[REC]

Directors: Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza
Stars: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Pablo Rosso, David Vert
Year: 2007
Rating: R
(in Spanish w/English subtitles)

Almost exactly one year after I reviewed the film Quarantine (which you can read, if you like, here), I'm glad to finally have seen the original Spanish-language film it was based on, [REC]. Quarantine heavily followed this original (and much creepier, overall), very short but effective horror film, but didn't do a shot-for-shot retelling of this story, as some reviews would imply. No, even if you've seen the American remake, this eerie little gem from Spain still has plenty of jolts for you ... and, in fact, does most of them even better.

The story is a deceptively simple one: Angela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) is a young, fresh-faced television reporter on the night beat in Spain who, with her cameraman Pablo (Pablo Rosso, who's never really visible on-screen throughout), is covering a routine night in a local fire station, depicting the life of a firefighter. The night shift starts off slowly, but soon the alarm goes off and the company is dispatched to an apartment house in the city, where an elderly tenant has been heard screaming.

Angela and Pablo follow (the entire film is shot through Pablo's hand-held camera, a la The Blair Witch Project), and when the firemen arrive and get up to the old lady's apartment, they find a woman who looks more than a bit deranged and seems to have something rather resembling blood on the front of her nightgown. She's incoherent and wary, snarling as the men try to calm her down and tend to her ... until she bites one of the two cops that showed up first, tearing off part of his face with her teeth like a rabid dog - and all hell breaks loose from there on.

Even before the firefighters/rescue crew can knock the old lady unconscious and get out of the building with the injured police officer, all entrances to the apartment building are sealed off and no one - not even if they are injured or dying - are allowed to leave. Over a bullhorn, Angela and everyone else (including the building's tenants) are calmly informed that this is a temporary emergency that will be resolved soon ... but as the night goes on, the people trapped in the building realize there is something set loose in the building with them; something that is highly contagious and turns people into carnivorous monsters when spread.

One big difference between this and the American Quarantine - a fairly telling difference - is that in this film the authorities are much nicer and more caring for those in the building; even if they can't let them out (and will shoot anyone who tries to get out), at least they try to keep those in the building in the know about what is going on (unlike the uncaring authorities in the American version, who pretty much keep the building occupants in the dark throughout). Interesting, this; makes you wonder if the comparison would be the same in real life, were this to happen. The scares, once the games begin, come fast and ugly, and at only 78 minutes the film goes by in a hurry, piling on the shocks and enough gore to keep things lively. But it's the ending, here infinitely more chilling than in the American remake, that may keep you checking under your bed or in the closet for a few nights after viewing the film.

An awesome little haunter well worth seeing - and if you have the choice of this or its American counterpart (and don't mind subtitles), THIS is the version you want to see. **** - Reel Awesome

QUARANTINE

Director: John Erick Dowdle
Stars: Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris, Jay Hernandez, Johnathon Schaech, Columbus Short, Greg Germann, Bernard White, Dania Ramirez
Year: 2008
Rating: R

Much like Cloverfield (a better film, at least in terms of full-arc storyline), Quarantine is seen through the lens of a single camera that tells the film's terrifying story from beginning to end. In other words, prepare for a lot of shaky, jerky movement and a lot of roaming around as the camera tries to capture all that's going on. I know some viewers supposedly had trouble with this set-up in films like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project, so wanted to at least get that warning out of the way upfront.

That said, this is actually an entertaining, fairly scary film with a great cast. Jennifer Carpenter (the best reason to watch The Exorcism of Emily Rose) stars as Angela Vidal, and up-and-coming TV news reporter an assignment at a local fire station in New York City. Somewhat of a tomboy as a girl, Angela had wanted to be a firefighter at one point in her childhood, so when the opportunity arises to follow a set of firefighters over one overnight shift, she jumps at the chance. Along with her cameraman Scott (Steve Harris, who gives a believable performance considering he's not even on-camera for 99% of the film), Angela goes to the fire station, where she meets firemen Jake (Jay Hernandez) and George (an unrecognizable Johnathon Schaech, buried under a bushy moustache) and gets the grand tour of the entire house while the guys wait for a call. The first fifteen minutes or so of the film consist of a lot of goofing around and both men flirting with Angela ... before a 911 call takes the guys (and Angela and Scott) to a brownstone in the city, to answer a call about an elderly woman who is very sick and acting more than a little deranged.

Making it up to the woman's darkened apartment within the four-story unit, they hook up with a pair of cops and confront the sick lady - who happens to be drooling and foaming at the mouth, and also has what looks like blood on the collar of her nightgown. Now, you'd think this would be a warning to back the hell off, but the firemen and cops move in closer, pushing Angela and her cameraman back ... and in seconds all hell breaks loose when the woman grabs and begins feasting on one of the men trying to help her like a particularly hungry zombie in George Romero's latest.

Attempts to get help for the fallen man (and I won't say who it is here, no worries) - to get him out of the building and to the hospital - prove fruitless when the rescuers make it to the front door ... only to find it being barricaded and boarded up by the cops and the CDC (Center for Disease Control). The authorities are, in fact, in the process of sealing up the entire building - and it becomes really apparent, really fast, that not only are all the residents trapped in the brownstone with a potentially deadly virus ... but also with the very deadly "things" that the virus is turning their former friends and neighbors into.

The film becomes a rollercoaster ride from here, as the group of about fifteen actors try to find a way out while avoiding the rapidly increasing number of those wishing to kill them (in typical zombie faction, once bitten here you turn into one of the deranged, hungry killers yourself). Thankfully, this film isn't (in the end) the stereotypical zombie movie you sort of expect it to be, and the quality of the actors populating the film rise it above mediocrity. Jennifer Carpenter carries the film well, and with all the action seen through her and the camera's viewpoint, the tension and terror and gore remain pretty cool throughout. Columbus Short, Greg Germann, Bernard White, and Dania Ramirez are great in supporting roles, and the film definitely has enough scary moments to keep you both interested and jumping in your seat. Ken Seng's cinematography is excellent; you do get a very claustrophobic feel, being trapped in this brownstone, and the film is lit and shot for both maximum effect and thrills - never do you have trouble seeing what's going on, especially when it's jumping right in your face.

This is a remake of the Spanish film [Rec], which I now admit I am very anxious to see (supposedly it's better than Quarantine, but aren't they all?). Meanwhile, this is a fun, fairly gory, and decently scary claustrophobic little horror flick deserving of your time - if that's the kind of film you like, and can handle the POV (point of view)-type, hand-held-looking camera work. Worth seeing for the excellent ensemble cast alone. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome