Reviews

What is it with the third in a series of films? There are always exceptions to the rule, but generally the third film in a series is always a shocker....The Godfather 3, Jaws 3, Back to the Future 3, Spider Man 3, Superman 3 etc etc......

It appears the director of the first 2 REC films bore this in mind when making 3 and found the urge to break from this tradition just too difficult.

And so to REC 3. A film which will leave you stunned as events unfold before your ever furrowing brow and the first tear forms in the corner of your eye as every last ounce of credibility created by the first two films is sucked out of the series.....i do not exaggerate.

That said, I have only ONE problem with REC 3, and that is, it's called REC 3!!!!! If this film had been released under the title 'My wedding has gone to S**T', the new horror/comedy from the makers of.......it would have been OK. However, it is called REC 3, therefore it does not escape quite so easily.

I am not going to go into the first 2 REC films as the people, like myself, who have seen and loved them know why those films worked and why they should be heralded as great modern horror films, but it is for those same reasons that REC 3 is such a disappointment.

I cannot stress enough that this movie does not work for me simply because it is called REC 3. I will highlight the points in which as a stand alone movie it would work, and then in brackets why it doesn't under the title REC 3.

Good solid acting performances (these become meaningless once the anger starts to hit), Hand held camera style as used in 1 & 2 (discarded early on in the movie), Infected appear early on in the film ( the behaviour of the infected changes - one minute they are running and leaping around, the next, ambling and shuffling like F**K monkeys seemingly confused as they thought they were supposed to be in a REC film no doubt), Moments of bloody gore (Braindead anyone?), a sprinkling of light hearted comedic moments ( Go F**K yourself buddy, this is REC 3 not Abbot and Costello meet the psychotic flesh tearing maniacs at Shaun of the Dead's step sisters wedding!!!!).

But perhaps the most disturbing part of the film is the ability of the priest to stop in their tracks the infected by spewing out passages from the bible over the speaker system. The director might as well have shown the priest sat on his ass whilst he does this, coffee in hand and flicking through the film review section of this months Hot to Trot magazine, only to find REC 3 isn't F**KING IN IT!!!! Words alone cannot describe the amount of will power it took at this point to refrain from allowing my finger to press the STOP button on the remote control.

In one foul swoop this single handedly makes a mockery of the presence and actions of the priest in the second movie. I mean, we are told that the events of REC 3 run parallel with those of 1 & 2, so why would one priest know this would work and not the other? A bizarre move by the filmmakers to say the least to seemingly make pointless your own previous work don't you think? 20 minutes into the film I actually stopped playing it and removed the disc to check it, hoping that some terrible mistake had been made and I had been given the wrong movie.....unfortunately the only mistake made was by the filmmakers.

Some will point out that 'it is a brave move by the filmmakers', and that 'they took a chance with a change in style' but that simply does not wash...they have dropped a massive clanger here and it brings into question their actual abilities (were the first 2 movies a fluke, or is this one just a blip?).

And that's about it. This movie left me confused, disappointed and angry because it is not a REC film. I would have scored it a 5 which is a fair score had the film been released under another name. Unfortunately it is called REC 3 therefore it gets a 1, simply because zero is not an option......such a shame.