[REC] - Spanish 'Cloverfield'

[REC] (horror thriller in Spanish)
Cast: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano, Carlos Lasarte, Carlos Vicente and David Vert
Directors: Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza
Time: 78 mins
Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 4)

PREAMBLE: EVER since the 'Blair Witch Project' mined gold at the box-office, we have been getting a steady stream of horror movies shot with hand-held cameras. This 2007 Spanish effort is a bit weird for viewers in Malaysia because it preceeds 'Quarantine', a Hollywood remake of [REC]. So if you have seen the former, this one will just be 'academic' - and a chance to brush up on your Spanish. And be warned: The jerky camera movements can make you nauseous.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? TV reporter Angela (Manuela Velasco) and cameraman Pablo are videotaping the routine at a fire department routine for a reality show when firemen Manu (Ferran Terraza) and Alex (David Vert) get a call about a woman locked in her apartment. Things get weird when officers the woman starts gnawing her would-be rescuers.

HITS AND MISSES: Among the supporting cast we have Carlos Vicente as a doctor and Carlos Lasarte as a gay man. As more characters fall victim to the disease, we get more of the frantic action we find in 'Cloverfield' and 'Diary Of The Dead'.

Like in 'Quarantine', [REC] has a perky and vivacious Velasco as the lead and she is more well-endowed (in more ways than the obvious) than Jennifer Carpenter in 'Quarantine'. Too bad, the directors make no effort to develop their characters or to make them more than just zombie fodder.

THE LOWDOWN: Go for it if you enjoy shaky movies.