[REC] Retrospective

The [REC] films combine zombies with the first-person and found-footage styles of filmmaking (the two most overused things in the horror genre right now), and, in the case of [REC] and [REC]2, makes it work very well. Actually, it’s so popular now that sign language for “zombie film” is miming pushing aside DVDs to make more room on a shelf. Sign language for “found footage” is usually beating up a director until they make an actual damn movie.

Luckily, [REC] and [REC]2 rule. You’d think that since they are Spanish (and thus pushed together with every other “let’s drink coffee, mumble, and stare at each other” foreign horror film in the market), they’d be too full of someone’s masturbatory artistic flourishes to be scary. Directors Jaume Balaquero and Paco Plaza do indeed have artistic inclinations, and they are all inclined toward kicking ass. The [REC] films are the best zombie films to come out in a long while, even if the third in the series is a step down from the previous two.

[Rec] (2007)

[REC] concerns a news crew, firefighters, police officers, and various tenants being quarantined in an apartment building because of an infection inside. The source of the infection is, at first, unknown, but the film combines gore, thrilling sequences, and a decent unveiling of the genesis of the virus to keep audiences entertained. It is consistently scary and consistently awesome.

[REC] also spawns the Spanish counterpart to Daryl Dixon with the firefighter, Manu. Manu doesn’t take shit from the undead, and he is constantly willing to display this fact. He handles zombies in a very straightforward manner.

First, an old lady zombie screams in the hallway. Manu, being proactive and sensing a worthy opponent, rams the end of an ax into her mouth. When she doesn’t go down, he chops her to death. Manu’s application for being a firefighter was just a map to where the person who held the position before him was buried.

Manu’s second act of amazing was to punch a zombie in the mouth. And that zombie hits the mat. People wrestle with zombies and get taken down fairly easily in this film, but since a punch from Manu makes your brother wonder why he woke up with a split lip, it’s only natural that he’d combat zombies with all the subtlety of a cyclone making love to a battleship.

The third thing Manu displays is his love of equal opportunity. If a normal person can get choked to death, then why can’t an infected person? Manu tests this theory and strangles a zombie to death. The disease is spread through saliva, but since Manu can’t make out with a girl without getting her daughters pregnant, he’s not afraid of simple spit. To Manu, every handshake could be defined as “close combat.” When Manu has sex, it’s the most awkward Bigfoot encounter that the hotel maid has ever walked in on. A romantic evening for Manu is fighting every guy on the subway who even looks at his date.

Continue reading the [REC] Retrospective after the jump…

In celebration of the VOD release, we bring you a new clip from [REC] 3: Génesis that introduces the “Royalties”, one of the many interesting characters featured in this sequel which, takes place at Clara’s wedding reception, and also leaves the door open for the final installment, [REC] 4: Apocalypse.

Enjoy the clip!

Here Are The Official Play Dates:

9/7/2012
Denver, CO: Denver Film Center/Colfax
Brookline, MA: Coolidge Corner Theatre
New York, NY: Cinema Village
Columbus, OH: Gateway Film Center 8
Katy, TX: Alamo Mason Park 6
Seattle, WA: Grand Illusion Cinema

9/14/2012
Kansas City, MO: Screenland Crossroads Theatre

9/17/2012
Minneapolis, MN: Trylon Microcinema

9/18/2012
Syracuse, NY: Palace

9/20/2012
Phoenix, AZ: FilmBar

9/21/2012
Salem, MA: Cinema Salem 3

9/28/2012
Dormont, PA: Hollywood Theatre

10/27/2012
Omaha, NE: Dundee (Art)

10/29/2012
Atlanta, GA: Cinefest Theatre

Let’s be honest here, would you not rather see an angry bride holding a friggin’ chainsaw as a weapon? Well, I know some of you may disagree with me on this, but judge until you check out her picture gallery above.

As you may or may not know, she currently stars as Clara “the bride” in [REC] 3 Génesis, which is the third installment of the ever-popular [REC] series. The film is scheduled for release by Magnet on VOD Thursday, August 2nd, and in select theaters starting September 7th.

Remember her name, Leticia Dolera, and don’t forget to share this picture gallery with your fiends.

[REC] 3 Génesis Red Band Trailer

[REC] 3 Génesis Synopsis

Koldo and Clara are about to celebrate the most important day of their lives: their wedding. Everything appears to be running smoothly and the bride and groom and their families are enjoying a wonderful day, that is until some of the guests start showing signs of a strange illness. Before they know what’s happening, the bride and groom find themselves in the
middle of a hellish ordeal, as an uncontrollable torrent of violence is unleashed on the wedding. Amidst the chaos, Koldo and Clara become separated and begin a desperate search for each other. What started off as an idyllic day quickly descends into a nightmare of the worst kind…

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