[·REC] 2 (2009)

I've never been one to keep my affection for horror movies a secret. But the problem is that there aren't a lot of American horror movies being released lately that really catch my eye. I mean, I really didn't have any interest in movies like The Unborn or Orphan, or in cheesy-looking remakes like The Stepfather, Sorority Row, and Prom Night. And even when I do get interested in something, it usually ends up being disappointing.

Because of that, I'll occasionally look to international horror. These hunts have actually been fairly successful, especially when they lead me to movies like [·REC]. This little gem from Spain absolutely scared the pants off me when I first saw it a few years ago, and I'll actually go as far as to call it one of the best horror movies I've seen in the new millennium.

An entertaining take on both zombies and the "found footage" style, [·REC] was brought to the United States and remade as Quarantine in 2008. Something must have been lost in translation, though, because Quarantine was just a complete mess. However, a proper follow-up to the original movie came out last year in the form of a sequel written and directed by [·REC]'s creators. And as a fan of the original, I can say that I felt [·REC] 2 is a worthy successor.

The movie begins back to the quarantined apartment building in Barcelona, mere moments after the original's conclusion, as a SWAT team escorts Dr. Owen (Jonathan Mellor), an official from Spain's Ministry of Health, into the building to investigate the infection. They're almost immediately attacked by the zombies the virus has created, and one of the SWAT team members is infected. When Dr. Owen manages to repel him with a rosary and religious commands, the team realizes there's more to it than he's letting on.

The truth is he's actually a priest sent by the Vatican to find the virus's "patient zero." A fellow priest had been researching what he believed to be the biological cause for demonic possession, which he'd found in a young girl. He kidnapped her and took her to the building's penthouse to conduct his research, but the virus eventually mutated and became incredibly contagious and fast-acting. Now faced with the risk of this virus spreading, Dr. Owen must obtain a blood sample from the girl in order to develop an antidote. But with the building crawling with bloodthirsty zombies, accomplishing that will be easier said than done.

I absolutely loved [·REC]. I thought it was scary as hell and showed how the "found footage" technique can be used effectively. While Quarantine was a real letdown, I still patiently awaited [·REC] 2. And unlike Quarantine, the sequel was everything I'd hoped for in a follow-up to [·REC]. So let's dive in and see just what made it so good.

Returning to the scene of the crime are Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, who once again knock it out of the park. They bring back the "found footage" technique from the first [·REC], but have a little fun with it thanks to the use of multiple cameras. Each member of the SWAT team wears a small camera on his helmet, three teenagers sneak into the building with a camera of their own, and a thought-dead character from the first movie returns with that movie's camera. It gets a bit ridiculous after a while, but on the whole, I thought it was cool.

They put the handheld camera style to good use again, letting scares sneak up on us and playing with our expectations by starting to repeat scares from the original, only to take them in a different direction. They also go to great lengths to give the fans what they want while trying something new. And by something new, I mean more action. Basically, [·REC] 2 is to [·REC] what James Cameron's Aliens was to Ridley Scott's Alien; a lot of the same with a lot more exciting action. And thanks to the first-person P.O.V. aspect, [·REC] 2 is nearly a better Doom movie than the actual Doom movie.

And as for the screenplay... who needs a screenplay? Written by Balagueró, Plaza, and Manu Díez, the script is a little bit on the shallow side. The characters are one-dimensional (I don't even remember their names, outside of Owen), and the plot is threadbare. I mean, half of my synopsis is just an explanation of what the virus is. It could have been only one paragraph if I'd wanted it to be. But [·REC] 2 is not about characters or story. It's about mayhem and being scary. So any shortcomings the script may have are forgivable.

Last on my list are the actors, who are mostly disposable. When the characters are anonymous cannon fodder, you tend not to expect anything from the actors playing them. But believe it or not, there are a handful of good performances. The best comes from Jonathan Mellor, who plays his role with intensity and conviction. I also liked Óscar Zafra and Ariel Casas as members of the SWAT team. The only really bad performances, though, come from the teenagers who sneak into the building. Playing them are Andrea Ros, Pau Poch, and Ãlex Batllou, and every second they're on the screen, they're nothing short of annoying. They're frustratingly bad every second they're on the screen, especially Ros, whose character seems to do nothing but whine and complain. The characters are accompanied by a firefighter played by Ferran Terraza, and Terraza's good performance is ultimately dragged down by Ros, Poch, and Batllou.

[·REC] 2 isn't as scary as the first one. I have to admit that. But it's still pretty awesome. You don't see too many sequels that are on the level of their predecessors, but [·REC] 2 is one of them. It's 85 minutes of nonstop action, scares, and entertainment. It's one hell of a fun ride, one that I'll gladly give four stars. Balagueró and Plaza are supposedly working on two more [·REC] sequels, so let's hope those are just as good.

Final Rating: ****