31 Nights of Terror 2015 #1 - [REC] (2007)

[REC] (2007)

Directors: Jamie Balaguero, Paco Plaza

Starring: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano

Format: DVD

Plot: A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.

Normally when I do the 31 Nights of Terror (this is my fifth year, sixth if you count the first year when I only managed 21 movies) I pre-plan what movie to kick off the marathon with. This year I was a little busy and didn't have anything planned. Scanning the DVD collection with no idea of what to pick, my eye fell upon this fantastic Spanish scarefest, which I first saw on the big screen in 2009. My girlfriend hadn't seen it before, so it seemed a good choice.

And a good choice it was. I love this movie. Even though found footage movies are starting to get a bit old, and the same goes for zombie movies, [REC] stands the test of time. Found footage is done best when it is used to slowly build up the tension, as it is here. And this is of course no normal "zombie" movie. The infected people are more like the ones in The Crazies or 28 Days Later than a Romero zombie flick. These bastards are fast and fierce.

I also love how for most of the movie it's basically a "group of people try to survive zombie hordes" flick, but in the final act it changes tact completely, and boy does it bring the scares. Without ruining anything, the final monster is the thing of nightmares.

I haven't seen the American remake, Quarantine, and I don't want to. [REC] is fantastic, and those too lazy to read subtitles are seriously missing out!