A movie now bracketed in the New French Extremism movement, this is taut and efficient to the point of agony.
The plot:
A wealthy French couple, one a teacher, one a writer, are accosted in their Romanian home by sinister, flashlight wielding forces that subject them to a night of abject horror.
As simplistic as it comes in terms of premise, this is all about delivery and, by all of Christs's many sufferings, it surely delivers.
The tension ratchets from the first incursion, the couple gripped with fear, the viewer dragged along with them and, at each turn of events, the knot in the viewer's stomach muscle turns another degree, more acidic squirtings of anxiety accompanying the on screen peril, the desperate French couple a precise echo of the viewing experience.
With exquisite use of location - that underground labyrinth is just perfect - this is a movie that squeezes every last Franc out of its budget.
Stylish, accomplished, thought provoking in denouement and damned scary, this is quality horror.
5 out of 5
Showing posts with label subtitled movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label subtitled movie. Show all posts
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Saturday, 24 July 2010
[Rec] 2 (2010) Dir: Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza
Rip roaring sequel to the Spanish exercise in intensity that was [Rec]. Starting immediately after the events of the first movie, here we follow two groups of people, one for the first half of the movie, the other for most of the second, before their lives are inextricably drawn together in a shower of blood and viscera.
Group 1: A small troop of soldiers, armed to the teeth, sent in to find out what happened to the first group sent in during the first film, led by a man who claims to be from the Health Authority, but may not be all that he seems.
Group 2: Three youngsters with a camcorder who, being exuberant, inquisitive sorts, follow a fireman into the infected building by an alternate route, before promptly being sealed in by the police.
Just what is happening to the infected people, and where did the infection come from?
And what use will crucifixes be against the raving dead?
As a direct continuation, this is a real winner - I've always had a soft spot for horror sequels that pick up the action in the immediate aftermath of what went before.
The camera work is exceptional, with magnificent use made of POV shots so that, at times, as the soldiers lead gun first, you really feel as if you are right in there, like all of the best First Person Shooter games.
Whilst I've read complaint that the build up is not as effective as the original, as almost immediately we are plunged in, fear factor set to ten, I think that's missing the point. This is an exercise in endurance, testing the viewers boundaries, seeing how much screaming and feral munching of teeth we can tolerate before fleeing the cinema in actual physical pain.
With a great twist thrown in that I won't even allude to here, as the origins of the infection are drawn out, this is a killer horror movie that only the bravest souls should attempt.
Can't recommend it enough.
5 out of 5
Group 1: A small troop of soldiers, armed to the teeth, sent in to find out what happened to the first group sent in during the first film, led by a man who claims to be from the Health Authority, but may not be all that he seems.
Group 2: Three youngsters with a camcorder who, being exuberant, inquisitive sorts, follow a fireman into the infected building by an alternate route, before promptly being sealed in by the police.
Just what is happening to the infected people, and where did the infection come from?
And what use will crucifixes be against the raving dead?
As a direct continuation, this is a real winner - I've always had a soft spot for horror sequels that pick up the action in the immediate aftermath of what went before.
The camera work is exceptional, with magnificent use made of POV shots so that, at times, as the soldiers lead gun first, you really feel as if you are right in there, like all of the best First Person Shooter games.
Whilst I've read complaint that the build up is not as effective as the original, as almost immediately we are plunged in, fear factor set to ten, I think that's missing the point. This is an exercise in endurance, testing the viewers boundaries, seeing how much screaming and feral munching of teeth we can tolerate before fleeing the cinema in actual physical pain.
With a great twist thrown in that I won't even allude to here, as the origins of the infection are drawn out, this is a killer horror movie that only the bravest souls should attempt.
Can't recommend it enough.
5 out of 5
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