Review: [Rec] 2 (2009)
Last year, I was diagnosed with swine flu. Upon being quarantined in my flat, with much time on my hands, I scanned my movie archive. My first appropriate choice to keep my feeble mind busy was [Rec], the Spanish sleeper-hit that took many by surprise in 2007.
I love that movie for many reasons. The claustrophobic intensity. The manic frustration of the residents trying to figure out what’s going on. And now, I shared their plight. I was ushered out of my Doctor’s office faster than a whore in church, once it was verified I was infected.
Luckily for my sick butt, I was given a copy of [Rec] 2 by a buddy (thanks Ishi!). So I was, as they say in Spanish, muy emocionado!
The film starts 15 minutes after the first installment left off, and a special enforcement team is dispatched to find out what the hell is going on in Casa De Crazy. Viewed from more surveillance cameras, back into the building we go - yet this time we can see live feeds from the other operatives, in different parts of the building. Again, they are instructed to film everything. Directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza give us even more perspective into the place, taking us further into the narrative, switching us from different rooms and the same claustrophobia. Gracias.
If you haven’t seen the original [Rec] film, here be spoilers!
In the first [Rec] we discovered the virus originated from the machinations of one sick dog, an agent of the Vatican, who kidnapped a girl believed to be under demonic possession. The Catholic spook was charged with researching and isolating the supposed biological cause of demonic possession. The girl’s blood carried an enzyme that mutated, causing a flu-like virus transmitted through blood and saliva. The end of the original [Rec] left us in that creepy penthouse, which, if I’m honest, was bat-shit scarier than Kevin Spacey’s flat in Se7en. Finding my flu-ridden ass in there once again only made me feel even more sick.
So the SWAT team are met by the local welcome wagon, once again foaming at the mouth and ready to bite their behind. But now we’re deeper into the building, with all it’s nooks and crannies, tighter spaces. Can the fun-loving infectees be rescued and cured with an antibody? Will that crazy bitch up in the penthouse ever put on weight, or just stay a size 0? I won’t spoil it for you.
There is something to be said about the whole biological-germ horror genre, 28 Days and the like. When someone gets ill, they loose control of their own bodies. There is an invasion, a breakdown. You’re virtually helpless against something as simple as common flu. Of course I would rather have swine flu over Satanic flu any day of the week. This is a premise that the Balagueró and Plaza use to make the [Rec] machine work; the explanation is tangible. Corny, but reason enough to want to carry anti-bacterial wipes around with you for the rest of your measly existence.
My only gripe with [Rec] 2 is that it’s a shame it wasn’t longer. It’s a wild ride - made me feel like a kid on Space Mountain at Disneyland – but it’s over too quickly.
Watch the trailer for [Rec 2] here
- Henry Hate
• [Rec] 2 is slated for DVD release in the UK on 28 May 2010
In the meantime, you can buy the first [Rec] on DVD here for £3.98
