Rec ( [Rec] ) ( [?-?Rec] ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]

Rec ( [Rec] ) ( [?-?Rec] ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]
by Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza

Rec ( [Rec] ) ( [?-?Rec] ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]
Category: DVD
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DVD details

Director: Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza
Primary Contributor: Carlos Lasarte
Primary Contributor: Claudia Font
Primary Contributor: Javier Botet
Primary Contributor: Manuel Bronchud
Primary Contributor: Manuela Velasco
Primary Contributor: Maria Lanau
Primary Contributor: Mar?a Teresa Ortega
Primary Contributor: Martha Carbonell
Primary Contributor: Pablo Rosso
Primary Contributor: Vicente Gil
Commentary: CategoryArthouse
Commentary: CategoryCultFilms
Commentary: CategorySpain
Commentary: Festival Cinema Writers Circle Awards Spain
Commentary: Festival Fantasporto Awards
Commentary: Festival Goya Awards
Commentary: film movie Foreign
Commentary: film movie Spain Spanish Spaniard
DVD: Region Code 2
Audio: English (Unknown); Spanish (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Import, PAL, Widescreen
Running Time: 75 minutes
Studio: Filmax
Product features:
  • THIS DVD WILL NOT WORK ON STANDARD US DVD PLAYER

DVD Reviews of Rec ( [Rec] ) ( [?-?Rec] ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]

DVD Review: Destined to become a classic
Summary: 5 Stars

To most self-respecting horror fans, the shaky web-cam style is usually a recipe for disaster. The horror films using that style that have come in the wake of the classic Blair Witch Project film in the late 90's have mostly been panned and for good reason. Even our beloved George Romero, a horror icon who could do no wrong, ended up disgusting most of his fans when he employed the technology to lay the only goose egg in his illustrious career, last year's dreadful "Diary of the Dead". But along comes "Rec", a Spanish chiller that inspired the American remake "Quarantine". Regardless of any discussions on the shaky-cam style of filmmaking, this is one of the better horror movies of recent years. And that is an impressive achievement indeed.

At the beginning of "Rec" we follow around an attractive reporter named Angela and her colleague cameraman Pablo, who are filming segments for a weekly show they put on entitled "While you're Asleep". This week's segment is to gain an inside look at the fireman profession. They go to the station and interview firemen on the ins and outs of their profession. Then the call comes. A "situation" at an apartment complex that needs immediate rescue attention. Angela and Pablo follow the firemen into the building and uncover a horrific situation where a woman bites off the face of a police officer. Carnage ensues as more people become infected with this strange disease, turning them into ravenous flesh eaters. The tenants and everyone try to escape the building, but they can't. They have been quarantined inside by health authorities fearful that the disease will spread.

Why is "Rec" such a cut above all the other hand-held camera horror films? Well, let's start off with the camera itself: the picture is clear, of good quality and not amateurish. For the most part it doesn't spin around nearly as much as other films like this, that can induce nausea watching it in a movie theatre. But what mostly makes Rec a winner is its amazing sense of pacing and controlled intensity. There are scenes so intense they left me on the edge of my seat with my jaw open in awe. But without overdoing this, we are given breaks in between attacks, where the apartment tenants, and us the viewer, get to catch our breath.

I also didn't have trouble buying into the concept the cameraman would keep filming even though he's amidst all this carnage; him and the female newscaster have proven to us that they're intent on delivering their audience the inside scoop no matter how exploitative the contents. I don't want to say more as to spoil the film, I'll just say this: "Rec" absolutely needs to be watched if you're a horror fan. It's incredibly intense and yes, actually scary.

DVD Review: One of the Top 10 Horror films of all time
Summary: 5 Stars

Great zombie flick. Very realistic and scary. Shot in grainy, documentary style ala Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield. I've also seen "Quarantine", the US virtually shot by shot remake, this original Spanish-made version with relatively less know starts (versus Quarantine which had the girl who plays Dexter's sister in the lead role, and another actress who appears as a regular in "Two and a Half Men") definitely superior tho the US version wasnt too bad.
I hope they release a Blu-Ray version of this movie, maybe as a back to back with the US version.

