Screenhead

Seems like Rec is well on its way to becoming a franchise–not only has the sequel already bowed in Spain to a fairly respectable opening weekend, but Rec 3 now has its own website just established.  The website, which can be found here, has just one word on it:

Proximamente

Which, if you speak Spanish, or just in case you don’t, translates roughly as “soon”.

I have to admit that I’m terribly happy about such an idea.  I loved both the first Rec and its remake, Quarantine, and having seen the trailer for the second Rec, it too looks like a gigantic dose of fun on a bun.

Sadly, there is no word about when Rec 2 will make its way to the United States (in anything other than festival form), and there’s only Proximamente as far as word co when Rec 3 will be released at all.  So there’s plenty of news yet to come on this series, and you know we’ll be watching every second.

You get all kinds of movies when you come to Screenhead, folks–you get the biggest and best that Hollywood has to offer, but we’ve also got plenty of stuff you might not ordinarily see.  Today is one of those times.  We’ve got for you a copy of [REC], which I will be referring to as Rec throughout the rest of this piece because I’m not typing all those brackets.

Anyway, Rec is, as some of you might already know, the movie on which the magnificent Jennifer Carpenter piece Quarantine was based.  We also know that Quarantine was a spectacularly spooky piece of filmmaking, but how does the original stack up?  They’re approximately equal in storyline, which makes perfect sense: once again, a spunky young television reporter who sets out to spend the night with a firehouse full of firefighters in Barcelona for her television show.  It all starts out rather slow until a rescue call perks things up.  But what’s waiting for them on the other end of that rescue call is going to change some lives…and end some others.

I don’t much like the word “spunky” myself and wouldn’t have used it if it to describe  didn’t FIT so very well.  Every time I see her all I can think of is that old David Spade joke:  “Hi, I’m Angela Vidal and I’m twelve.  And I’m gonna stay up ALL NIGHT!”

The really interesting part about Rec is that it doesn’t really compare to Quarantine.  The reason why it doesn’t is because they’re so incredibly close to being, well, identical.  Sure, there are some small differences–the doctor in Rec was an intern, whilst in Quarantine he was a veterinarian, but still.  Just about every part of Quarantine shows up in Rec, and vice versa.  Granted, I haven’t seen Quarantine in the last couple months, but based on what I remember, it’s almost exactly the same movie, except Rec is shot entirely in Spanish.  There will be some differences near the end, but they’re really more differences in the backstory than anything else.

It’s pretty much the same movie, so just about everything I said about Quarantine applies to Rec.  There’s no question about it, this movie is just as awesome as its remake.  All the frantic action and rollicking thrills and profound horror are all very much in place.   And indeed, this sucker’s downright frantic.  There’s lots of rushing around and tearing around in this one, just as much if not maybe just a bit more than its remake.  This sucker’s like one big nonstop adrenaline rush.

It actually got my heart rate up.  Watching Rec felt like running uphill.  If there was ever a movie that could be classified as an aerobic exercise, then Rec is that movie.  Seriously, I’m beat.  Watching this thing made me desperate for a nap, and yet, at the same time, I really didn’t want to turn the lights off.  This is scary stuff.

Thus, Rec, which really is neither better nor worse than Quarantine, gets exactly what Quarantine would have: a full ten out of ten.  This is a optimally effective horror title, and if you want to be scared, whether you’re a relative newcomer to the genre or a seasoned veteran, you will still be scared.

I love Jennifer Carpenter.  And no, not in that weird, sick fanboy way–I suppose a better way to put it is I love Jennifer Carpenter’s work.  Ever since she blew my mind wide open with her performance in The Exorcism of Emily Rose, I’ve been downright amazed by this woman’s sheer capacity for horror film.

Her performance in recent release Quarantine, coming out on DVD on the order of Real Soon Now, is no exception, and it literally made the movie for me. But enough raving about Jennifer Carpenter: let’s get into the plot.

Jennifer Carpenter plays a local TV journalist out with her cameraman for an evening with the local fire department, because you know there’s always a good human interest story in what firemen do while waiting for something horrible to happen.  That and if you can be around for the something horrible, well, bonus points to you.  The something horrible in question comes up when a 911 call sends the fire department to a small apartment building where police are already on the scene, answering a call about screaming coming from an apartment.  It doesn’t take long to discover that something seriously wrong is going on in the apartment, and you won’t believe who actually MAKES the discovery of just what it is they’re dealing with.

