[REC] 4: Apocalypse Brings Bloody Monsters On A Cruise

By Nick Venable | Published 10 years ago

Despite a so-so third film that largely ignored the central premise, the [REC] films make up one of the most intense franchises out there. The first time I watched the first film was quite possibly the most frightened I’ve ever gotten watching a movie. Director Jaume Balagueró is back at the reins for [REC] 4: Apocalypse, the final film in the series, and the trailer above makes it look like one hell of a boat ride. Remember Ghost Ship? Neither do we.

The plot behind [REC] 4: Apocalypse brings television reporter Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) back into the narrative in a completely different situation. Gone are the apartment buildings and wedding halls, replaced by an oil tanker that’s been refurbished as a quarantine zone. (Part of me wishes that the film’s subtitle had simply been Boat Prison.)

As the trailer shows, the tanker’s crew know that they’ve got some particularly dangerous cargo—as evidenced by the room full of cages—but they clearly don’t know just how dangerous. Angela is carrying the seed of the demonic virus within her, and it’s actually unclear whether she wants to stop the disease from spreading, or if she just wants her own freedom and is willing to get it no matter how many people have to turn into pseudo-zombies. But one thing’s for sure: now that the threat is loose, there’s no one around to help the crew.

It’s a pretty hectic preview, full of darkness, screams, and people running down tight hallways. This sequel completely leaves the whole found-footage element in the rear-view mirror, shooting for traditional cinematography, but the rampant shaking and bouncing around make it hard to tell the difference. Still, it looks like it’ll be a claustrophobic movie that uses its location to full effect. And when that’s not good enough, a bunch of gore and huge guns are sure to do the trick. Check out some of the film’s imagery here if the trailer wasn’t enough.

One has to wonder if the virus will finally be put down for good, or if they’ll leave the ending open, despite this being the last film. While Magnet Releasing still hasn’t acquired domestic rights for [REC] 4: Apocalypse yet, we assume it’s only a matter of time before they do. The film is scheduled for a proper release in Spain on October 31.

---