Cinema is Dope » Genre: One Handheld Camera Pov

REC 2 at the 66th Venice Film Festival – Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza & Manuela Velasco

blake — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:00:19 +0000

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I have been showing glimpses of them in my ongoing 42 Sitges Film Festival preview and now here they are days ago at the 66th Venice Film Festival.

It’s not every horror film that gets to walk the famous Venice Film Festival red carpet but such is the life for the REC franchise and its creators Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza and lead actress Manuela Velasco. This horror sequel from Spain is set to explode the film festival circuit this month and next from Midnight Madness to the 42 Sitges Film Festival (and possibly others…).

There has been a Screen Daily review (here) and a Variety review (here) with an overall buzz very enthusiastic from what I’ve heard. By all accounts it played very well at the 66th Venice Film Festival.

Image Source:
Official publicity stills from the 66th Venice Film Festilal. la Biennale di Venezia © 2009

Related Links:
::: IMDb Profile

REC 2 (2009) – Daily Movie Wallpaper – The Horror Film of 2009

blake — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:00:43 +0000

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The Daily Movie Wallpaper
Friday, August 28, 2009

[REC] 2 is Aliens to Alien, a sequel that ramps up the action but does not defile the spirit of its predecessor. Balaguero and Plaza have proved themselves exciting additions to the gory canon of Euro-horror masters, and they can’t wait to drag the Midnight Madness audience into the darkness, screaming at the top of their lungs.

- Colin Geddes (Midnight Madness TIFF Write Up)

Ok if Colin’s write up for this sequel doesn’t get you ramped up and excited then nothing will! REC 2 is storming both Midnight Madness and Venice (info) and kicking off the Sitges Film Festival (info) this year! Believe me, I’ll never forget the day I first saw the original at the Melia in Sitges and I’m sure when I see the sequel it will equally leave an imprint in my brain. The footage I saw at Cannes which has yet to be released was hands down the most exciting film footage I’ve seen this year.

Image Source:
Official stills that were used in the original international release of the film.

Related Links:
::: IMDb Profile

REC (2007) – Final Batch of Images

blake — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:41:08 +0000

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Here we are late Sunday night in Austin bracing for the first public screening of REC! Great to see this town finally get a dose of just how great of a little horror movie Paco Plaza and Jaume Balaguero have crafted, as well as experience a terrific performance by Manuela Velasco. I’m eagerly awaiting REC 2 which picks up two hours after this first film ends. I also can’t wait to see Luis Berdejo (write of REC) get his Jennifer Can horror film made.

I’ve gone back through all my images to see if I had missed posting any from this film and sure enough there were 12 I had yet to post and now they are up! Be sure to pick up the DVD tomorrow. I’m going to image the DVD from Spain has many more extras and all that but if you don’t have an all region player or way to watch a DVD from a different region then you will want the US version. Turn out the lights and pop it in!

REC 2 was by far the most hard hitting, intense and best damn promo reel I saw at Cannes this year. If what I saw was any indication REC 2 might be the best horror film of 2009 hands down. For those attending Sitges (official site) this year you will be able to see it in style opening night at the Melia!

Image Source:
Official stills that was used in the original international release of the film.

Related Links:
::: IMDb Profile

REC (2007) – Austin Area Horror Fans Take Note of Must See Screening

blake — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:07:53 +0000

When I had last bumped into REC co-director Paco Plaza (picture I took here) it was in October of 2007 at the always amazing Sitges Film Festival and we were pondering the status of it screening at Fantastic Fest 2008. I had seen the premiere of REC there and also seen it an additional time and it just kept on getting better. It’s one hell of a fun meta horror movie from Spain that will scare the living hell out of even the most seasoned horror fan (just watch the trailer above that was cut from audience reactions at Sitges 2007 and thank God they didn’t get me on tape, lol!!!). I remember walking out of the Melia the first time I saw it on the big screen there and immediately texting Tim League that we had had had to play it. Of course a little thing called fate got in the way and here we are two years later and this movie is just now screening for the first time in Austin. I really can’t believe it has taken that long for the film to wind its way here! So definitely take advantage of its debut screening here at the Alamo Drafthouse Village on Sunday, July 12th.

Details (official listing):
WHERE: Alamo Village
WHEN: Sunday, July 12 at 10:15 PM
Cost: Free with priority to Fantastic Fest Badge Holders

Post this screening be sure and head over to Twitch for three video interviews I did with its co-director Jaume Balaguero on REC last year (see below) where we dig into the details of the film and some on its sequel.

Lastly, yes REC 2 was by far the most hard hitting, intense and best damn promo reel I saw at Cannes this year. If what I saw was any indication REC 2 might be the best horror film of 2009 hands down. For those attending Sitges (official site) this year you will be able to see it in style opening night at the Melia! You can follow along with its info at its official site (here) and on Twitter: @rec2movie

REC 2 Teaser Trailer – Official One from Filmax

blake — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:05:03 +0000

Above is the official teaser trailer FILMAX posted on their official YouTube account yesterday. If you’re a fan of the first REC (movie wallpaper), then I highly recommend going over to their account and subscribing so that you can keep up with all their latest REC footage (subscribe here).

The new teaser trailer delivers so damn much without giving anything away or being a montage like so many trailers are for US horror films that damn near show you the entire movie in 30 seconds. Co-directors Jaume and Paco certainly get how a teaser trailer should be. I can say I’m disappointed still with a certain US outfit that has all but buried the original REC and kept it away from curious US audiences.

My fingers are crossed REC 2 will be at the Cannes Market this year.

For more on REC 2, definitely head over to Twitch and check out my video interview with Jaume Balaguero. We cover REC 2 and the original REC. This was done at Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) last year.

::: Jaume Balaguero on REC (Part 1) – Twitch
::: Jaume Balaguero on REC (Part 2) – Twitch
::: Jaume Balaguero on REC (Part 3) – Twitch