[Rec] (2007)
![IMDB page for [Rec]](http://www.filmfortress.com/images/rec_review.jpg "IMDb page for [Rec]")
[Rec]Spain 2007
Director: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza
Language: Spanish
Even though The Blair Witch Project was released almost ten years ago, we’ve yet to see many films try to emulate the low-budget, point-of-view filmmaking techniques seen in the successful horror film. Recently, however, several high-profile films have attempted to contain their action to (ostensibly) a single camera and POV perspective; two of these films were moderate Hollywood successes (Cloverfield and Diary of the Dead) and the third is a terrific and frightening little Spanish film called [Rec].
Whereas the two Hollywood films attempted to expand the scope of their action (the whole of New York City in Cloverfield and across Pennsylvania in Diary of the Dead), the directors of [Rec] make the smart move of containing the majority of the film to one setting, an apartment complex in Barcelona. Not only does this help to reduce production costs, a constant setting helps to both create familiarity and break that familiarity, greatly increasing the potential for shock and horror. Nothing elicits more terror than an aggressive element crashing in on a previously safe place.
I can’t help but compare this film to George Romero’s recent zombie POV effort, Diary of the Dead. Both concern similar outbreaks and both are depicted primarily through POV camerawork. [Rec], however, is both more entertaining and captivating and, importantly, a much scarier film. The frenetic pace and tension in this film is incredible; once the action starts, it doesn’t let up until the end credits. When discussing the use of POV in both films, the rationale for the technique in [Rec] (that a TV camera crew is following firemen through a typical night and they get involved in a mysterious outbreak) is more believable and realistic than that in Diary of the Dead (a driven film student seeks fame and glory through documenting a zombie attack). The POV in Diary feels like a gimmick, whereas it feels natural in [Rec].
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this film has already been remade in Hollywood as Quarantine. After viewing [Rec], I keep thinking that this is the film Romero should have made: a fast, grim, unrelenting zombie film. [Rec] is easily one of the most impressive and frightening horror films I’ve seen for a long time.
Colin Le SueurA Snake of June (2002)
A Snake of June (aka Rokugatsu no hebi)Japan 2002
Director: Shinya Tsukamoto
Language: Japanese
Standard rules of film criticism don’t tend to apply to the films of Shinya Tsukamoto. Controversial and groundbreaking from the start (with interesting and complex films such as Tetsuo), Tsukamoto’s work is always filled with difficult imagery and challenging themes. Constantly moving between avant garde and mainstream cinema, Tsukamoto focuses on issues of sexuality, gender and repression within Japanese society. A Snake of June is an interesting (if potentially problematic) snapshot of the lives of a “typical” Japanese couple and their encounters with a voyeuristic stranger.
I say problematic because the events in this film are either misogynistic or empowering, depending on your point of view. Tsukamoto offers no simple explanation because he deliberately seeks to provoke, to invite discussion on issues of sexual repression and identification in Japanese society. Perhaps tellingly, Tsukamoto places himself in the role of primary antagonist, playing the potentially dangerous voyeur who inserts himself into the lives of the Japanese couple. Rather than retreating behind the camera, Tsukamoto takes ownership of his position and attempts to highlight the inherently voyeuristic nature of cinema.
Though the film is filled with provocative images, A Snake of June never descends into titillation or gratuity. His use of stark blue-filtered black and white help to ground the film, lending it both realism and, somewhat ironically, surrealism. This dichotomy resurfaces in several bizarre voyeuristic sequences, seemingly from a different film. This mix of reality and surreality, a trademark of Tsukamoto’s films, serves to unnerve the viewer and helps to create a lasting impression.
Is this film misogynistic or does it promote female empowerment? Is it arguing for or against the loss of sexual identity in Japanese society? Though there are no easy answers offered in this challenging and often disturbing film, A Snake of June and director Tsukamoto are not afraid to ask difficult questions. After all, isn’t that the basis of interesting filmmaking?
