The Next Great Leap Forward In Zombies — Rec 2

The Nateflix Review of Rec 2

By Nate Hensley

If I told you that Rec 2 puts a radically different spin on the zombie movie, even compared to the firstRec, would you take me at my word, or would you want details?

Rec 2 is the sequel to the phenomenal Spanish horror flick from two years ago. (Sidebar — Recspawned the American remake Quarantine. It was a very faithful remake. Quarantine 2 is coming out in a few weeks, but should not be confused with Rec 2, which takes the story in a very different direction)  It entailed a news crew being quarantined inside an apartment building while a virus raged around them turning Spaniards into shrieking monstrous zombies.

Rec 2 picks up immediately after the original, with not a second to spare. A high tech SWAT team is being sent into the building, along with a health official, to try and discover the root of the virus and potentially find a cure. Having not seen the first movie, these tough guys have absolutely no idea what they are in for.

Like the first film, Rec 2 is done in the “found footage” style. But with a welcome and original upgrade – since all the SWAT guys have cameras on them, the movie can now toggle back and forth between characters, and even use picture-in-picture. This gives the movie a much more intense, dynamic style than, say, Blair Witch or even Cloverfield, where all the action is tied to one singular point of view. This style of found footage movie has become overused and boring in horror films, but Rec 2 pushes it to a new level, and makes it fresh and fun.

Sequences of the movie are almost unbearably tense, as the cops search the building, try and piece together what happened, and fend off attacks from hideous zombies. But Rec 2 is not content to just make you jump – it goes a step further and creates an original and fascinating spin on everything we know about the walking dead. In 2002, 28 Days Later put a unique twist on the genre, and was immediately copied by every subsequent zombie movie. Rec 2 pushes the concept into an entire new philosophical realm.

I decided I won’t tell you what that concept is. You’re going to have to go see it yourself… which is something you should do anyway, because its one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in the last few years.