Cinema is Dope » People: Manuela Velasco

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 (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) – New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day

blake — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:00:31 +0000

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New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Thursday, August 14, 2008

With the upcoming movie Quarantine about to come out, some out there may not realize it’s based on this film. In fact the trailer alone for Quarantine makes it look like a near shot for shot remake, except in the English language. Of the one hand held camera POV films in recent memory, this one is the most horrific, thrilling and well executed. The main difference that will mark this one is the sense of realism and the directors constant choice to go for live practical effects versus CGI. The story revolves around Angela (Manuela Velasco) who does a late night TV show. Cut to just another night where she is covering a local fire station and ventures out with them on a routine call at an apartment building. With her lone cameraman in tow and terror just around the corner… things quickly spiral into a dizzying ascent of all out hell once they reach the apartment building. Filmmakers Jaume Balaguere and Paco Plaza are crafting a new voice to be reckoned with in horror cinema and their sequel, [REC] 2, couldn’t get here soon enough.

Expect a US release of this film sometime later this year or next year, though probably on DVD/Blu-Ray and not theaters.

Related Coverage – My Interview with [REC] co-director Jaume Balaguere:
::: NIFFF 2008 – Jaume BalaguerÃ³ Talks [REC] 2
::: NIFFF 2008 – Jaume BalaguerÃ³ Talks [REC] Continuedâ€¦
::: NIFFF 2008 – Jaume BalaguerÃ³ Talks [REC] – Final Part

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

Related Links:
::: IMDb Profile

[rec] (2007) – Movie Wallpaper

blake — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:00:24 +0000

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Manuela Velasco as Angela in [REC].

One of the most asked questions I get is when will this film be released in the US either in the theaters or on DVD. The answer is Screen Gems owns the North American rights and to date no one seems to know what they intend to do with it. Right now there focus is on the US remake, Quarantine. I can only imagine at some point they will release it on DVD, but a theatrical release does seem unlikely. I count myself lucky haven gotten to see it twice at the 40th Sitges last year.

Related Coverage:
::: [REC] French Movie Poster
::: [REC] at the 40th Sitges – Image Gallery

Image Source:
Official poster that was used in the original French release of the film.

Related Links:
::: IMDb Profile

[rec] (2007) – Movie Wallpaper

blake — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:00:00 +0000

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Really nice vivid French poster artwork for [REC] featuring Manuela Velasco as Angela.

Image Source:
Official poster that was used in the original French release of the film.

Related Links:
::: IMDb Profile