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Released by: e One
Released on: 7/12/2011
Director: Paco Plaza, Jaume Balaguero
Cast: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza/Jonathan Mellor, Oscar Zafra
Year: 2007/2009
The Movies:
[REC]
Co-written and co-directed by Paco Plaza and Jaume Balaguero, 2007's [REC] (which was puzzlingly remade a year later for American audiences as the markedly inferior Quarantine) provided the whole 'found footage' horror movie concept with a well needed shot in the arm. While movies like Cannibal Holocaust and The Blair Witch Project proved it could be done well, many of the imitators that came in the wake of Witch didn't really have what it took to convince audiences. [REC], however, is so well made that it really does do a fantastic job of sucking you in.
The movie starts innocently enough as we watch through the camera that follows pretty young TV hostess Angela (Manuela Velasco) as she ventures into a firehouse to capture some 'on the job' footage and show her viewers what a day in the life of a fireman in Barcelona is like. After fifteen minutes or so of mess halls and basketball games, the alarm goes off and she accompanies two firemen, Manu (Ferran Terraza) and Alex (David Vert), as they zip off to an apartment building to help a woman whose neighbors became concerned after they heard her screaming. Shortly after they make their way in, one of the police officers inside is bitten by the old woman. Soon, there are S.W.A.T. teams outside sealing the building off and a health inspector in a haz-mat suit is running around trying to figure out what's going on without giving the people inside many answers.
Angela and her cameraman, Pablo (Pablo Rosso), keep filming at the assistance of the tenants who want the people outside to find out what's happening to them, while the health inspector and Manu try to figure out what caused the woman to bite the police officer and how whatever has infected the old woman seems to be spreading to others in the building.
While the concept for [REC] might not be the most original idea to come down the horror movie pipeline, but the execution of this fairly simple concept more than makes up for it. Those in front of the camera never break character, and the way that the camera puts us in the chaos with the characters in the movie is done incredibly well. The end result is a slick and remarkably tense outing that relies on subtlety and atmosphere as much as it does jump scares and loud noises. Convincingly edited with an 'in camera' style the movie might seem slow at first but once we get into the building the kid gloves come off and the movie doesn't let up.
Those put off by the camerawork seen in films like Cloverfield and Diary Of The Dead might be put off by the similar style employed here, but the cast all seem so committed to their performances that what might seem like a gimmick turns out to be the perfect way to shoot the story.
[REC] 2
One of those rare sequels that didn't need to be made but which somehow bucks the trend and turns out to work incredibly well, [REC] 2 doesn't just follow up on the storyline started in the first movie but actually does quite a bit to add to it without taking away too much from the mystery behind the events that made the first movie such a good one.
Taking place during the events that make up the first movie, this second chapter begins when an S.W.A.T. team, with cameras in their helmets, is sent off to the same apartment building to help seal the building up before going in to meet up with a health inspector named Dr. Owen (Jonathan Mellor). They arrive as it's all starting to hit the fan and wind up doing what they can to assist Owen in his search for the first contaminated victim in hopes that they can get some of its blood and create an antidote.
As things in the building get worse, a curious group of teenagers sneak in through the sewers and the S.W.A.T. team members run into a certain TV hostess and her cameraman. When Owen reveals his true self to the men, the movie builds on the supernatural elements hinted at in the finale of the first movie and builds on that aspect of the story - without skimping out on flesh eating monsters in the least.
[REC] 2, thankfully, gives us a fairly original slant on the POV style that made the first movie work so well. Rather than send in another news team, this time we follow along with a group of gun toting highly trained police men who should, by all means, have an easier go of things than the firemen that were sent in first. Of course, this being a horror movie, it doesn't quite work out that way for them but Plaza and Balaguero once again do a really great job of keeping us 'in the moment' and ground their film in enough semblance of reality that more often than not it all works surprisingly well.
Though the supernatural angle will play better for some than for others, it never becomes so ham-fisted as to hurt the movie, rather, it's simply one more element of 'weird' put into the situation to keep things interesting and an indicator that science cannot explain all that there is in movie land, nor should it be able to. Given that Spain is a predominantly Catholic nation, this was an interesting move on the part of Plaza and Balaguero. If the picture lacks some of the impact that the first one had, it doesn't lack very much and the end result is tense, entertaining and a very worthy sequel.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Both films arrive on Blu-ray in AVC encoded 1.85.1 widescreen 1080p high definition transfers that likely look about as good as the source material is going to allow. Given the intended cinema verite style that the filmmakers use here, the picture quality isn't ever going to be reference quality but these HD encodes offer more detail and a more stable picture than their DVD counterparts can provide. Compression artifacts are never an issue and since both films were shot digitally, there are no print damage problems to note. Some minor shimmering shows up now and again but color reproduction looks good and appears quite natural here - but both films are meant to look like they were shot through a camcorder and that's how they appear here, so expect some noise, some clipping and a few digital anomalies to produce that effect.
