregnable fortress seems a little far-fetched. If you can put up with this though, then the plot developments that may have been hinted at in the first film will almost certainly have you rubbing your temples.
And here is where the rub lies.
The story has now evolved from a mere rabid and fast acting virus into something far more sinister. A new direction was clearly needed for the franchise to continue in any form and the new idea is as good as any you could have come up with, but still feels hackneyed, kneejerk and occasionally comical. This is a cash-in after all then? Well, it would be naive to believe that an original that was so well received, despite a low budget, wouldn’t get another opportunity to scare us to death again and in this respect, it does at least as good a job as the original did.
It is never complicated, often nail-bitingly tense, but always entertaining, even if the plot is a bit of a cop-out for the sake of churning out another episode. I doubt that audiences will sit still for another trip unless more imagination is employed for number three. Watch out for a great moment with a firework rocket lodged in the throat of one of the infected attackers, which, if I’m honest, is probably the most original and unique part of the film.
[Rec]2 is released in the UK in Spanish with English subtitles in May 2010
If you want to see it any sooner, make sure your Spanish is up to scratch
A few years is a hell of a long time in movies, however, and having taken its inspiration from the likes of The Blair Witch Project and in turn even inspired a Hollywood remake of its own (Quarantine), we can already admit that the industry has probably moved on a pace since the first Rec was made. The prime example of this type of movie-making was surely Paranormal Activity in 2009 that not only gave us both found-footage and a POV perspective, but also instilled a real sense of fear and edge of the seat anticipation in its audience.
This second film follows the now familiar path of survival horror. Scared individuals, some armed, some not, some good, some not are trapped in a building with no way out and around every corner is the very real and bloody possibility a being ripped to bits and chowed down on by nut crazy fruit loops that have no other point in their lives than ending yours, painfully.
Rec 2 does all of the things that is asked of it, providing palpable tension and all out chaos in just about equal measure. The frights are predictable in the sense that you know they are coming and who from, but you never quite know when, and that is what makes the film interesting to watch.
Access to and from the building that is supposed to be locked down because of the apparent viral rabid outbreak that has occurred inside doesn’t last long and before you know it another set of hapless, clueless and in most cases, soon to be deceased member of the general public manage to find their way in through the sewers (the one point of access that the SWAT team didn’t think of sealing up until our new unfortunate victims were safely imprisoned inside.
