[REC]
Angela (Manuela Velasco) is a journalist working on a TV show called “While You Were Sleeping”. The aim of the show is to provide a snapshot of the working lives of people whose jobs don’t conform to the nine-to-five schedule.
She has been assigned the job, along with her cameraman, of following the employees of a fire brigade for a night. Needless to say, the fire crew get called out on an assignment that imperils them all. There are some strange goings-on in an apartment block, and the situation is exacerbated when the inhabitants, firemen and TV crew are forbidden to leave the premises.
The plot is formulaic, in that the scares of the latter part of the film are enhanced in contrast with the light-hearted feel of the earlier part of the film. That said, they do manage to convey a natural and effortless lightness early on, that makes them likeable. Velasco turns out to be more than a talking head: her character actually has some personality. (Although it is amusing to watch the obligatory costume and hairstyle changes during the film; is it possible to film a leading woman without being obsessed with her appearance? It must have taken some time to get Velasco to look so spectalularly…dishevelled).
The “point-of-view” camera work may be taxing for viewers who suffer from motion sickness, and from the perspective of the realism of the film it attempts to achieve, the device is ultimately irrational: despite Angela insisting that her cameraman must keep filming, so that people will know the truth, the reality is that once survival instincts kick in, nobody in their right mind would bother lugging the cumbersome camera equipment at the expense of the speed and agility needed to escape the nasties.
Nevertheless, there are some startles and a few sardonic quips during the film.
Is it a brilliant film? No; nor is it as sophisticated as The Orphanage, another Spanish horror film released around the same time.
But it is reasonably amusing. The screening this viewer attended had the air of an under-grad all-night film-fest that culminates in the screening of a horror film, with audience members hooting and laughing in bemusement.
If you enjoy films along the lines of The Blair Witch Project and 28 Days Later, you may care to see [REC].