Movies
REC (aka [REC] ) (Spain) (V)
“[REC] has it all and is probably one of the best Spanish horror films in recent memory… I give it the B-D stamp of approval and smile at the fact that something extraordinary has finally come out of Filmax.”
Even though [REC] has been on my radar for over a year now, it’s not something I was overly excited about. It’s not that it didn’t sound like a cool project – especially having Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza co-direct it – it’s just that pretty much every single Filmax movie is the same. They look the same, feel the same, play the same and even have similar stories, which is why I figured this collaboration would be just another “good rental” – boy was I wrong. [REC], following similar themes to BLAIR WITCH and DIARY OF THE DEAD, is an ambitious low budget first person film that takes place in near-real time over the course of one night.
The film turns on a young TV reporter and her cameraman who cover the night shift at the local fire station. Receiving a call from an old lady trapped in her house, they reach her building to hear horrifying screams — which begin a long nightmare and a uniquely dramatic TV report.
If I could have my way I’d tell you to stop reading this review right now and go see the movie, but unfortunately it probably won’t see the light of day here in the States until after the remake (Quarantine) arrives in theaters next October… (In a perfect world.) What’s really effective about [REC] is the unknown and having no clue what to expect. Originally I thought what I was seeing was just another ghost film, when actually it’s a quasi self-contained zombie movie.
What most movies fail to do is heighten the suspense, action and violence until the very last frame; most drop the ball around the third act – but not [REC]. Once sh-t hits the fan what transpires is non-stop madness. The infected are extremely creepy as they make really odd noises, scream high pitch squeals and run at their victims faster than any previous zombie-esque film. The way suspense is built is nothing new, but it is exceptionally executed. Because everything is first person we get loads of suspense just from that – we see the cameraman having to walk around handcuffed zombies, there’s a segment where the lights go out and he’s forced to use night vision and when things pop out of the shadows to attack it’s almost as if you’re standing right there. In fact, you never even see the cameraman, it’s almost as if he’s you!
As the film escalates the situation goes from under control to loose cannon to complete chaos, ending in what could be one of the scariest moments ever caught on film. My nails were dug deep into the armrest of the seats and I found myself howling in excitement nearly ever few minutes. [REC] has it all and is probably one of the best Spanish horror films in recent memory. There are buckets of blood used, well-developed characters, a wonderful twist, a good solid story and a finale that will ensure you leave the theater in shock. I cannot stress enough that you should see this in a theater if possible (check out BDTV for fan reactions at Sitges). Either way I give [REC] the B-D stamp of approval and smile at the fact that something extraordinary has finally come out of Filmax.
It’s been eight years since Ari Aster came onto the scene and helped usher in a new wave of horror with Hereditary, one of the rare horror movies from the past ten years that still seems to come up in conversation every single week. And it’s back in the conversation this week, with Ari Aster revealing at an event that he’s already written a prequel to Hereditary!
Ari Aster was on hand at the American Cinematheque for Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair last week, a Los Angeles festival that screened all of Aster’s movies to date. The website Gold Derby reports that Aster revealed the Hereditary prequel script during a Q&A at the event, and you can watch the full Q&A conversation below for confirmation on the website’s report.
“I wrote a prequel to this,” Aster told the crowd, referring to Hereditary. “It never feels like the right time to do it. It’s a prequel, not a sequel so I don’t know where this goes.”
Would a potential Hereditary prequel dig deeper into the mythology of demon king Paimon? Unfortunately, Aster provides no further details on his prequel approach at this time.
Aster said of Hereditary during the same Q&A, “I was just trying to make a really good horror movie.” I think most horror fans would agree that he more than accomplished that goal, and the past eight years have proven that Hereditary is an enduring classic of its generation.
We celebrated the fifth anniversary of Hereditary here on BD back in 2023.
Ron Breton wrote, “Hereditary offers a similar emotional resonance to this new generation of horror – my generation of horror– as movie-goers in the seventies when they first saw Exorcist. Much like Aster’s film, we see the incomprehensible evil wear the face of a young girl; the victim of a raw deal she had no say in, as it tears a family to its core. Sure, both films offer so many terrifying visuals that can make the hair stand up on anyone’s neck – but it also depicts intense relationships and emotions that are tangible. Real. Familiar.”
“In that familiarity lies the uncanny, ready to rear its ugly head and force us to confront thoughts and horrors laying dormant and clawing at our psyche,” Breton continued his 5th anniversary celebration of Hereditary. “And it doesn’t matter if it’s been five or fifty years. These horrors are always there, as we become pawns in its horrible, hopeless machine.”
Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Ann Dowd, and Milly Shapiro star in Hereditary. In the film, “A grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.”
That’s putting it mildly, eh?!
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