Halloween Horror Movie Marathon: ‘[REC2]’

[REC2] (2009) Directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza. Starring Jonathan Mellor, Óscar Sanchez Zafra, Ariel Casas, Alejandro Casaseca, Pablo Rosso, Andrea Ros, Àlex Batllori, Pau Poch, Manuela Velasco.

Starting Halloween off with a bang! on this roller-coaster ride of a movie. [REC2] is the sequel to one of my favorite flicks from last year’s marathon, [REC]. That one started off slow, in a good way, and ended with pure insanity. The sequel picks up right where the last one ended and maintains the same intensity throughout with just enough lulls to allow us to catch our breath.

This time we follow a Grupo Especial de Operaciones (GEO) team, the Spanish version of SWAT, into the quarantined building.  They are led by Owen (Jonathan Mellor), a member of the Ministry of Health who has a mission and just happens to be the team’s only way out once they’re inside. Cameras are brought along to record important information, and to, you know, give the audience a movie to watch.

I’ve said before, I’m a sucker for the “found footage” genre; when it’s done well, it can be pretty effective. No problems here. The plot may have its obvious contrivances to keep the characters in the claustrophobic setting, but I can forgive the film that minor issue. The pacing is exciting, the effects are great overall, this one’s a winner. It’s every bit as awesome as the last film. One of my favorites of the marathon so far.

Forging ahead!