DVD Review: Believe the hype....
Summary: 5 Stars

....it IS Scary and a damn good horror movie.The remake(Quarentine) is the EXACT same movie but there is somthing about REC being foreign that makes it more believable in my opinion,making it much more intense.The final 15 minutes of either film is what white knuckle FEAR is all bout.

DVD Review: Is it too soon to count Rec among the best horror films of all time?
Summary: 5 Stars

Simply put, Rec is one of the greatest horror films of all time. I wanted to stand up and cheer when the end credits started to roll - it's that good. The fact that I never saw it coming probably adds to my excitement, but this is one of those rare treasures that keeps horror lovers like myself going. As we suffer through unnecessary remakes, disappointing sequels, and cookie-cutter plots, there's always that little voice deep inside our brains telling us that maybe the next film will set the cockles of our little black hearts on fire - my friends, Rec is that film. Naturally, the US had to go and create a remake (Quarantine (Ws Dub Sub Ac3 Dol)), but I urge you to get your hands on this Spanish original before you even think about spoiling the whole story by watching its American clone.

I knew absolutely nothing about this film going in - not even the title. In fact, I wasn't even sure it was a horror film when I started watching it. It starts out as a documentary featuring journalist Angela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) filming a "while you were sleeping" segment at a local fire station. As we watch Angela try to figure out anything interesting to do as she interviews individual firemen and walks through the station, we join her in hoping that a call will come in and add some excitement to a pretty boring night. When the call does come down, it doesn't promise much in the way of action - someone needs help getting a door open - but that changes pretty quickly once the fire and television crews arrive at the scene. Neighbors recount hearing screams from the dwelling of a strange old lady upstairs. Chaos ensues once the firemen and a policeman make their way into the apartment, quickly necessitating a dire need for an ambulance (and not just for the old lady). The film maintains the feel of a documentary throughout, as Angela's cameraman Pablo scrambles to get the most revealing of shots (successfully capturing the goriest of injuries that looked pretty damned realistic to me). That unwavering, underlying thread of realism will be a staple for everything yet to come - and there is indeed so very, very much to come.

Cue the paranoia and mutual suspicion as authorities arrive outside and begin to seal up the entire building, forbidding even the gravely injured from leaving. No one inside knows what is going on, and the authorities aren't talking - not even to the security guy struggling to maintain even a semblance of control among the motley crew of frightened neighbors, frustrated fireman, and the TV news crew filming everything that is going on. Things only get worse after a health official finally arrives - let's just say that, in this sort of situation, knowledge is not power. What follows, in the film's final half hour, is some of the most realistic, chaotic, intense, and frightening action to ever grace the big screen. Viewing everything that happens through the lens of Pablo's camera, the viewer essentially becomes another character in the film, trying to make sense of everything he is seeing or not seeing, then finding himself swept up in every instance of mad panic that sends everyone running pell-mell from one dark room to another or fighting for their very lives from the most unexpected of threats. The only times the camera stops rolling is when Pablo briefly accedes to the request of authorities to stop filming. With Angela continually barking at him to keep shooting, though, these little breaks in the action never last more than 15-20 seconds.

The entire cast is superb up and down the line. I've heard that most of the actors and actresses weren't told exactly what to expect for each hair-raising scene, thereby adding to the intensity of their reactions, but all I know for sure is that I would have had no doubts whatsoever in believing that everything I had just seen was completely real if I hadn't known it was a movie.

Get your hands on this movie any way you can. It's a brilliantly conceived and even more brilliantly executed horror masterpiece that I now count among my favorite horror films of all time. Obviously, I can't guarantee that you will love the film as much as I do, but I can't begin to imagine how any horror fan could walk away from this film without having been deeply impressed.

DVD Review: One of the Creepiest Movies of the Past 10 Years...
Summary: 5 Stars

I am going to assume that, if you are reading this, you already know that this movie is the original predecessor to the recent American film Quarantine. As of this writing, I have not seen that film, so I cannot fully compare the two. However, I will note that it seems the only positive reviews of the American adaptation came from those who did not view this movie first.

That being said, if you have seen and enjoyed Quarantine, I will wager that you will like this this movie. In fact, I consider this to be one of a very few "Must See" horror movies from the past 10 years.

