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Rating: "Cloverfield" - "Rec" and "Quarantine", the screenwriters, nine years after "The Blair Witch Project," have attempted to revive this cinematic style that seemed forgotten, the reality effect horror movie, filmed with an amateur camera capturing events as they truly happen. The difference with the first attempt in 1999 is that the audience can no longer be fooled into believing what they see is real! So this reality technique is used merely as an exercise in style to give a claustrophobic and realistic touch to the film. Whether it be Godzilla or zombies, the effect remains very much like the Blair Witch Project.
The plot is simple, a young girl hosts a late-night TV show, and with her trusty cameraman Pablo, she is making a documentary about firefighters and their lives. When the firefighters are called to a building to assist a deranged old woman, Pablo and the lady follow everything with the camera, but they soon find themselves isolated in the building with bloodthirsty zombies! All filmed with Pablo's camera.
This "REC - la paura scorre in diretta" has been meticulously crafted to make the viewer jump out of their seat (though it didn't work for me... too bad... I wanted to leap off my stool... it hasn't happened since Cameron's "Aliens," I needed two bypasses, those were the days!...) everything is practically planned to the smallest detail, every single movement of the actors, every single move, every single camera shift, this perfection of timing and mechanical shooting is the sore point of the film, in fact, despite the schematic nature of it all, the actors and the camera operator must ensure that everything appears to be happening for real, and in their forced naturalness, they come across as terribly mechanical and embarrassing, starting with the unpleasant protagonist who tries too hard to make embarrassed expressions and to act in a falsely spontaneous and natural way (like when she gets emotional in front of the camera, misses lines, does fake human behaviors, etc... horribly forced), but also the tenants of the building who appear in the right place at the right time, with a "spontaneous" yet completely forced performance! In short... ridiculous but ultimately... effective! Because beyond the acting and the fake spontaneity of the events, the film relies on perfect timing where the twists are situated perfectly within the story in a way that makes the viewer jump out of their seat with mathematical timing! Timing that, however, becomes obvious in the smallest details (at a certain point I was saying "and one.. and two.. and.. VOILA'" and the zombie suddenly appeared) too mathematical and predictable, but the easily impressionable viewer is guaranteed a scare.
The idea works, but the execution does not, which, although well-done, I repeat, is too, too mechanical.
I can't explain all these awards it won at festivals, like "Best Actress," huh. But I must admit that technically it is a well-made and well-orchestrated piece (despite the lousy acting).
The promotion that accompanied the film is ridiculous, such as showing trailers with audience reactions to previews, everyone going "AAAAAHHHHHH" proving to be the best actors in the "REC" project. If they pay me 100 euros to be a fake terrified viewer, I would also jump out of my seat, for 200 euros I'd cling to the ceiling! I remember they did this nonsense with "Final Destination" with scared viewers in the theatre. Why do they get scared in the theatre and not at my house?
However, compared to "Cloverfield," it might have a less emotional impact, since "Cloverfield" featured sequences like a terrorist attack with a monster instead of hijackers, and the outdoor sequences closely resembled September 11th. In the case of "REC", the impact is less real (despite its huge and poorly executed effort to be), and sometimes it even falls into unintended comedy (scenes like "Evil Dead" with the old zombie being struck in the face with a hammer).
A film still recommended for an entertaining night with friends or for easily impressionable people, to be listened to with a stereo system at full volume, the film plays entirely on the "BOOOOOOOOH, did it scare you?" effect, and nothing more.
In my opinion, the biggest travesty of this type of film remains the 1999 milestone.
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