Cinema review
Directed by Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza
Starring Manuela Velasco, Javier Botet, Manuel Bronchud, Martha Carbonell
Release date 11 April 2008 (UK)

A reporter and cameraman are filming a documentary about the daily life of a fire crew. When the firefighters are called out to a disturbance at an apartment block, they find themselves trapped in the building and attacked by zombies…

[Rec] is the latest in a spate of movies to play out its unfolding events through the wobbly eyes of a handheld video camera. But just because we’ve seen this device recently in Diary of the Dead and Cloverfield, and just because The Blair Witch Project used the same trick almost a decade ago, doesn’t lessen its impact. This is a gripping and genuinely frightening horror movie – we’ll be lucky to see a better shocker all year.

After a natural, unhurried build up, the firefighters and TV crew arrive at the apartment block – at which point the movie doesn't let up. Not a single frame is wasted. Directors Jaume Balagueró (The Nameless, Darkness) and Paco Plaza (Second Name) use the simple set-up and compact running time to their advantage, stuffing it with all the ingredients of a classic horror movie - claustrophobic setting, false hope, an air of paranoia and a nihilistic finale. Even a zombie child is thrown in for good measure.

The movie is anchored by a strong central performance from Manuela Velasco as TV presenter Ángela, who is on screen for virtually the entire running time. Beautiful but believable, she begins as a consummate professional who insists on keeping a record of events, before terror eventually envelops her.

The central device may not be new, but it's certainly exploited for all its worth. As events spiral out of control, the visuals become increasingly shaky and the sound more muffled, creating an ever-growing feeling of trepidation. Of course, you can quibble about whether a TV crew would really keep rolling under such circumstances (and there are perhaps rather too many cries of “Keep recording!”) - but you’ll probably be too busy shaking in your seat to care about a little thing like that.

Hollywood execs haven’t wasted any time in spotting the movie’s strengths – the American remake, Quarantine, arrives later this year. Matt McAllister

VERDICT: 8/10
Simple and expertly paced, [Rec] is far scarier than Blair Witch.

Click here to read an interview with directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza.