[Rec] 2 - Review

***WARNING***
This review contains a major spoiler that assumes you’ve already seen the first film. If you haven’t seen [rec], please do so before reading this review.

I had a chance to check out the Spanish film (sequel) [Rec]2 this past weekend and i have to say, I was impressed. Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza take their story to the next level, almost comparable to what Aliens was to Alien on a much smaller scale.

'[Rec] 2' picks up 15 minutes from where we left off in the first one, taking us back into the quarantined apartment building where a terrifying virus has run rampant, turning the occupants into mindlessly violent, raging beasts. A heavily armed SWAT team and a mysterious government official are sent in to assess and attempt to neutralize the situation. What they find inside lies beyond the scope of medical science--a demonic nightmare of biblical proportions more terrifying than they could have possibly imagined. Above all it must be contained, before it escapes to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting world outside. - moviefone.com

First, you'll notice that the camera work in [Rec]2 is a little less frenetic than it's prequel, making it a little more digestible. Yes, the [rec] series is shot first person docu-style (Blair Witch, Cloverfield), but don't let this turn you off from this otherwise brilliant slice of horror cinema. Within the first 10 minutes, the film dives right into the action with solid pacing, and building tension. But unlike the original, the exposition comes quickly, and the "what?" is taken out of the equation. Don’t worry though, there are still some surprises... for fans of the original. So, if you haven’t figured it out already, [Rec]2 (and [rec]) is not a zombie film... it's not even a viral infection film (ala 28 days later), no, it’s all about demonic possession, but told within the framework of a “zombie” film. A demon that posseses and spreads its seed through the same means as a virus or zombie outbreak... the saliva or blood. This is what sets this film apart from the masses. It's a new spin on the "infection" story that actually allows some pretty cool elements that would otherwise be meaningless.

Performances are solid throughout, although most of the characters have a very limited life span. Unfortunately this is one of the film’s shortcomings. Unlike the first where we’re given time to bond with the characters, focusing heavily on Angela Vidal(Manuela Velasco), [Rec]2 doesn’t really waste any time with niceties. This could be reflective of it’s very short runtime. Clocking in at just 85 minutes, [Rec]2 holds a solid pace, but sacrifices character development… giving the viewer very little to hold onto in the end.

Although fun, [Rec]2 lacks some of the surprise and creepiness that made the first one so frightening. The gore however, has been ramped up, and in the end, it’s a solid entry to the series. With 2 more films in the works... tentatively titled [rec] Genesis and [rec] Apocalypse, scheduled for 2011 and 2012 respectively, there's a lot to look forward to in this franchise. If you haven't seen the original, definitely catch that first, as this is a direct sequel to it... and after the sequel, you can kind of see where it’s going.

[Rec] 2 gets a 3.5 out of 5

Wasting Away - Review

Editors Note:


Ottawa Horror would like to welcome out latest addition to the fold - Ralph Gethings of Ralph's Movie Talk! Ralph will be providing us with his excellent reviews of Horror movies, and believe me - he KNOWS horror movies!  Take it away Ralph...




I came by this film quite some time ago and actually was surprised at how difficult it was to get. I did some digging and was finally able to find it on ebay(go figure). You have to have a multi region or region 2 player to watch this. Wasting Away has been making the festival circuit since 2007, so it's odd that we're finally getting news of its release this year (September 28th, 2010). In North America though we will be getting the movie re-titled as Aaah! Zombies!. This is probably due to the fact that there's another film in production called Wasting Away.

So what did I think? Well... Wasting Away isn't your typical zombie movie. It reaks of low budget, but Matthew and Sean Kohnen have written something a little different. It's not quite as funny as it could have been, but different enough to hold your attention. Performances are above average for a low grade flic like this, and the effects are OK, although it could have benefitted from a little more gore. As I said earlier, the story is an interesting take on the zombie genre, offering two distinct views of our undead shamblers. Through the eyes of the living, the undead are.... undead, slow moving corpses bent on eating living flesh. Through the eyes of the zombies, the living are the infected. They move unnaturally fast and talk in a fast helium induced gibber (kinda like watching a movie on fast forward). They themselves look and feel almost normal, although they think they've accidentally ingested some kind of super soldier serum, which explains their ability to withstand gunshot wounds and such.

The way the infected material is introduced to the victims is so far stretched it's not funny. The opening sequence has a barrel fall off a truck and roll what seems to be miles along roads, through the city, and down alleys. The barrel finally comes to a slow rest behind a bowling lane where it nudges up against the stacked boxes of soft serve ice cream base. The cork on the barrel pops and out drips a glowing green liquid. It barely has time to soak into the bottom box before the boxes are dollied into the bowling alley, and there is only a very minor wet stain along the bottom edge of the bottom box. So inside the bowling lanes, dude is getting the soft serrve ready. I can only assume he's taken the carton from the very top box on the dolly... and pours it into the machine. The soft serve base is glowing green, and he doesn't notice it, not to mention it was probably nowhere near the infected spill to begin with. needless to say they all ate the soft serve, blaming the green color on lighting in the alleys... in which there was no green lighting at all... anyways I guess what I'm getting at is, it just seemed very lazy... maybe others will find it funny...

