Spanish cinema has a long history of cinematic horror . So does Britain it it probably wasn't coincidental that 28 WEEKS LATER the sequel to the Danny Boyle( Himself the quintessential British director ) hit 28 DAYS LATER was co-written by a Spanaird and directed by a Spanaird . In short if you're making a low budget horror movie with no sets and a small handful of actors ad-libbing then probably the only two countries that could produce something that would go on to become a surprise international horror hit would be either Britain or Spain . REC from 2007 became that surprise hit
It should be pointed out of course that someone was a little bit naughty with the marketing . The trailers and TV spots in Britain failed to disclose that this was a Spanish film and indeed there was an English dubbed version which leads one to conclude that horror fans aren't given enough credit . Surely fear is an international language ? Are we to honestly believe that a lot of people wouldn't want to watch a horror film down to the fact that the characters can only communicate via subtitles ? Certainly I wouldn't recommend the dubbed version but if there's anything wrong with subtitles in this film it's to do with the startle moments where you're too busy reading the words on screen to catch the in your face shock bits that'll cause you to jump out of your seat . That said if you're listening to the actors in their original language the ad-libbed dialogue is infinitely more convincing
As it stands REC is a slightly uneven film with a criticism that it's badly paced and derivative . This is true to a large extent and it's very difficult to comment on this movie without being reminded of 28 DAYS LATER , SPECIAL BULLETIN and THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT . Likwise the last five minutes where journalist Angela and TV cameraman Pablo find themselves trapped in a dark apartment and the camera turns to night vision feels directly copied wholesale from the London Underground scenes from 28 WEEKS LATER but this sequence contains some of the most grotesque and effective imagery I've seen in a horror film for a very long time and its this last five minutes that earns REC a reputation as a classic European horror movie
It should be pointed out of course that someone was a little bit naughty with the marketing . The trailers and TV spots in Britain failed to disclose that this was a Spanish film and indeed there was an English dubbed version which leads one to conclude that horror fans aren't given enough credit . Surely fear is an international language ? Are we to honestly believe that a lot of people wouldn't want to watch a horror film down to the fact that the characters can only communicate via subtitles ? Certainly I wouldn't recommend the dubbed version but if there's anything wrong with subtitles in this film it's to do with the startle moments where you're too busy reading the words on screen to catch the in your face shock bits that'll cause you to jump out of your seat . That said if you're listening to the actors in their original language the ad-libbed dialogue is infinitely more convincing
As it stands REC is a slightly uneven film with a criticism that it's badly paced and derivative . This is true to a large extent and it's very difficult to comment on this movie without being reminded of 28 DAYS LATER , SPECIAL BULLETIN and THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT . Likwise the last five minutes where journalist Angela and TV cameraman Pablo find themselves trapped in a dark apartment and the camera turns to night vision feels directly copied wholesale from the London Underground scenes from 28 WEEKS LATER but this sequence contains some of the most grotesque and effective imagery I've seen in a horror film for a very long time and its this last five minutes that earns REC a reputation as a classic European horror movie