The story is simple, and has been relayed in countless other reviews here, so I will keep the synopsis short:

A TV show hostess visits a local firehouse for an evening to see what a fireman's life is like, and upon finding that it can be boring, wishes there were some sort of call to go on. Soon enough, she gets her wish, as the firemen are called to an apartment building to rescue an old woman, something the firemen view as a routine call. However, upon arriving at the building, the group finds that things are not as routine as they expected, and they are quickly sealed in until further notice due to a possible outbreak of disease, with all contact to the outside world severed. As tensions rise among the tenants, the hostess and camera man set about documenting what they feel "the public needs to know." What they find is more horrific than they could ever imagine...

And now for my opinion:

The scares in this movie are not your typical "jumpers," meaning that they do not come from cheap musical effects while someone comes around a corner. No, the real scares here come from the dark, claustrophobic, hallways of the building and the noises coming from off camera. In short, the atmosphere of the film creates an edge-of-your-seat type of tension that slowly builds until something shocking pushes it over the top; where it begins all over again. In fact, even the things that I knew were about to happen still managed to scare me; something that is very rare these days.

The movie also doesn't resort to cheap gore effects to frighten the viewer. Now don't get me wrong, I like the red stuff just as much as the next guy, but it seems too many movies these days are just laying it on to get a reaction. This doesn't mean that there is no blood in this film. In fact, there is quite a bit of blood, but none of it is spilled without any reason or effect. The same can be said for the "monsters" in the film. For most of the time, they are kept just off camera (though you can hear their odd noises in the background all along), but when they reveal themselves you certainly get the effect that the filmmakers intended. And while I'm on the subject, the "monsters" are not zombies, as people have taken to calling them; they are people who have been infected by something that is not clearly revealed (though it is hinted at during the final climax).

The less-is-more approach used in this movie was perfect because, luckily, the directors kept the running time on the short side at a lean 73 minutes or so. This means that the movie avoids the dragging feeling that most others of it's type wind up producing (Blair Witch anyone?). Granted, the first 20 minutes or so (when the hostess is at the firehouse) are a little slow, but during that time you are basically getting to know the characters who will become your main focus, and this helps make what happens to them later all the more unpleasant. That being said, you must also keep in mind that once they get to the apartment building, the pace picks up greatly and the scares remain constant up through the last 10 minutes or so, where the situation explodes into a veritable frenzy of scares and suspense. In fact, these 10 minutes are the perfect culmination to the build-ups before them. Think of it as a roller coaster where they save the giant hill for last...

In short, I think that all horror fans should really take a chance and watch this movie. Additionally, I would strongly advise against viewing the remake beforehand as I have the feeling that it may ruin the suspense since you will know everything that is in store and I've heard that it is much less atmospheric.

I also would like to advise all those complaining that there is no Region 1 release of this movie to go out and buy a Region-Free player. Not only so they can watch this film, but because there are so many others of its caliber out there that will never make it to the States otherwise, and the bootlegs that do are usually costly and poorly copied. Seriously, they are about the same price as a regular player these days (I payed $120 for mine about 5 years ago and it still works great, which means they are probably about $70 now). Do a Google search for "220-Electronics," as they have always been my preferred seller for modded players, and their units will play anything you throw at them.

Description of Rec ( [Rec] ) ( [?-?Rec] ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]

Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD:it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ),Spanish ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ),Spanish ( Dolby DTS 5.1 ),English ( Subtitles ),Spanish ( Subtitles ),WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentary, Interactive Menu, Making Of, Scene Access, Teaser(s), Trailer(s),SYNOPSIS: REC revolves around a television reporter, ?ngela Vidal, and her cameraman, Pablo, who cover the night shift in one of Barcelona's local fire stations for the fictional documentary television series Mientras usted duerme ('As you sleep'). The firehouse receives a call from an apartment building about an old woman who is trapped in her house. When they arrive, two firemen and two members of the Barcelona municipal police break down the door, with ?ngela and Pablo following behind recording. Events take a sudden twist for both the audience and the protagonists, as the old lady reveals herself to be extraordinarily aggressive... SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain, Fantasporto Awards, Goya Awards,

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