Quarantine: remake of the above title aimed at people who fear subtitles and love long expositions before the plot kicks in
Everytime I learn of an American remake of a foreign horror film, I cringe. I believe that people who refuse to read subtitles should not get to experience the movie. US distributors have an opposing viewpoint: "You say you can't watch the movie 'cause of all the dirty foreigners speakin' their weird languages? Don't worry! 'Got a genuine American-made remake right here! And don't sweat the story parts 'cause it's just a horror flick; you know, people die and weird stuff happens. Enjoy the movie!"
REC 2 picks up where REC left off; same building, same night. The story centers around a four-man special forces team (each sporting a helmet-mounted camera) attempting to assess the situation within the apartment building.
The cinematography really shines in the sequel, allowing for immersion and quality visuals. There's quite a few creepy moments to be found and the acting is top-notch. A weird story development comes out of nowhere and surprisingly (despite my personal opinions of the writer's choice) manages to cement my interest for the remainder of the film.
As for Quarantine 2: the story does pick up after the events of Quarantine, but it also leaves the apartment building and boards an airplane. The plot pales in comparison to REC 2. Predictability and cardboard characters dominate this film; the actors (well, some of them anyway) do their best, but shoddy writing and editing overshadows all their efforts.
The actors with the most screen time interested me the least and moreso with regard to the characters portrayed. I truly hated the main female character within the first ten minutes. At the film's mid-point, the actors I cared about were gone (or on the floor face-down) and all I was left with was a low-grade zombie-fanboy of a film that should have never left the runway.
Final thoughts:
REC 2: The film rivals its predecessor and stands as a solid horror title worth watching.
Quarantine 2: A garbage plot, awful script, and horribly portrayed (and written) main characters eclipse what little gems this film could have offered.
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I haven't seen Quarantine 2 yet, but I've seen both RECs and the first Quarantine.
I actually liked both REC and Quarantine but they aren't very disimilar. I didn't see them back-to-back, but I kind of recall Quarantine being nearly a shot-for-shot remake of REC with a few minor changes to the story. I will say that while Manuela Velasco is easily nicer to watch than Jennifer Carpenter, I liked Quarantine's explanation for the outbreak more than the supernatural reason offered by REC.
REC2 was good, but I absolutely hated the three teenagers and wanted nothing but bad, horrible things to happen to them for being so stupid. A little foolishness is to be expected in horror movies. Jason Voorhees' body count wouldn't be so high if people would just stay inside and keep their fool mouths shut. However, these kids push the envelope and do things so jaw-droppingly stupid they deserve Darwin Awards.
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Old thread, but: anyone seen REC 3? Is it worth the watch?
I prefer Quarantine to the original REC--the original storyline concludes with a supernatural explanation, which ruined the movie for me. The remake remains relevant to current events and is lodged firmly in the realm of sic-fi/horror, no demonic possession or other mumbo-jumbo required. Also, better acting and a nice Hollywood budget.
No sure why Scott couldn't have beat the s!~% out of the emaciated Patient X with his camera, but that's OK.
I also imagine that SWAT or JSOC would have terminally cleared the 'evacuated' building long before everyone was infected/dead.
I'd give this film 4 stars for general creepy sic-fi/horror cool; and five stars as a delivery in the found-footage genera (of which I'm a huge fan).
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Enjoyed the first [REC] so much I just bought [REC]2...the military part of me is cringing at the sloppy house clearing the team executes. I've worked with Spanish operators before, and the producers obviously got zero assistance from the government or military; this is like watching a bunch of cadets try to clear a small building with no prior training. Oh well...I'll try to enjoy the film for its creepy awesomeness.