10 September 2009

[REC]

d. Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza, 2007

About [REC], the less said, the better. Not to dismiss [REC], but to preserve for you the fun of seeing it sans foreknowledge. At The Old Dark Arthouse, we are close to mastery of the skill of learning what films we should see, without learning much at all in advance about their content. Most recently both MOON and DISTRICT 9 were enjoyed accordingly, and now [REC]. Let us do you the favor of passing [REC] along to you in the same spirit, by duly refusing to tell you what [REC] is.

However, lest the DVD cover tempt you to false expectations, we will tell you what [REC] isn't. We had a vague impression going into it that [REC] was a Spanish take on the HOSTEL or SAW "torture porn" genre which is currently losing its brief momentum as a fad in the swamps of DTV sequels and copycats. [REC] is not that.

[REC]'s genre affiliations become apparent at 14:04, and its inversions of its genre's conventions unfold as the film moves along. We were particularly moved by the final 6 minutes or so, and may pass along some thoughts about them when we are feeling in a more spoilerish mood.