Review of [REC] (2007) by Muhammed S — 03 Sep 2013

Nothing short of terrifying. There's not much else to say here really. The filmmakers certainly accomplished something that hasn't been done in years: create a truly, psychologically and even physically scary film.

There's no humor to be found here. No fun, stereotypical characters. Everything here feels genuine, scarily so. Even the shaky cam camera work actually feels legitimate, like this could be found footage. That aspect alone sets it apart from other 'found footage' horror films that end up feeling staged. Granted, there are some cliches to be found if you look for them but they are worked so seamlessly into the film that it couldn't really work without them.

The film is short as hell too. Not even 80 minutes and I wouldn't add anything to it. Any more of this and it would probably get unbearable.

I'd go so far as to say that (based off only one viewing) this is one of the best, and certainly one of the most potent, horror films ever made. I know that the last ten minutes alone is the most I've wanted to cover my eyes in fear over any film. That's precisely the thing here, they don't use shock tactics at all. They use fear and they use it better than anyone should be able to.