Worse yet, the government seems to be involved in all this, and they’ve cut off the phone lines. And the cable.  And the internet, and even the cell phone service.  As the denizens of the building try desperately to piece together what’s going on outside their very door (thanks to an old TV with rabbit ears), the situation inside their very door goes from bad to eeeyipes-grade worse on the order of real fast.

And when the dust finally settles…all that’s left to tell everyone else what happened inside that building is the news footage shot by Jennifer Carpenter’s intrepid cameraman.

This movie gave me a newfound respect for the Spanish that I had not thought possible.  See, I knew Europe was making some inroads into the horror market. what with all the Scandinavian horror that’d been coming out lately, and the French bound and determined to take over the “almost a snuff film” substrata of horror, and the Germans had always had at least a toe or two in the water, I knew Europe was a player.  Not as big as the Japanese and the good ole U.S. of A, of course, but still, a player.

Quarantine, you see, is based on a Spanish horror title called “[REC]“, probably so named for the record feature on a camera.  And if Quarantine is the end result of American horror mastery applied to the base that is [REC], well, then I’ve got nothing but respect for the Spanish.  Quarantine was easily one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in some time.  A masterful blend of suspense and shock, it shows just how good a jump scene can be when it’s added to some prior tension building.  I consider Quarantine to be an absolute masterwork of horror because it succeeds so unabashedly well.  That, and consider for a minute just how POSSIBLE Quarantine is–some kind of biological contaminant gets into one of your neighbors and turns an apartment building into a charnel house?  Man, that’s why I live in the middle of nowhere.

This will easily be one of the scariest movies you can get your hands on.  Take this with all seriousness–I’ve seen thousands of these, so I don’t make those pronouncements lightly.  Something is almost certain to scare you about this movie, and if you don’t enjoy the ride, then I really feel bad for you.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua stays on top of the box office once more.  Quarantine keeps the coveted second place while Body of Lies remains at third.  The new releases, Max Payne, The Secret Life of Bees, Sex Drive and W., might change the box office score this weekend.  

October 10, 2008 - October 16, 2008(*millions)

Beverly Hills Chihuahua stayed on top of the box office bonanza as horror film Quarantine came in second and Ridley Scott’s Body of Lies came third. The Express arrived in sixth place.

October 10, 2008 - October 12, 2008 (*millions)

Beverly Hills Chihuahua maintains the number one spot this week in the box office pack. Most likely the little dog’s standing will change this weekend. The competition is fierce with new releases: Body of Lies, City of Ember, Quarantine and The Express. 

October 3, 2008 - October 9, 2008(*millions)

After viewing the Quarantine trailer, I don’t want to sit through this movie. It’s for people who really dig this stuff — double yikes — it has a Blair Witch Project feel to it.

With Quarantine due out soon, Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza, the Spanish writing-directing team behind Rec, the Spanish film on which the Hollywood remake is based on, spoke to Fangoria about what they think about the film’s transition to Hollywood.

“It is a horror film," said Balagueró. "What they’re trying to do is turn a film that could very well be successful on the art-house circuit, even if subtitled, into one that could potentially be successful as a mainstream, teen-oriented movie. Which is, by the way, the same market that doesn’t like reading at the movies in Spain."

They also talk about Cloverfield, a film which employs similar style of visual representation, among other topics. The pair also reveal that they are currently preparing a sequel to Rec, with word that they will begin shooting after Quarantine’s release.

Making way for Saw 5 to rock the Halloween weekend, Screen Gems has moved Quarantine up a week from October 17 to the 10^th to give it some ample room and hopefully not get butchered by the audience-drawing powers of the Saw franchise.

Quarantine is an American remake of the excellent Spanish thriller [Rec] which followed a TV crew battling infected tenants in a locked down apartment complex. The film stars Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter and is directed by John Dowdle.

To remind moviegoers that the American remake of excellent Spanish horror film Rec is coming up, a one-sheet has been made available by the Dowdle Bros. Starring Jennifer Carpenter, Quarantine tells the story of a news camera crew and fire department personnel who are trapped within an apartment complex with infected tenants.

The movie is set for release October 17, with a heavy push expected at this year’s San Diego Comic-con.