It lacks the surprising jolt of the first installment, but [REC] 2 almost maintains the original's chilling momentum -- and proves not all horror sequels were made equal.
It lacks the surprising jolt of the first installment, but [REC] 2 almost maintains the original's chilling momentum -- and proves not all horror sequels were made equal.
Picking up just a few short minutes after the first film left off, Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza's adrenalized action horror sequel follows a heavily armed SWAT team and a tight-lipped medical officer as they venture into the quarantined tenement building to uncover the origins of the bizarre outbreak. Their helmet-mounted cameras capturing every nerve-shredding moment of the mission, the team must fight for their lives when they're beset by rampaging victims of the demonic virus. Now, with
each new attack, the infection grows, and the horde gains power. Should the virus somehow manage to spread outside, the result would be a disaster of apocalyptic proportions. But there's still hope; the medical officer seems to know something about this infection that he hasn't yet shared with the others. Somewhere in the building, an antidote to the virus waits to be discovered. But in order to find it, these terrified soldiers will have to fight their way through a true hell on Earth. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Frantic from the get-go, this new crop of zombie bait barrels through shadowy hallways and fends off waxen, emaciated attackers with such hysterical speed it's impossible to know -- or care -- whose face has just been chomped.
The shaky camera work (and explosive gore) can get literally nauseating. But when the characters' cameras run low, and the screen goes black? That's the scariest thing of all.
Unlike so many sequels, [REC] 2 builds nicely on the ideas introduced first time around; in particular, the nature and history of the disease, only touched on in the original, are explored much more fully here to chilling effect.
The film gets a lot of mileage from its concept of seeing things only through the soldiers' helmet-mounted cameras, but the plot also develops in some surprising directions.
Shouldn't logically work, but the raw creativity of the filmmakers lights up the screen, reworking the premise of handheld horror into a fierce, raging mix of Aliens and The Exorcist.
It doesn't quite maximise the potential of all of its ideas, but it nonetheless provides a horror experience that's up there with the best of recent years...
Rather than trying to up the ante laid down by its predecessor, it simply picks up where that film left off (at the precise moment it left off, in fact), and continues doing many of the things that movie did so well.
A mediocre third-generation copy of an idea that wasn't very new to begin with, and the addition of a supposedly rational explanation to the mix proves more hindrance than help.
Using the same frenetic pacing and POV shakycam style, [REC] 2 tries to go bigger -- but this time, the gimmicks can seem forced. Still, there's plenty to like...
Approaches the rarified dream logic of the best otherworldly horror films. Call it meta or post-modern or whatever, but once this sucker hits nightvision mode, all bets are off.
The original created so much international buzz, who could blame the filmmakers for going the well twice? I can. [REC] 2 is a straight-up money grab so terrible it threatens to ruin the memory of how good [REC] was.
I hated the direction this movie went. In REC it was supposed to be an infection right? Like rabies? Then they go in a completely different direction off course and start with something about a demonic possession. I didn't like it at all. It wasn't even that scary and it had too many plot holes to take seriously. It
was nothing like the original REC and I thought it was really stupid. Especially the whole thing with the priest and the little girl who was allegedly possessed. Really stupid plot. I thought they were going to tie up loose ends from the first film, but instead they created a bigger mess for the audience to figure out. REC didn't even need a sequel anyway.
May 13, 2012
J P
Super Reviewer
Man. During the 30 minutes I thought this was going to be one of those rare occasions in which the sequel is better than the original. The scares were much more wisely paced & it looked as though they were beginning to make an interesting comment on the messy intersection of science & religion. Yet, as it began to get
closer to the second act, the film descended into one preposterous scenario after the next. One particular scene involving a firework is so stupid that I am surprised it survived the final cut. While I appreciate that they tried to tie in the various narratives, they ended up sucking any ounce of realism out of the film. And when you have no realism, the "found footage" gimmick ceases to be scary. It looks as though my journey with this franchise ends here. Which is sad, because it had a lot of potential.
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