Directed by Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza
When I heard that a new Spanish zombie movie was making people throw-up and crap themselves in the theatre, there was no way I was missing out. And although I think I’m a pretty tough girl (I only flinched once or twice in The Dark Knight), it was probably one of the top ten freakiest movies I’ve ever seen. I was like Beyonce going crazy in love; I couldn’t stop shakin’!
You should definitely empty your bowels before watching this movie if you have no self-control. Rec. begins by luring you into a false sense of security, documenting a local TV crew shooting the activities of a fire station. They follow the firemen who rush to an apartment block to rescue a screaming old lady, and then BAM! Literally. A body falls from the top floor of the apartments, and it is at this point that something is likely to drop from your stomach. Then, one person goes psycho and bites another and it all becomes chaos, with all the residents-cum-zombies biting each other’s faces off in the most realistic/disturbing ways possible. The constant jerky camera shots make for extremely realistic footage, and together with some mystery, a diseased dog, and a whole lot of blood and crazy Spanish yelling, Rec. could be likened to Dora the Explorer on P.
Following in the tried and true Blair Witch reality-doco genre, Rec. confirmed for me that I should not pursue filming or reporting documentaries as a career… The cameraman and the reporter filming the whole saga got the worst deal out of everyone! Me and some friends had thought about creating ‘The Weir Bitch Project’ last year, but after seeing Rec. I don’t think reality-docos are that safe. Especially since there are quite a few zombie-looking people in the mornings at Weir, and many, many, people have probably had their faces bitten off in mad pash sessions. Weir=zombie lair?
One thing Rec. did have that Weir doesn’t was that diseased dog… Oh no wait, I forgot about all those ones on D-Floor.
To sum up, Rec. didn’t make me didn’t crap myself or vomit. But I did give up my dream of being a reporter-slash-camerawoman, and I don’t pat dogs or let other people bite me anymore.