Out of Frame: [REC] 2
In Scream 2, screenwriter Kevin Williamson detailed some "rules" for making a successful horror sequel: bigger body count, bloodier and more elaborate deaths and to "never assume the killer is dead." While that may be the formula for financial success in horror sequels, it rarely makes for movies that are very good. As one character in that same movie astutely observed, "sequels suck." [REC] 2, the sequel to the surprisingly great 2007 Spanish demonic contagion film [REC] manages to avoid sucking, precisely because it ignores the rules for "success." Rather than trying to up the ante laid down by its predecessor, it simply picks up where that film left off (at the precise moment it left off, in fact), and continues doing many of the things that movie did so well.
Of course, the fact that the "killer" wasn't dead -- that there was no happy resolution -- was part of what made [REC] so chillingly effective. So there was no chance of following that particular rule. As for the others, in terms of bloodiness and complexity of the deaths, [REC] 2 feels nearly identical to its predecessor, and while I didn't count, I think there were actually fewer lives lost, or at least a similar amount. That's not to say it's nearly as good as the first film; but it's still better than the average horror movie, let alone the average horror sequel.
The events take place in the same Barcelona apartment building where a news crew, a group of firefighters, and the residents were trapped by a government quarantine when a contagion was unleashed that turned anyone who was bitten by the infected into a raging, bloodthirsty maniac. The movie was entirely made up of footage shot by the news camera. Those are all familiar genre elements, and [REC] was unapologetic about appropriating bits and pieces from modern zombieless zombie movies like 28 Days Later, as well as shaky-cam found-footage flicks like Blair Witch and Cloverfield (though it was far better than either of those two). Its sequel continues the trend, but adds new sources of inspiration (or wholesale theft, depending on your level of enjoyment), most obviously Aliens and The Exorcist.
The film opens on a S.W.A.T. team preparing to enter the building, each equipped with a helmet cam, not unlike the space marines from Aliens. It's a clever solution to the question of how to continue the look and feel of the original, given that the camera that provided the footage for that film was left lying on the penthouse floor at the end of the movie. The setup allows for long, tension-filled takes that unfold in something approximating real-time, a benefit for the kind of immersion co-directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza are going for.
The police are accompanied by a Ministry of Health official (the skeletal Jonathan Mellor, whose impressively hollow cheeks are accentuated to creepy effect by Pablo Rosso's faux-amateur digital camerawork and dim lighting), who they're escorting inside to investigate and document what's going on. Once they enter, the funhouse ride of dark shadows -- and the berserk, black-eyed beings that jump out of them -- begins all over again.
The first film ended with the discovery of a secret Vatican-sponsored project in which the Church was trying to isolate a biological component to demonic possession, via tests on a possessed girl in the apartment building's penthouse. The religious basis for the "infection" is explored here in more extensive detail, which is where [REC] 2 starts borrowing heavily from The Exorcist. The evil at work here is defined more clearly, which does take away some of the previously mysterious allure -- the unknown is always scarier than the known. Yet these films don't rely so much on plot as they do on visceral thrills, fears of dark hallways and blind corners, and well-timed gotcha-style scares, so the weaker plot elements never cause it to completely trip over itself, even when it shows just a little more than we needed to see.
Mostly, [REC] 2 is just plenty more of an already good thing. Those that saw and enjoyed the first movie are unlikely to be disappointed with the second helping. With two more movies in the series already planned, it remains to be seen whether the filmmakers start giving us too much of that good thing, but for now, there are more than enough scares here to last through a tense hour and a half in a darkened theater.
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[REC] 2
Directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza
Written by Jaume Balagueró, Manu Díez, and Paco Plaza
Starring Jonathan Mellor, Manuela Velasco, and Óscar Zafra
Running time: 85 minutes
Rated R for strong bloody violence, disturbing images and pervasive language.
Screens at midnight tonight and tomorrow at E Street.
View the trailer.