2. [REC]

This is the fourth time I've sat down with [REC]. You know why I remember exactly how many times I've seen it? Because this is not a movie you can just throw in as entertainment, there's always a reason you're watching it and that reason is always something more than "Oh I just feel like tossing it in"....unless you're crazy. Watching [REC] by yourself is just not a smart idea, because no movie will have you believing that simply by watch it, zombies are surely going to come out of every dark corner of your house and eat your face. This is true horror to the Nth degree.

[REC] follows the deceptively adorable Angela Vidal, a local journalist for a show called "While You're Asleep." Her and her unseen cameraman, Pablo, are spending the night at the fire station in Barcelona to show how the overnight shift lives their life. The alarm sounds and Angela's wish for something exciting to happen is granted, but it is a wish she'd most definitely take back.

There's a woman going apeshit in her 3rd floor apartment that the police and firemen are trying to calm down, but lo and behold, bitch totally lays a bite down on an unsuspecting cop. When trying to remove him from the building, Angela and her firemen find that it's been quarantined fucking E.T. style and no one is allowed in or out for fear of a spreading infection. Refering to it as a "BNC" lock down, Biological, Nuclear, Chemical, their fears are warranted as the infection quickly starts to spread to all of the building's tenants.

The first 10 minutes of [REC] are sort of slow, almost boring, but it's perfect. Angela is at the fire station just waiting for something to happen. It adds a bit of realism the same way the the first 20 minutes of Cloverfield is just sort of people walking around. Once the action begins though, there's almost no stop. Crazy shit continues to happen that will have you stuck to your ceiling faster than you can say, "OH FUCK ME!!" 

A quick tip for watching [REC], pay the fuck attention to it and expect the unexpected. I was putting together my assets for this write up during the first 15-20 minutes and at one point I glanced up and seconds later the films first real "jump scare" almost knocked me off the couch. Usually when a film uses jump scares I refer to them as cheap shots since they kind of feel like a sucker punch, but for [REC], they are all earned scares and nothing feels like it's just there for the sake of being scary (IE EVERYTHING in Haunting in Connecticut). There's no really loud musical cues to help sell them or random bullshit just hanging out. [REC] reinvents the jump scare and in doing so single handedly raised the stock for Depends Adult Diapers at least half a point.

The movie has a great cast. There's a healthy blend of all types of people that you sort of understand a lot about without them telling you really anything about anyone. They don't try to force any sort of character development down your throat, it all just sort of comes naturally, which says a lot about this movie since horror movies in general lack any sort of subtlety. The movie not only does a great job with the characters, but does a great job crafting a believable explanation of just what the infection is. It's not a typical zombie outbreak where they just come back to life and want to eat your brain.

[REC] is actually incredibly short running at barely an hour and 15 minutes, but once you make it through the first hour, you are in for the most intense 15 minutes of your movie viewing career. It's scary in the "Oh fuck what in God's name am I going to see in here" sort of way where your hand takes up permanent residence over your mouth so you can more quickly cover your eyes, because simply shutting them would not be enough. It's probably the most claustrophobic scene out of almost any horror film in and of itself, but then they go and add night vision to the mix. FUUUUUUCK that! Once the night vision kicks on, you'll be shown the most nightmare inducing image out of this entire list. It's unforgettable. You'll wake up in the middle of the night and see it in your room since it will be burned into your brain so vividly. I have no more words for how scary the end is, just know that I yelled like a little girl the first time I saw it. ME! This is my warning to you: If you have heart problems, are pregnant, or generally just don't handle scary movies well, do not use this movie to test your mettle. 

[REC] is an outstanding film which takes the whole zombie genre to the next level. I would say that I could watch it over and over again, but I'd probably send myself to the mental institution if I did. SEE THIS MOVIE! If you dare. And for the love of God, watch [REC] and not Quarantine, or at least watch [REC] first. Nothing infuriates me more than a bullshit remake.