Alan's Verdict
This week's chosen horror was Rec — a low budget, found footage Spanish movie released in 2007.
I've not seen this movie before and I'd heard glowing reports so it was with positive expectations that I tucked into my hot chocolate and popcorn, pressing play.
My experience wasn't too positive overall but, to be fair to the film, the only copy I could find was dubbed into English. This is my least preferred option — I'd much rather hear the original actors and their emotions portrayed whilst reading the subtitles. Voice actors used for the dubbing can never convey the original sentiment and often the voice sounds alien to the face you're looking at... because it is.
The found footage angle can be an excellent device for building suspense and fear and Rec is no exception here, but I did feel it offered nothing new to the genre. Coming 5 years after the much better My Little Eye or even 8 years after Blair Witch, I feel it could be pushing things forward more than it did.
I can't judge the acting — it seemed poor but as it was dubbed I'm not qualified to judge — and despite this huge disadvantage, I did find myself enjoying the film as it progressed.
It spawned three sequels and receives a very solid 7.4 on IMDB so I have to accept that my diluted experience means I could have this one well wrong.
🩸 Gore Score: 5/10 😱 Jump Scares: 6/10 🎬 Overall Rating: 5/10
Clare's Take
Rec gets off to a slow start for such a short film, and I have to be honest — the dubbed English really worked against it. It flattens the performances and strips away the raw emotion that the original actors clearly put into their roles. Subtitles would have made all the difference.
That said, the second half picks up considerably and does a lot of heavy lifting. The found footage style, while chaotic and disorientating, does create a genuine sense of panic — and there were enough jump scares to make Alan leap out of his seat, which is always a win.
Gore is hard to come by with this camera work — dark, shaky, and frantic — but the atmosphere more than compensates. As a zombie fan I was left wanting more, and I suspect watching it in Spanish would be a completely different experience. Worth seeking out the original if you get the chance.
🩸 Gore Score: 4/10 😱 Jump Scares: 4/10 🎬 Overall Rating: 6/10
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