Tuesday, January 06, 2015

[Rec] 4: Apocalypse Sails in Choppy, Blood Filled Waters: A Movie Review

Director: Jaume Balagueró.

Writers: Jaume Balagueró and Manu Díez.

Cast: Manuela Velasco, Paco Manzanedo and Héctor Colomé.

[Rec] 4: Apocalypse is the final film in a long running zombie film series. The original, shot in Barcelona, Spain, started in a small apartment building. Since 2007, this series has gone on to spawn three sequels and two American remakes. This found footage horror franchise continues to excite film fans. But, what of the final film? This final film offers more pulse-pounding entertainment, in a small quarantine zone (a freighter). Here, Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) returns from the first two films to put an infection to rest, a true burial at sea, forever. The ensuing ninety minutes brings lots of terror and drama as [Rec] 4 ends with a bang.

Fans of the series will recognize Ángela Vidal from the original title. She was the vivacious, young reporter who found herself in the middle of a biological catastrophe. She barely survived the first two films. Now, Ángela is tasked with escaping several ambitious scientists, a sentient parasite and a whole boatload of infected personnel. Tiny shirt in tow, she takes on all of these challenges with several devastating tools of death. The result is very bloody and very entertaining.

Ángela Vidal, much like the first film, is trapped in confining setting. She has escaped the apartment building. But she finds herself in an even more claustrophobic setting, a poorly wired freighter. This large ship lists in the open ocean. The lights flicker and strange characters haunt the halls. This darkly lit setting creates a compelling horror environment. The lower decks are even more confining, with characters struggling to stay alive. An engineer battles a hellion, in one violent scene. Also, the threats are everywhere. A group of furry yahoos increase the terror onscreen; they ambush through the ship's air ducts. The threats are many on this tight ship and the setting helps amplify the film's tension.

Ángela Vidal continues to act as an intriguing heroine. Actress Manuela Velasco brings a vulnerability to this character. While tough when necessary, this character must face the gamut of horror villains, so Velasco must also display a spectrum of emotions. Meanwhile, this character must also prove her clean health, to others. In [Rec] 2, Ángela became the host for a Devilish parasite. In this third sequel, she must go to great lengths to show she is no longer infected, with the parasite. Is she telling the truth? Fans of the series will have to watch the film to find out. Whether Ángela is infected or not, her scenes create much of the film's thrilling drama.

[Rec] 4 is definitely this series' final film. Director Jaume Balagueró has stated in several interviews that this film will be the last: "we decided to stop at 4...I have a lot of ideas in my head about how a [REC] 5 could be. But no, we decided to stop at 4." As well, both of the original directors have agreed that they would each shoot one more film each. Paco Plaza finished his work on the franchise with [Rec] 3: Genesis. And, Jaume Balagueró ends the series where the film began, with Ángela Vidal. She has been through a lot. But, it would be ridiculous to see this character return for another apocalyptic scenario; [Rec] 4 is most likely the final film in this long lasting Spanish horror series.

[Rec] 4 offers lots of thrills in a dangerous environment. Biological plagues are difficult to detect in real life and in this film, anyone can be infected, at any time. The ship's small hallways, darkened labs and small rooms create for some tension, because plague carriers can appear anywhere and with little warning. The character Ángela Vidal continues to bring a heroic charm to the screen as she goes to war with a supernatural disease. Actress Manuela Velasco delivers believability to this character, with the world collapsing around her character. [Rec] 4 is an enjoyable popcorn flick, which threatens another sequel, but ends with a final resounding bang.

Overall: 7.25 out of 10 (a few great chase and fight sequences, excellent makeup effects, good characterizations, this series has been stretched as far as it goes).

A trailer for this film is available here:

A [Rec] 4 Trailer on 28DLA


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