Both films get DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio tracks in their original Spanish language with optional French language tracks, also in DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio. Optional subtitles are offered in French and English, there are no English tracks provided for either movie. As far as the quality of the Spanish lossless tracks go, again, they are improved over the 5.1 tracks that were on the DVD releases in that they sound considerably punchier and more lifelike, providing a noticeably fuller experience. Surround usage is handled very cleverly for both films, accentuating the jump scares but also providing some welcome atmosphere. Dialogue is clean, clear, and well balanced and there are no problems with any hiss or distortion. Things sound very good all the way across the board here.
The extras are spread across the two discs in this set as they pertain to each movie. Starting with [REC], we get a pretty solid smattering of extras beginning with The Making Of REC which is a thirty-nine minute long documentary that does a pretty good job of providing everything you'd want to know about what it was like making this film. Cast and crew interviews are mixed in with some behind the scenes footage to make for an interesting look at the production, its themes and ideas, and what it was like creating a few key set pieces.
The Interview Gallery includes four separate segments, the first of which is a twenty-minute talk with cinematographer Pablo Rosso who speaks at length about how his work is basically a character in the film, some of the difficulties involved in 'staying in character' while behind the camera and more. Sound Designer Oriel Tarrago gives us a seventeen minute discussion in regards to the importance of the sound design in the overall effectiveness of the movie while Xavi Mas, who also helped out with the sound work on the film, gives another eight minute talk on the subject. The fourth and final interview is with Jaume Belaguero and Paco Plaza, the co-writing/co-directing team responsible for the film in the first place, who speak for ten minutes about making the picture.
The Cutting Room section includes twenty minutes of deleted and extended footage shot in the firehouse, eight minutes of deleted interview clips with the neighbors and tenants around the building, and a few other short deleted bits, one of which includes a lengthier excerpt from the tape recording found in the film's finale. The Production Notes section includes three chapters, the first of which is a sixteen minute Behind The Scenes section that is, as you'd expect, some behind the scenes footage shot while the movie was being made. The fourteen minute Castings section is a collection of screen tests while the twelve minute Production Secrets - Manuela Velasco allows the actress who played Angela in the film to talk about her real life career as a TV hostess and how she wound up getting the part in this movie.
Rounding out the extras on the first disc are a UK promotional trailer, some TV spots, a sizeable still gallery, animated menus and chapter stops.
[REC] 2's extra features start off with a making of featurette entitled An Infected World which clocks in at a whopping hour and fifty three minutes in length, a fair bit longer than the movie itself. There are loads of interviews with the writing and directing team as well as pretty much all of the principal cast and crew members and a ton of behind the scenes clips shot while the film was in production. Basically all of the stand out set pieces from the movie are covered here and we learn about pre-production, post-production, effects work, location issues and much more - this is a VERY thorough piece that leaves no stone unturned.
Another forty-three minute Behind The Scenes segment includes even more interviews with most of the same people as here they get into specifics on a couple of key scenes and some of the difficulties involved in shooting them for the film. Some great on set footage is included in this segment too that shows what the effects team had to deal with and the problems that cracked ceilings can cause on a film set.
Rounding out the extras on the [REC] 2 disc are a few extended (3:26 worth of material involving the blowup doll prank and some chaos outside the building) and deleted scenes (3:57 worth of footage involving the S.W.A.T. team the building, some bits with a fireman, and a CNN newscaster!). The disc also includes trailers for a few unrelated titles that play before the main menus load, animated menus and chapter stops.
Menus for both discs are available in French and English and all of the extras on both discs are in Spanish with optional English and French subtitles. All of the extras on both discs are AVC encoded with Linear PCM audio, though the extras for [REC] look upscaled.
The Final Word:
Why Sony opted to go standard definition only on these films in the U.S. is anyone's guess but this Region A set from e One gives North American customers a pretty awesome option by including a load of great extras and offering noticeably improved audio and video presentations over the standard definition releases currently available. The films themselves hold up exceptionally well as clever, scary horror movies and this set comes highly recommended.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
