[REC] 2 (2010)

Taglines: Fear revisited.

A heavily armed SWAT team and a mysterious government official are sent in to assess and attempt to neutralize the situation. What they find inside lies beyond the scope of medical science—a demonic nightmare of biblical proportions more terrifying than they could have possibly imagined. Above all it must be contained, before it escapes to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting world outside.

The highly anticipated sequel to one of the scariest films of all time, [REC] 2 picks up 15 minutes from where we left off, taking us back into the quarantined apartment building where a terrifying virus has run rampant, turning the occupants into mindlessly violent, raging beasts.

REC 2 (stylized as [REC] 2) is a Spanish horror film sequel to 2007’s REC and the second installment of the REC series. The film was written and directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, both of whom returned from the previous film. The story takes place immediately after the events of the first film.. The film was followed by REC 3: Genesis.

Following the success of REC, Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza signed on for a sequel. Principal photography began on 10 November 2008 and wrapped in December 2008. The film reunites the directors with many of the original cast and crew members of the previous film. It was shot in Barcelona over six weeks.

The film premiered at the 66th Venice International Film Festival, out of competition. It was also shown at the Midnight Madness portion of the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, as well as the 2009 Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, and the 2009 Sitges Film Festival. It went on general release in Spain the first weekend of October, going to No. 1 in the Spanish box office and achieving the best opening weekend of the year for a Spanish film.

About the Story

Dr. Owen (Jonathan Mellor), an official from the Ministry of Health, and a GEO team equipped with video cameras are sent into a quarantined apartment building to control the situation. After Martos an GEO officer, is killed and infected encountering some of the infected, Owen uses religious mantra and rosary to hold him off in a room. It turns out that Owen is actually a priest sent by the Vatican to get a blood sample from a possessed girl named Tristana Medeiros.

At the penthouse, Tristana is nowhere to be found. Larra, one of the GEO officers, finds a sample of her blood – the only one that the original priest took from her. Owen performs a religious rite, and the blood combusts, confirming that it is the blood he’s looking for; however, Fernandez, commanding officer of the GEO team drops it, rendering it useless. Owen tells them that they must get a blood sample from Tristana herself.

Jennifer’s father, who was outside getting medicine for his daughter (the infected Jennifer from the first installment), manages to convince a firefighter to take him into the building. Three teenagers, Tito, Mire and Ori gain access to the building through the sewage system; however, police seal their exit. After the deaths of Larra, Jennifer’s father, and the firefighter from attacks by the possessed, the two groups find each other. However, Tito has been bitten, and they restrain him and lock Mire and Ori in a room where their fates are left unknown.

The group then finds Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco), the reporter from REC, who still has her camera with her. Owen forces Tito to tell him where Tristana Medeiros is. The demon possessing Tito tells him that she is “in the highest.” Owen figures out that this means that she is in the penthouse. The demon then gives a hint that the “light” blinds them from seeing the path. When Ángela is asked how she saw Tristana, she says she saw her through the camera’s night vision. Owen deduces that some things can only be seen in the dark.

They go back to the penthouse. When they turn on the camera’s night vision, a door appears that leads them to a room. They find a tub filled with water that cannot be seen when the lights are on. While the GEO chief, Fernandez investigates it, Tristana leaps out and drags him in and then disappears as the light is turned on. When Tristana attacks them again, Ángela blows her head off with a shotgun. Owen is enraged because he needed the blood sample, but all Ángela wants to do is leave the building.

At this point, the only survivors are Ángela, Owen, and Rosso, the GEO officer cameraman. When Owen refuses to authorize their exit, Ángela starts to beat him. Rosso tells her to stop, but she shoots and kills him. It is revealed that the demon possessing Tristana has now possessed Ángela so she can leave the building. After telling Owen that she does not need him to get out, as she can impersonate his voice, she kills him. She takes his radio and says that the mission is over and they can let them out. She also tells them that he is staying behind because he is infected and the only survivor is a woman, Ángela. When asked how the woman survived, the demonic Ángela looks at the camera and smiles.

[REC] 2 (2010)

Directed by: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza
Starring: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Pablo Rosso, Javier Botet, Àlex Batllori, Alejandro Casaseca, Ariel Casas, Andrea Ros, Claudia Silva, Martha Carbonell, Jorge-Yamam Serrano
Screenplay by: Jaume Balagueró, Manu Díez, Paco Plaza
Production Design by: Gemma Fauria
Cinematography by: Pablo Rosso
Film Editing by: David Gallart
Costume Design by: Glòria Viguer
Art Direction by: Gemma Fauria
MPAA Rating: R for bloody horror violence and language.
Distributed by: Magnolia Pictures
Release Date: July, 2010