[Rec] 2 (2009)

Back in the darkness

Catalonian and Spanish directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza are back on the scene, with their sequel to the sublime, terrifying [Rec] (2007). So, does the second slice of P.O.V. pandemonium match up to the first?

Well, yes and no. As already said, the same directors reunite (and Picturenose had a chance to chat with Paco recently), with Manu Díez taking writing duties along with Balagueró this time around.

Suffice to say, there’s clearly enough talent and knowledge of the horror genre at work here to ensure that [Rec] 2 (2009) knocks most US horror into a cocked hat but, nevertheless, this reviewer feels a couple of questions must still be addressed.

The action begins minutes after the first film left us quivering in terror, in the dark, as late-night TV host Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco), whose insistence to ‘keep on filming’ ends with her being dragged into the depths by the entity that is, apparently, responsible for the horror that has engulfed a Spanish tenament building. A SWAT team complete, naturally, with the very latest video-camera equipment are sent into the sealed-off apartments and ordered to bring the situation under control.

Believing the infection (which has seen the afflicted become blood-lusting maniacs who attack at will and spread their ‘disease’) to be entirely viral, the team naturally arrives complete with gas masks, but, as the story unfolds, are to learn the real reasons for the terror. And the devils, truly, are in the details…

And so to the first problem – while this is still a remarkably exciting, unnerving journey into hell, there is nevertheless a sense of there being a lack of characters with whom the viewer can immediately empathize. Given the blistering dynamic, it is obviously impossible for much time to be spent ‘getting to know’ our SWAT team characters, whereas, in the first film, the felicitous set-up (Velasco’s character is hosting a ‘While You’re Sleeping’ style look at an average night in the life of a fire-crew) allowed for more immediate identification with the central heroine.

Second, the ending of the original [Rec] provided hints and suggestions to an almost apocalyptic menace, but was sensibly able to keep the details vague, which is usually the very best thing for great horror. In having to expand on the reasons behind the epidemic, [Rec] 2 comes up against the age-old problem – can you keep it scary if you explain away your monsters?

Don’t get me wrong – the film does the very best job it can, and is still a hell of a ride, but nevertheless one is left wondering if a sequel (and there is also talk of a third installment) was the best way to go. Hmmm – over to you…

85 mins. In Spanish.