Plot
The television reporter Ángela is rescued from the building and taken to an oil tanker to be examined. However, it is unbeknown to the soldiers that she carries the seed of the mysterious demonic virus.
Storyline
Ángela Vidal, the spunky young television reporter that entered the building in 2007 has exited with the swat team. Little do they know that she carries the seed of the strange demonic infection. She is taken to an oil tanker miles off shore which has been especially equipped for the quarantine...
Writers: Jaume Balagueró, Manu Díez
Cast: Manuela Velasco -
Ángela Vidal
Javier Botet -
niña Medeiros
Paco Manzanedo -
Guzmán
María Alfonsa Rosso -
Anciana
Ismael Fritschi -
Nic
Críspulo Cabezas -
Lucas
Mark Schardan -
(voice)
Héctor Colomé -
Dr. Ricarte
Khaled Kouka -
Mariano Venancio -
Capitán Ortega
Javier Laorden -
Médico Auxiliar
Cristian Aquino -
Edwin
Emilio Buale -
Jesu
Paco Obregón -
Dr. Ginard
Carlos Zabala -
Goro
Trivia:
Movie took 8 months to film and only 3 to edit. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 7/10
(TIFF'14 Intro) The film premiered as part of the midnight madness
lineup. Jaume Balagueró and Manuela Velasco introduced the movie.
Velasco announced that this would be her first time watching the movie
as well. Balagueró thanked a bunch of people involved and restated that
this is the final movie in the series, and effectively ends the story.
(Review) I'm a huge fan of the first two Rec movies. The first one is
widely considered a genre buster, invigorating the hand-held found
footage genre. The second one managed to build on the original, while
delivering some truly intense moments and hitting all the high marks.
They were intelligent, smart films, a rarity in horror movies. However,
Rec 3 was a truly awful mess and thankfully not really canon (you can
pretend it never happened). While directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco
Plaza collaborated on both Rec 1 and 2, they decided to split up
directorial duties among the last two films. After sitting through a
painful viewing of Plaza's Rec 3, I could only conclude that the talent
and potential gleamed in the first two films must lay with Balagueró.
With that in mind, I had pretty high expectations for Rec 4.
The movie opens (seemingly) moments after the end of Rec 2. The
apartment building returns to set up the script before the film shifts
to the interior of a cramped oil tanker, with hardly any transition. It
is by doing this that Balagueró masterfully switches out one
claustrophobic stage for another, without ever giving the audience a
moment of relief, or the characters, any reprieve. After a slow-burn
first act, the action kicks into high gear as we are told the hope for
saving, or destroying the virus lies on that oil bunker. Balagueró is a
true horror movie buff, and Rec 4 is littered with references from all
over the genre: movies (Aliens, RE, Deep Impact) and games (RE
Revelations). Speaking of the horror movie elements, the zombie/demons
look and sound more authentic than ever. And as for the new entry in
the enemy roster, well, it might seem a little gimmicky but it works
and Balagueró has a lot of fun with it (Everybody cheered as Angela
Vidal screamed M******!). I'm not sure if this would be the goriest
entry in the franchise, but it certainly delivered in that department,
especially once the final act kicks in, which is, more or less, an
intense bloodbath in true Rec style: Never letting up until the end,
yet sprinkling the final act with small moments of black comedy. The
most pleasant surprise were the characters. Fleshing out characters is
hardly a priority in most horror scripts, but Rec 4 surprised me by
turning the tables on usual stereotypical characters, and by the end, I
was rooting for the unlikeliest of them. And I loved that about this
movie. The whole thing is propelled forward by an amazing score and
excellent sound work.
The bad? Balagueró has to work with narrow halls and almost no corners
(sadly he could not construct the hallways around his shots like James
Wan did for The Conjuring) and as such, the shots are tight and
cramped. I was onboard with the directors' decision to move past
hand-held, but that does not seem to have helped with shakycam. And
while the movie captures some moments of pure intense action and
manages to outdo Rec 3 in every way possible, it does not twist the
genre like the first two films did, nor will it blow you out of the
water.
In the end, Rec 4 is a satisfying, gory, visceral and intense
conclusion to a great and (mostly) unique series. While the first two
movies were made with the aim of creating genre-busters, Rec 4 is made
for the fans who've followed the series, and Angela Vidal from the
start. And you will not be disappointed.
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