[REC]2

Posted by anythinghorror on 2010-03-18 · 7 Comments 

I’m gonna come right outta the gates swinging on this one:  [REC] 2 is scarier, darker, and overall better than the first one.  That’s right people, as badass as the first one is [REC] 2 is better in every way.  Ok, I got that off my chest.

[REC] 2 starts off immediately where the first one ended.  We even see that creepy shot of reporter Ángela Vidal (played again by Manuela Velasco) being dragged off into the dark.  The scene then immediately jumps to join four members of the SWAT team as they are on their way to the quarantined apartment building.  As the leader says, “Record everything,” and that they do!!  The SWAT team is joined by Dr. Owen (played by Jonathan Mellor) and their job is to control and contain the outbreak and report on how bad the threat actually is.  Well, that’s what they think their mission is.

Director-writers Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza (as well as writer Manu Deiz) don’t waste any time here.  The new group is inside the apartment complex within the first five minutes of the film and the action, horror, and blood starts immediately never letting up.  Balagueró and Plaza take all the elements that made [rec] so amazing and injected some hardcore steroids into them.  Everything is amped up in this film and it’ll literally have your heart pounding the entire time.  But I should be clear here, this isn’t really a sequel so much as its a continuation of the first film.  You could easily splice the two movies together and watch it as one long flick.  These film makers really deserve a lot of credit; you can feel how dedicated and passionate they are about the [REC] franchise.

Patient zero??

We also get an explanation as to the cause of the virus within the first fifteen minutes (don’t worry, I’ll let you find out on your own).  The directors take a small aspect of [REC] and make it a major plot point here (THE major plot point actually).  The virus has a religious cause and the key to finding a cure lies with the little girl Niña Medeiros (played by Javier Botet), from the first film.  The cause of the virus made me stop and think about it for a little bit.   At first I thought the explanation was kind of retarded, but as the film moves along (at a very fast pace have you) I really liked the cause of the virus.  It’s a pretty damn original and unique explanation.  If you’re well versed in your 1980’s Italian horror films, [REC] 2 will remind you of Lamberto Bava’s DEMONS and DEMONS 2 (which is a huge compliment).  Even the energy level here reflects back to an 80’s Italian horror flick.

No character is safe here and the infected tear through the new group so quickly that the writers needed to include

There are MANY juicy moments like this!!

more victims, so about half way through we are introduced to three 20-somethings who manage to get caught up in the action along with a fireman who wants to find out what happened to his fireman buddies from the first [REC] as well as a distraught father who has a wife and kid in the doomed apartment complex.  This new group manages to find a way into the building and quickly regrets their actions.  As we’re introduced to these new characters it does slow down the pace of the movie, but the directors don’t waste any time getting back to all the fun.  This time out we get to see the infected up close and personal and get really good looks at the f/x.  The infected are pretty horrifying and there is enough gore here to fill two sequels.

Trust me; you don’t wanna see the front of her!!

If you’re a fan of the first [REC] then I assume you hate the fucking horrible, flaccid remake QUARANTINE.  That’s good.  Usually the sequels of badass movies suck balls, but here Balagueró and Plaza pull off a faster, gorier, scarier and better movie than the first.  This is a no-brainer everyone; go out and see [REC].  I loved every second of this one!!

My Summary:

Directors:  Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza (and writers)

Plot:  4.5 out of 5 stars

Gore:  6.5 out of 10 skulls

Zombie Mayhem:  4 out of 5 brains (technically I would say these aren’t zombies here, but the argument could be made that they are.  So fuck it!!)

Reviewed by Scott Shoyer

Stay Bloody!!!

Filed under Movie Reviews, New Posting, Zombie Flicks · Tagged with Jaume Balagueró, Javier Botet, Paco Plaza, REC, REC 2