[REC] 4: APOCALYPSE (2014) Blu-ray review

[Rec] 4: Apocalypse (2014) d. Jaume Balaguero (Spain) (95 min)

Angela (Manuela Velasco), our charming heroine reporter from the initial outbreak documented in [Rec]  (and who also put in a surprise final-reel appearance in its 2009 sequel), is rescued from the besieged apartment block by officer Guzman (Paco Manzanedo) whereupon both are quarantined aboard a repurposed oil tanker in order to contain the demonic virus. More importantly, an antivirus has been developed and is ready for testing, but when the test subject (an infected monkey) escapes its cage and bites the crew’s cook, the stage is set for yet another flurry of hyper-furious flesh-munching zombies decimating everything in sight.

[REC] (2007) Blu-ray Review

[Rec] (2007) d. Jaume Balagueró /Paco Plaza (Spain) (78 min)

As the reality-TV onslaught continued into the late 2000s, it was no surprise that the “found footage” trend of horror filmmaking (originally spawned with Cannibal Holocaust, later reaching the mainstream with The Blair Witch Project, and soon to explode with Paranormal Activity) still had legs. With 2008 already having seen releases of Cloverfield and Diary of the Dead, there should have been little surprising left to see from the first-person, shaky-cam format. However, Spanish filmmakers Balagueró and Plaza’s high-concept, low-budget offering managed to pack more feverish, twitchy energy and legitimate scares into its under-80-minute running time than both of its gringo compatriots combined.

[REC]3: GENESIS (2012) movie review

[Rec]3: Genesis (2012) (1st viewing) d. Plaza, Paco (Spain)

The most refreshing thing about this third [Rec] installment is that co-creator Plaza seems to be as tired of the “found footage” trend as the rest of the horror crowd (this in spite of being partially responsible for two of the strongest handheld entries thus far). And so, after setting up a justifiable premise for recording the mayhem to come – the action takes place at a wedding, with a professional and an amateur cameraman on hand – he abandons the concept shortly after the proverbial excrement hits the fan. Thereby answering the one question that always plagues the milieu, “Why are they still shooting?” with the ballsy reply, “They wouldn’t. I’ll take it from here.” Plaza understands his audience, knows what they will accept, and this proves to be his secret weapon throughout.

Following this abrupt but welcome shift in POV, the writer/director delivers an enjoyable and suspenseful horde movie, with undead/infected wedding guests chasing down their fellow revelers with splattery results. The noble groom and plucky bride (Diego Martin, Letecia Dolera), separated during the initial confusion, spend the rest of the feature finding their way back to one another – it’s again to Plaza’s credit that when things start sliding into the realm of the fanciful, he simply embraces the silliness, knowing that there’s never a wrong time to introduce a chainsaw into the proceedings. All the performances are energetic without edging into camp, and Dolera makes for a lovely and spirited heroine. I’m unsure as to whether this is intended to be an origin story for the first two films – the title would seem to indicate so, but the onscreen action doesn’t exactly bear this out and my memory isn’t clear enough on its predecessors to pick up on potential references. But when you’re having this much fun, who cares? Three for three, boys!

SLEEP TIGHT (2011) review

Sleep Tight (2011) (1st viewing) d. Balaguero, Jaume (Spain)

A sociopathic doorman/desk jockey/maintenance man (Luis Tosar) at a Spanish apartment complex antagonizes those around him in supremely subtle, sinister ways. His most calculated measures, reserved for a beautiful young tenant (Marta Etura), should have most single females climbing the walls with a case of the skeeves. This glimpse at the man behind the friendly smile, the one we pass every day, resonates deeply on the creepy scale, perhaps because there is no tangible cause for his casual maliciousness. The problem with Balaguero’s and screenwriter Alberto Marini’s approach – if it is a problem – is that Tosar is too despicable to generate any real viewer empathy. We’ve been given menacing monsters as our protagonist before, but either an explanation for their psychosis is provided or they exude enough raw charm that we root for them in spite of their depravity. Here, we desperately want Tosar to get caught, the tension generated because he continues to elude detection. It’s a strange, if effective, dynamic but one that, especially in the final act, left me feeling a bit unclean. Maybe this is the filmmakers’ intention, to leave us stewing in our discomfort and helplessness, but seems purely mean-spirited in the final analysis.

Fantasia Day 15 (Thursday, August 2)

Things were relatively uneventful once again in the offscreen Fantasia world, with onscreen events taking precedence. I don’t know about you guys out there on the reading end of things, but from this end it’s been a welcome change of pace from the mania that had become the norm. I’ve been able to get to bed a little earlier (1am instead of 3 or 4), but the trade off is that my body has resumed its normal waking pattern, so I’m awake at 7 or 8am (instead of 10 or 11), the end result being that I’m still pretty exhausted. All things considered, I’m holding up fairly well – only one more big weekend to go with a couple of sizeable events on the horizon, including interviews with Jennifer Lynch and the co-directors of ParaNorman, the closing film of Fantasia 2012 (which, oddly enough, screens on Tuesday though the festival continues until Thursday. What can I say? They do things differently in Montreal…)