[ REC]: Apocalypse
All at sea
Release Date: OUT NOW!
2014 | 18 | Blu- ray/ DVD Director: Jaume Balagueró Cast: Manuela Velasco, Ismael Fritschi, Paco Manzanedo, Héctor Colomé
To date the
[ REC] series has proven a surprisingly versatile beast. The first is a shaky- cam classic, the second an adrenalised action sequel and the third an outlandish horror comedy that even dispensed with the found footage format. Sadly, there’s little evidence of the series’ admirable ability to reinvent itself in Apocalypse, a film entirely content to retread old ground.
A direct sequel to [ REC] 2, it finds Ángela Vidal – news reporter turned reluctant hero of the first two films – held aboard a ship where work is underway on finding a cure for the infection. Before you know it things turn bitey.
Ángela’s return is a welcome one, her Ripley- esque evolution is fun to watch, and the setting is strong – the claustrophobic ship interiors lending themselves to some tense setpieces. But it all feels so lacklustre. Like [ REC] 3, the film abandons found footage in favour of more traditional camerawork, but it isn’t remotely scary as a result. The story is Zombie Movie 101, and that Apocalypse subtitle promises much more than a film of this budget can come close to delivering.
Save for some creative kills with a motorboat engine there’s little to recommend here. The ending hints that there could be more [ REC] to come, but based on Apocalypse the series is better off dead.
Extras: A 26- minute Making Of only noteworthy for the fact that Manuela Velasco hosts it in character as Ángela Vidal. Jordan Farley