[REC] 4: Apocalypse Rains Down Infectious First Images
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With the bizarrely unrelated third installment in the rearview, the [REC] series is back to bring a boatload of scares to audiences with [REC] 4: Apocalypse. Director Jaume Balagueró returns to the franchise helm for its final installment (for now), and Bloody Disgusting has revealed the film’s first images. They’re about as dark as you’d imagine, and thankfully confirm that the earlier flicks’ found-footage element has been completely abandoned. Kind of makes the whole “[REC}” part of the title seem useless, but then I guess even Freddy Krueger left Elm Street sometimes.
[REC] 4: Apocalypse takes place almost immediately after the events of the second film, which largely took place right after the events of the first. Manuela Velasco returns to the role of television reporter Ángela Vidal, who somehow manages to make it out of the terror-filled apartment building alive. She wakes up unaware of where she is, although we happen to know that it’s a decommissioned and completely quarantined oil tanker. It’s soon revealed Ángela is a host for the virus that turns people into rabid lunatics, so the massive amount of security involved is basically just cannon fodder. Way to go, guys! This is one of those movies where no one has heard of the expression “kill it with fire.”
The [REC] movies work on the interesting (though barely explored) premise that demonic possession is somehow transferred through a biological virus. People and their crazy experiments, am I right? So these guys aren’t really zombies, but more like evil human-shaped shells. That’s why these guys are just gross looking instead of being all rotted. The boils!
And here’s another shot of what this infection does to people.
And here’s a shot of the perfectly healthy looking Ángela with an ax. I really hope they don’t turn her into some kind of an action hero in this one, considering it happens mere hours after her mostly helpless (but still excellent) turn in the first movie.
Sci-fi is starting to take a turn towards the demonic and quasi-religious, with both Chris Carter’s Amazon series After being based on Dante’s Inferno, and Patrick Tatopoulus’ New Babylon.
[REC] 4: Apocalypse currently doesn’t have domestic distribution, but there’s a good chance Magnet Releasing will return to put this sequel out on DVD and VOD at some point before the year is over with. Spain, meanwhile, is giving the film a Halloween release.
