Review: [REC] (2007)

"[REC]", which is short for "record" just so everyone is on the same page, is the original to "Quarantine", Hollywood's obligatory remake. It tells a rather chilling tale of a news reporter and cameraman who are "hanging out" with the local fire department, filming the goings-on for airing on a local channel. Much to the dismay of the reporter, the night begins rather slow, with the cameraman and reporter left wandering empty halls while the firemen sleep. But all that changes in a heartbeat.

Suddenly, there is a call. Apparently, the police need back-up to assist in caring for a crazy old woman. The situation is not expected to take long, nor is it considered an emergency (the firemen don't even turn on their sirens or lights, again much to the dismay of the reporter). It is just supposed to be a routine call. We know better.

They arrive at their destination, an apartment building, in the dead of night. The police clue them in on the situation thus far: There is a crazy old woman upstairs refusing medical attention. Since apparently the town is so small that there are only two police officers, the firemen were dispatched to assist in getting her on an ambulance for medical attention. To make a long story short, the woman is not crazy. Well, she is, but for good reason--she is infected with a disease very similar to rabies, that cause the host to lash out in violent ways. Like feeling the need to attack (and eat) any living thing within range. Taking a page out of zombie flicks, the disease spreads through saliva, thus anyone who is attacked and bitten then becomes infected themselves, and so on and so forth.

Of course, the characters inside the building don't know this yet, and are indeed very shocked when local authorities begin to quarantine the place, leaving them trapped inside with murderous, disease-ridden neighbors. No one is allowed in, and no one is allowed out. And all the action is captured by the cameraman's camera, making this yet another in a long line of horror movies that apparently feel the need to pretend to be capturing everything in the first person.

I was not at all that impressed with "Quarantine", much in the same way I am not at all impressed with 98% of the things that make it to the multiplex. Aside from a few jump scares, and a creepy ending, there really wasn't much in between, and the reporter was absolutely annoying to the point that I wished I could personally rip her own throat out. Ironically, "[REC]" suffers from the exact same things to the point that I almost must applaud Hollywood for ripping it off almost perfectly, scene-for-scene. There's the same tired scares, which basically consist of loud sounds and the "infected" jumping out of nowhere and attacking the survivors, and the same lack of a foreboding atmosphere. There is no build-up to the suspense, no underlying feeling of tension and dread, and certainly no likeable characters, only a collection of genre clichés.

There is one thing that "[REC]" has going for it, and that's pulling all this off for a low-budget. The make-up effects are properly disgusting and rather realistic, as are the gore effects on a few of the attacks. In fact, I'm hard-pressed to think of an effect the Hollywood version pulled of substantially better, despite it no doubt costing twice as much. Directors Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza prove that they can make the most out of limited resources and, despite the fact I am not a fan of "[REC]" at all, I will definitely be interested to check out some of their future projects (which, I'm not surprised at all to learn, includes the just-released "[REC] 2").

However, "[REC]" is a huge disappointment, especially considering the positive fanfare it has received. Aside from one, maybe two jump scares, it is not at all scary, and despite the brilliance of placing it entirely in a cramped apartment building, there really is a serious lack of atmosphere. Despite its solid reputation as a genuinely scary film, the only problem I had while watching "[REC]" was keeping my eyes open--and it certainly wasn't to shield away any terrifying scenes.

Rating: * 1/2 (out of 4)