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In the past decade, there has been a constant slew of horror films taking on a first-person narrative, usually through the means of a cameraman’s lens. From the classic Blair Witch Project to the more recent V/H/S anthologies, this style has been making waves, typically with mixed results. [REC], the 2007 Spanish horror from directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, however, has managed to take a somewhat generic formula, and create a staple in this branded niche of found footage horror.
Manuela Velasco, who plays our leading lady, stars as television reporter Ángela. Alongside her is the cameraman (and our eyes as the audience), Pablo. The story starts out innocently enough, Ángela and Pablo tagging along with a crew of firefighters to document their nightly duties. But not too long passes before the crew receives a call to an apartment building, whereupon they're trapped inside with the tenants, and something else.
One of the strongest aspects of the film is its use of building tension. Even from the moment things start going wrong, the filmmakers make us feel safe. There's plenty of lights on, everyone is pretty much out in the open, and there's a lot of people in the area. Slowly though, as the film progresses, these measures of comfort are pulled away one by one. Lights go off, people start dying, and the open spaces begin to dwindle into claustrophobia. All of this culminates into an especially creepy and unnerving climax, which is sure to become a classic scene in the industry.
All of the expectations of realism that this film calls for can only be held together by good acting, which fortunately, can be found here. Manuela manages to bring us into the situation effectively as neither her nor the audience knows what's going on. The tenants of the building really do seem like people that are just caught in the middle of a mess, and act accordingly. And of course the firefighters themselves make good decisions attempting to handle the situation, desperate as it may seem.
Spain may not be one of the countries you’d expect a classic horror to come from, but [REC] shows plenty of promise with its dire realism and sense of foreshadowing terror. While the lack of decent and inventive scares throughout the first half of the film hurt, it's the morbid feeling that you know something big is coming up. And its that grim curiosity that we all possess that [REC] uses to pull us into its especially memorable nightmare.