[REC]3 Génesis Review

Movie: [REC]3 Génesis
By: Chev Chellios
Date: April 26, 2012

Rabid Demons on the run...

Night of Terror, yes the famous Horror marathon in Amsterdam, part of Imagine Film festival previously known as Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival, screened this years release REC 3. I have to point out, to make the movie selection for the Night of Terror is hard, if not impossible, you need to satisfy more than 500 gore hounds, and that is not a easy task, But I think the organisation made a wise decision to put this one in the middle, it is fast, bloody, gruesome and has a few tricks up its sleeve, all the ingredients a gore hound needs.

The beginning:

What happened you may think, well what happened is that REC has a new sequel and yes the cover looks awesome, and you may wonder will it deliver. After REC 1, which in my opinion was innovative, set the standard high, with a original story, bloody action, the European film look, things couldn't be better, since there hasn't been a good solid horror movie from the US at the time, it made me happy. Way back in 2007 I had the opportunity to chat with the directors Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza, they introduced their movie at the official premiere at the Night of Terror in 2007. They were very clear in the fact that this was only the beginning and that they had great ideas for the upcoming sequels, if they got the chance to create them.

Well two years later they were back in Amsterdam and yet again with a premiere, this time REC 2 at the Night of Terror 2009, and yes you may wonder did they delivered the goods. With more action, a little less creepy atmosphere, a solid twist from zombie to demon, I think they created some sort of crossover movie, and I found this a positive thing. Although there were mixed reviews at the time my opinion is clear, I like their style, from the chaotic camera, the dark creepy atmosphere, to the bloody action where the camera doesn't flinch to show you every detail. But now the time has come for another chapter, the third in a cycle of four, REC 3 Genesis has arrived. With a new direction, a little bit more gruesomeness, I think this one does the trick, and I think you will enjoy this rollercoaster ride.

The film opens with the hand held style we are familiar with from the previous two chapters, we see Koldo played by Diego Martin and Clara played by Leticia Dolera getting married and celebrate their wedding day, everything looks perfect if not too perfect. In the beginning we witness everything through the camera angles of Koldo's Cousin Adrian and the wedding photographer Atun, which character I thought was funny at times. Like in REC 2 where the police squad has camera's on each team member, now they jump from on wedding guest to another, who are filming with their camera's or Cell phones, I found this an original take on the concept, because how original can you stay when you already made two previous movies in the past with the same. I thought the link to the first film was a smart move, because how can the virus, demon, zombie being transferred from the infected building to this wedding you may think, well they were creative that's all I have to say about that.

From this point on things change a little bit, story wise things stay primarily the same but they changed the concept of the shaky camera, and showed that they can make a film without the gimmick of the first two. Also notable is that the horror not only takes place in the dark but also in broad daylight, I thought this was ballsy because you need to have very good special and practical effects too this off in a good way. Besides that I noticed that the atmosphere and mood of the movie changed, where in the first two REC movies they focused more on the scares, and with the shaky camera this was a good combination, but know the mood was more in the likes of Dawn of the Dead, they were overrun by the demons (which I prefer to call them, I noticed that a lot of reviewers write that the infected are Zombies, but I think this is false) and the location was bigger than the apartment building in the first two movies, which gave the directors more possibilities to work with the environment.

Lets talk about the actors, they main actors Diego Martin & Leticia Dolera did an excellent job with their roles and pulled you right into the storyline, I personally think that Leticia was the best because she goes crazy at a certain point and yes she uses the chainsaw on the poster, so its not only for show like in other movies. The other actors where also good but not great in my opinion, there is also one actor that was funny because he supposed to look like SpongeBob, but because of copyright problems he calls himself JohnBob, you will have fun with that guy I tell you.

What do you need in a movie like REC 3, well a lot of blood and a lot of guts and on this part it delivers. The special effects where very good if not greatly done, I found out that the crew, which created the effects hadn't made a lot of movies, but I think that will change because when you pull the bloody things off they did, in broad daylight, you need to get the attention you deserve. My final words will be that with a runtime of 88 minutes (it felt more like 2 hours, in a good way) they did a lot, with great special effects, bloody action, a lot of demons and an opening to the final chapter REC 4 Apocalypse, I was pleased, very pleased indeed.

Night of Terror 2012 special