| Rec ( [Rec] ) ( [a-yRec] ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ] | ![Rec ( [Rec] ) ( [a-yRec] ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41kI%2B6kSkiL.jpg)
| Directors: Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza
Studio: Filmax
Category: DVD
Buy New: $31.98
Buy New/Used from $31.98
Avg. Customer Rating:   (10 reviews)
Sales Rank: 50089
Format: Import, Pal, Widescreen
Languages: English (Unknown), Spanish (Unknown), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 75 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
UPC: 842001812608
EAN: 0842001812608
ASIN: B001EC9V58
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | THIS DVD WILL NOT WORK ON STANDARD US DVD PLAYER |
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Product Description
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, Angela 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 Angela 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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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 One of the Creepiest Movies of the Past 10 Years... November 21, 2008
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.
 Solid, but derivative November 15, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
"REC" is a Spanish horror film that follows the trend of films like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project by having the entire story told through the lens of a constantly-filming camera and throws in some of 28 Days Later's mad intensity to create a film that is annoyingly familiar in execution, but still a must-see. In less than a year, Hollywood has managed to bang out a remake titled Quarantine. What a disgrace. A copy of a copy of a copy. As usual, the reasons the film had to be remade for American audiences are twofold: most Americans are believed to be functionally illiterate and will therefore flee from the sight or even thought of subtitles, or they are bigots who will not pay to see a movie that isn't packed with pasty skin, blonde hair, and familiar overpaid faces. Do me a favor, America: PROVE THEM WRONG! Do not pay your hard-earned cash to see these useless, unimaginative, and inferior remakes; buy the real deal even if it means getting a region-free DVD player. Support true original horror regardless of nationality and quarantine crummy remakes.
Oh, right; I had a movie review going on here. Sorry about that. In "REC", a young, beautiful reporter hosting a late night show is doing a story about firefighters working the graveyard shift entitled "While You're Asleep". After a meet-and-greet and a few fluff segments our heroine Angela and her cameraman, Pablo, follow the firefighters on a routine call. They end up inside of an apartment building where a call was placed about a disturbance. They head upstairs to check it out and see an old woman standing motionless in the dark, her clothes bloodied. This sort of thing seldom ends well. After some doings transpire, the residents, firefighters, policemen, and reporter duo find that the building has been sealed off and is surrounded by police threatening deadly force. BNC (Biological, Nuclear, and Chemical) protocol is in effect on the entire building and nobody is getting out. Nobody seems to know what's going on. Then the killing starts.
"REC" is unoriginal on several levels; essentially a hodgepodge of concepts and techniques that have come before, but it is damned effective because it only steals the best. If you didn't like the style of "Cloverfield" or Diary of the Dead then you are unlikely to enjoy this either. In fact, the camera might be even shakier on this one. You'd think with a pro handling the camera, the picture would be more stable. While there is nothing approaching the deep, dark, cutting social statements of Romero's work, there is a little bit to chew on. While interviewing residents, Angela finds one man matter-of-factly rambling about his "Chinese" neighbors (they're Japanese) and their disgusting eating habits while essentially implying that they must be the root cause of the rumored infection. This is so very true to life it almost hurts. Blaming the foreigners never gets old no matter what country you live in. A very nice touch. As the story unfolds and the characters start to unravel, the pace of the film picks up substantially. The result is several minutes of pure chaos. The mystery infection can take minutes, hours, or days to manifest symptoms, making everybody in the building a liability. Talk about tension.
While the pacing is a bit slow at times, there are some amazing scenes. Before I saw "REC", there had been only three children in cinema history that truly frightened me; The Exorcist, Pet Sematary and Night of the Living Dead. Add another to that list. Jaw-dropping performance. The final act is a masterpiece of suspense and intensity. With the power cut and the police outside practically waiting for everyone inside to die, Pablo and Angela -with their camera as the only available light in the building (genius)- attempt to escape upstairs, hoping to find an attic leading outside. What they find is a supposedly abandoned room that contains the answers to the story's mysteries and one of the most terrifying apparitions ever seen in a horror film. There are some amazing shots, genuine scares, violence with a little gore, and plenty of screams along the way. My God, are there screams. I have to say that in spite of the fact that much of this had been done in previous films, I wanted more of "REC". The film is a short hour and fifteen minutes and the ending was annoyingly abrupt and ended with lame music.
Either you enjoy these kinds of films or you do not. For fans of the emerging shaky-cam horror genre, this is for you. If you're not a fan, either skip it or take some dramamine beforehand; this one's not for the faint-hearted. A lesson in low-budget intensity in this movie. It is unexceptional considering what has come before, but it is executed well enough to make it well worth a watch. Consider "REC" a rec.
Message from the soapbox, incoming...
Let's face it, people: foreign horror is kicking our tails. It has been for a decade at least. If we want America's sleeping horror giant to wake up again, we've got to stop supporting the sub-par recycled garbage that is piling on top of it. That means saving your cash for the films that deserve it -independent, controversial, hardcore, R-rated, uncompromising HORROR- and forsaking all others. No Tara Reids or Paris Hiltons, no PG-13s, no Paul Andersons or Michael Bays, and no more God-cursed remakes. Take the money for that ticket and go buy a DVD of the original works instead. It'll make you a real American hero.
Hell is a place on earth November 11, 2008
Bloody Disgusting (a horror website for all fanatics. Check it out) hyped this film but gave very few details as to what it is about. Thankfully. Being a horror addict i managed to find a bootleg copy on DVD months ago.
Hearing the film was documentary style made me skeptical and expecting the worst. How wrong i was.
The story is simple but elegant, and the acting range of the main character is unexpected and realistic. And the directing style is no where annoying as it sounds. In fact the visual aspect heightens the terror. Finding yourself beside the main character, you may be tempted to yell "run Pablo" along with her.
REC contains a handful of the most heart-bursting scenes in years. The final minuets rank along side of the Exorcist. Pure Horror.
Don't buy it from a US seller November 7, 2008
In addition to S. Banzhaf's advice regarding buying a cheap region-free DVD player (they're EVERYWHERE!!), I would strongly recommend signing up with Amazon.co.uk and buying this disc or any other PAL-only release from that site. As I write this, REC is selling for about $10 American with the shipping at about 6 bucks -- and they ship fast. Better yet, you even get a discount over UK customers -- something about not having to pay the VAT, whatever that is. So forget the marketplace (and eBay) sellers that are selling this for upwards of $30. They're probably getting THEIR stock from Amazon UK!
 Mixed bag October 17, 2008
I enjoyed this movie (as much as you can enjoy a gory horror flick filmed with a shaky hand-cam), but it was nowhere near the scariest movie I'd ever seen. In my book, A Tale Of Two Sisters still holds that record. I actually found most of REC to be boring, painfully predictable, and not at all scary. The last 15 minutes or so were pretty freaky, I give them that. I jumped. More than once. Which is a big deal for me. I doubt I've ever seen a creepier, chills-down-your-spine zombie, and I doubt I ever will again. But overall, this was just your average zombie flick, as others have said "28 Days Later" meets the "Blair Witch Project". I haven't seen Quarantine, so I can't compare. This is definitely worth checking out if you're a horror fan. Watch the last chapter alone in a dark room. I dare you to sleep well afterwards.
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