“Blair Witch Project” may have paved the way, but before “Paranormal Activity” and around the same time as “Cloverfield” was entering the scene, there was another flick that came out utilizing the handheld, documentary style. Few heard of it until the American remake, however.  Guesses, anyone?  Hailing from Spain, [Rec] is a delightfully creepy little flick has just the right amount of chills and gore.  Another zombie film with hidden layers, this movie tackles racism, stereotypes and the breaking down of society when under martial law and it all occurs in a single building.

One night, a young t.v. show host and her crew are filming at a local fire station for her show “While You Sleep”.  Suddenly, in the middle of the night a call comes in and off they go.  They arrive at an apartment building to find reports of screams with everyone concerned an old lady has fallen.  Well, that’s close anyway……When the old lady is found, she’s covered from head to toe in blood, screaming like a banshee and completely unstable.  She’s apparently very hungry too, as she bites a fireman. From there chaos ensues as the tenants of the building and the crew realize they’ve been effectively sealed into the building by the police, with orders to stay where they are and “not panic”.  Um, yeah….banshee lady biting people but don’t panic?  Check…..

The tension steadily and slowly mounts as the occupants of the building realize there’s likely no way out.  People start turning on one another and just plain turning while the whole time, the t.v. host tells Pablo, her cameraman, to keep filming despite orders to cease.

If you’re a fan of the horror genre, this is a wonderfully fun and thrilling ride, so go check it out!  Oh and drop me a line sometime with your favorite horror movies!