Colin Le SueurDiary of the Dead (2007)
Diary of the DeadUSA 2007
Director: George A. Romero
Almost forty years after his original genre-defining zombie film was released, George Romero returns for a fifth film in the genre he helped to pioneer. After so many subsequent films have adapted and re-defined the zombie genre, Diary of the Dead goes back to the beginning, with a re-imagining of the original cataclysmic outbreak, retconned to modern day. The resulting film is a mix of old and new, traditional lumbering zombies amongst a Youtube world, filmed in handheld POV. While Romero has delivered an interesting film (for a number of reasons), Diary of the Dead is ultimately disappointing and never quite manages to deliver on its potential.
One of the film’s strengths (and ironically, weaknesses) is the POV gimmick. Shooting from the camera’s point of view is an excellent technique for horror films, creating an extremely tense atmosphere that puts the viewer right in the events on screen. There are some genuinely frightening sequences in the film, aided immensely by the POV shooting. However, Romero seems too restricted by the POV gimmick. The film’s narrative doesn’t flow as naturally as it does in other films that use similar techniques (Cloverfield, for instance). The whole idea of a film-within-a-film feels forced as well, especially with the use of incidental music (a technique used to create tension, according to the editor of the film-within-a-film).
Diary of the Dead also lacks a genuine documentary feel, something present in The Blair Witch Project, clearly one of Romero’s inspirations for this film. The acting and characters seem especially over-the-top and borderline melodramatic. Strangely enough, the camera work also seems a bit too professional and high quality for student filmmakers. The composition is generally too staged to be believable (although there is a subtext in the film relating to authenticity and whether or not a documentary filmmaker can be objective and 100% truthful).
There are many interesting elements to Diary of the Dead but I feel Romero doesn’t quite meet the standards set by his previous zombie films. The film’s rhetoric about media propaganda risks heavy-handedness and the pseudo-documentary techniques employed do more harm than good. While still an interesting modern revision of Night of the Living Dead, Diary of the Dead fails to deliver on its ambition.
Colin Le SueurThe Ruins (2008)
The RuinsAustralia/USA 2008
Director: Carter Smith
The mainstream horror genre in Hollywood is in poor shape at the moment. Cinema screens are choked with either poor remakes of interesting Asian horror films (such as One Missed Call or The Eye) or poor remakes of forgettable 1980s horror films (such as Prom Night). Therefore, a film like The Ruins is somewhat refreshing, for the simple fact that it’s an original adapation of a novel (wholly original contemporary horror films seem extremely rare at the moment). Even that said, however, The Ruins does feel similar to some recent horror films and doesn’t quite manage to make a memorable impact.
The Ruins appears to be the next in a growing series of films about young Americans in peril abroad. We’ve seen the same thing recently in Hostel and Turistas; these films always seem to feature selfish and ignorant characters, seemingly unlikeable. Normal standards of audience identification don’t seem to apply to films like this, however. The characters seem incidental, purely the targets of the violence in the film. The worse a character appears, the worse their punishment will be (either directly or indirectly). The violence in this film is pretty gruesome and is almost wholly generated from within.
The most interesting element of this film is the conflict. As opposed to most horror films where external forces act against the main characters, the majority of the conflict in The Ruins is internal. The two main antagonist agents (the Mayans and the pyramid) are secondary to the damage the protagonists amongst themselves. Even the main threat in the film (the vines) seems like an afterthought, with occasionally laughable physical and special effects (some of the sequences looked like a man moving around in a leafy vine suit).
I’ll give the film credit for relative originality and for ruthless visuals (most of the gore sequences are impressive and disturbing). The acting is decent, though not remarkable (Joe Anderson’s German accent is a bit ropey at times and there are a few over-the-top moments). Although there’s nothing of much substance to this film, there’s nothing horrible either. The Ruins is a gruesome little horror film, easily forgotten but entertaining in the moment.
Colin Le Sueur