Anyways, the story is different which makes this zombie flic worth checking out. Aside from the story though, Wasting Away (Aaah! Zombies!) falls prey to just about every other problem found in low budget films of this calibre. I'm still gonna recommend it to fans of the genre. It's a zombie film that should be seen at least once if you're looking for a little originality.

I would give this film a rating of 6/10

Check out the trailer here!

The Crazies – Old and New

The classic Crazies was a film making a very fearful point about the ability of the military to go in and destroy a town of their own without explaining to the people what was going on and the obvious revolt that would cause in small town USA. Of course there’s also a deadly engineered bio-weapon thrown in and a few good kills.

The new Crazies was a film about a town that became homicidal due to an engineered bio-weapon and is quarantined by the government. The military that is sent in is to be avoided, but there is more terror brought on by the crazed townsfolk. The main characters are kept from the original and the fact that it is a man made virus remains, but there is little of the old movie’s political statement that stays.

I liked both films for what they were. The new movie has some kick-ass fight scenes and some good jokes. It is a little cliché and has a few pop scares that are revealed long before through the score; but if you suspend your disbelief and scientific mind for the film it is a fun ride. The classic has no pop scares and is not as cliché. It surprisingly has more gore than the new film and contains some hilarious seventies special effects. It is an interesting look into the military operation and the suspension of citizen rights in a state of martial law.

Both films are good and worth watching. That being said, if I had to pick between the two movies, I would choose the new film. It leans more towards the horror side and has some pretty bad ass characters.

So, go see either film. Don’t expect to be scared if you see the old one and don’t expect the movie of the year from the new one and you shouldn’t be disappointed. Enjoy!

- Mary-Anne

The Horror Business

Last year, on my yearly stop at the Cinema One booth at Festival Of Fear, I picked up an interesting looking documentary called "Horror Business". For the better part of the year it sat unopened on my shelf. However, on a recent pass through my DVD's looking for something to watch, I saw it sitting there looking lonely and decided to give it a watch. I have to say... I'm sorry I left it there so long.

"Horror Business" is a documentary on lo/no budget horror filmmakers. What makes them tick, and why they chose this somewhat strange path. If you're a filmmaker, or just a fan who likes "behind the scenes" stuff, then this is for you. Director Christopher P. Garetano talks with a number of horror filmmakers from across North America, probing their motivations, their problems and their successes. A nice inclusion is Ottawa Filmmaker Brian Singleton.

You can pick it up at Amazon here.

A tale of two skulls...

So last weekend turned into "skull killer" weekend with the rental of two very different movies featuring killers wearing skull masks...

First up is "Midnight Movie", directed by Jack Messitt.

Set in a rundown old movie theatre, the movie revolves around a killer acting out the plot of the cult 70's movie being shown on the screen (cleverly titled, "The Dark Beneath"... which should give you an idea of what we're up against here). While the gore fx aren't bad, the acting is average at best, and the plot veers from questionable to flat out "what the?". A note to all filmmakers... sometimes you DON'T have to have a "twist" to sell the audience!

Which brings me to - "Laid to Rest", directed by Robert Hall. Someone once said that greatness wasn't doing the extraordinary, but doing the ordinary, extraordinarily well. Well that pretty much sums up Hall's work on this movie. There's is nothing here that we haven't seen a hundred times before, but we've seldom seen it done this well.
The movie involves a woman who wakes up (in a coffin no less), with no memory of who she is or how she got there, but she's being pursued by a serial killer wearing a Chrome skull mask, who kills everyone she comes in contact with. Nothing original there... but in Hall's hands, this stock plot is brought to life. From decent acting, which really helps us care about the characters, to some great FX - Hall is the FX guy behind "Terminator:Sarah Connor Chronicles" and "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" amongst others - to careful pacing, to a good ending, this movie is just done WELL.

Some readers may remember I was duly impressed with Hall's other film "Lightning Bug". That combined with the previews I saw at Rue Morgue last year had me waiting for this film, and I have to say I was NOT disappointed. I will go out on a limb here and say that this is quite possibly the best Slasher Film since the original Halloween. I'm looking forward to Hall's next work.

Friday the 13th in Ottawa

“Doomed! You're all doomed!” was a good warning from Crazy Ralph, but we watched the movie anyway. Here is my review of the first movie night for Ottawa Horror.

How does one review a classic? Well I’ll try. The film is pretty solid. A lady goes crazy after loosing her son and starts killing camp counselors. There was a good variety in her slayings and the premise is believable. Unlike most horror movies, however improbable, this type of massacre is possible. This film was one of the first and has guided the horror industry for years. The thrill of Hitchcock and a body count rarely seen before Jason. Come the end of the film it even throws a twist at the audience. Is the sequence over? Is Jason alive? Well, with another 11 movies in the series we know the answer is yes, but I enjoyed jumping a foot out of my seat in the dark theatre from his attack. This film set a standard and provides an example of how mass murderers should attack. Suspense and brutal slayings are now an every-movie experience, but we should all pay homage to the beginnings of slasher movie mania. Thank you Mr. Miller and Mr. Cunningham!

As for the location, it’s like a mini movie theatre with a snack bar and the huge screen. However, it has much more comfortable couches to sit on and friendly people to sit with. Hopefully attendance will rise in the future so more can enjoy the night.

See you at the next Ottawa Horror movie night!

- Mary-Anne