Hola all. Massawyrm here.
When I first heard about this film, I gave the cursory momentary eye roll denoting the loss of another great horror movie to franchise fever. I certainly understand the desire to make a franchise out of a horror film, but in this day and age, when the bottom line is worked out well in advance by bean counters, well, it’s easy to see good ideas get fucked into oblivion because the idea keeps the franchise in the black – regardless of quality. A movie like REC is a perfect example of a low budget film that could go on and on and on: single location, cheap cameras, small cast, natural lighting. But really, what more can they do with it that hasn’t already been done?
A lot, actually.
REC 2 is a brilliant, genre bending follow up to the original that intends not to repeat the success of the first, but build upon and improve it. Yes, the style is the same: single camera, first person experience wandering through the same quarantined apartment building. But the film itself is radically different both in content, point of view and plot development. The first, most obvious comparison is that REC 2 is to REC as ALIENS is to ALIEN. This time the story is about a group of SWAT team members sent in with a Bio-hazard specialist to see if there are any survivors from the first film and to retrieve some valuable materials. However, there is a lot that the first film didn’t tell us, but appears to have been there all along.
There is nothing in the first film that is superfluous. Everything appearing in RECs final, terrifying moments is very, VERY important. What appears at first glance to be window dressing to make a zombie story seem a little creepier is in fact the set up to a brilliant twist on the story that changes EVERYTHING – making the first film instantly rewatchable. You feel as if you have to go back and see it again through new eyes, with a fresh understanding of a story that is much bigger and better than you ever thought it was. The aspects of the story that are fleshed out here change this series from simply being a creepy as fuck first person Zombie experience and takes it to new, terrifying levels.
For the most part the film is super creepy. We wander with the team through the same building as before, now blood splattered, dark and filled with the unloving denizens from the previous film – but being tight and claustrophobic, it proves to be anything but a simple shooting gallery. Cold, dark and seemingly damp, this building is every bit as scary as the first time you wandered through – even more so now that you kind of know what’s going on and what might or might not be lurking around each corner. But as the plot develops this time around, you begin to see things that you never knew were possible in the first one – and it becomes truly nerve rattling.
Unfortunately the film isn’t perfect. Split into three distinct acts -- each clearly marked by seeing the film through a different camera -- the first and third prove to be the meat and potatoes of the film. But the second tries really hard to ruin everything the rest of the film tries to achieve. Centered around a second group of unlikely adventurers in the building, the handheld camera they use is decidedly shittier, the camerawork makes CLOVERFIELD look like a revolutionary achievement in steady cam work and the three main characters are chattering, annoying pains in the asses who you really want to see become zombie-chow as soon as fucking possible. Where every other line in the film seems well crafted and deliberate, these obnoxious teenagers serve only to frustrate you as you desperately try to keep up reading the rapid fire subtitles that are nothing more than inane babble.
Admittedly, the best, most clever kill of the film happens here, as does a few interesting twists, so this section isn’t a complete loss. But thankfully, the third act is so incredibly strong, creepy and inventive. There in things here that you have NEVER seen before. And like the original, the last minute of the film is a heart-stopping, mind-bending, movie-changing sixty seconds that send you out of the theater wide eyed and satisfied.
REC 2 is about as perfect a sequel as one can hope for. It brings back everything you love about the first film, but never repeats itself when it doesn’t have to. And best of all, it makes the original an even better movie. That should be the goal of any sequel. Improving and expanding the story. This film does that eloquently. If you at all enjoyed the first film, REC 2 is a MUST SEE. And if you still haven’t seen the original, do so – then follow it up with this as soon as possible. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.
Massawyrm
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