Reviews

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  ★★★½ review by Rick D on Letterboxd

  A nice way to wrap up the series (at least I hope they wrapped it).

  The survivors from the previous movies are brought on board a ship. The ship is a research vessel trying to come up with an antidote for the virus/infection.

  Manuela Velasco reprises her role and is quite good in this one.

  The infected EFX are juicy and the infected are faster and stronger than ever.

  The setting on the ship is claustrophobic but this really works.

  I even liked how they tied the religious aspect with the zombie outbreak and explained things.

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  ★★★★ review by Eric Skwarczynski on Letterboxd

  Allow me to start by saying, not one of the [REC] has or probably ever could have hoped to match up to the sheer perfection of the first film. 

  That said, the fact that a franchise like this could have four films and have none of them be particularly bad is nothing short of a miracle. 

  What can I say? I've been totally on board (nautical pun totally intended) this entire series. I loved the sheer panic-inducing horror of the first and second, I really like the one-off comedic third entry - although I admit it had its flaws - and I loved this latest installment as well.

  The tone of [REC] 4: Apocalypse is definitely more of an action horror film, not unlike the Resident Evil franchise or 28 Days Later. It's nowhere near as scary as the first or second film, but story-wise, it feels like a pretty natural progression from the events we were familiar with in the early installments. 

  Angela Vidal (played once more by the absolutely brilliant Manuela Velasco) wakes up on a large ship, which is essentially acting as a mobile quarantine zone. Inevitably, all hell eventually breaks loose, launching the viewer onto a thrilling roller coaster ride of a film. 

  This movie had a budget double the amount of the first film, and every penny shows in this movie in the best possible ways. It certainly feels much bigger than the previous entries, allowing for some more interesting special effects moments and a few neat visuals throughout.

  The cast is all solid here, and the story is simple yet very effective. If you're hesitating to wrap up the [REC] franchise because you've read a few negative reviews... well, don't. This movie is not perfect, there's a few pacing issues and cliches I could have done without, but ultimately, I'm so glad I decided to check out this film, and if there's a new one in the future, my butt will be in front of the screen as soon as it's available.

  ¡Viva la [REC]!

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  ★★★½ review by Captain Kirk on Letterboxd

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  Film #2 of "Scavenger Hunt - October 2015" Challenge!
  
  Task #25: A foreign horror film.
  
  letterboxd.com/kirkless/list/scavenger-hunt-for-red-october-1/
  
  ______________________________________________________

  This was jarring. I guess it had been too long since watching a Rec film and I had forgotten how loud the infected's screams were or how violently fast and savage they were. Rec4 picks up right where Rec2 left off and gives just a passing mention to the events of Rec3 (which was actually my favorite of the series if taken as a standalone film and not a continuation of the original story...which it was not). I had forgotten a few of the details from the first 2 installments but thankfully there were enough mentions to plot points from them that it was able to jog my memory. The female reporter from the first two films has survived (surprise!) and makes it out of the building with a rescue team (why do they care all of a sudden?) only to be whisked away to some isolated research cruise ship in the middle of some lonely waters. The film goes all Alien3 and she starts to feel like Ripley in a world dominated by men all while wondering if she indeed is a carrier for the future of the virus. Once again, the violence here is loud, fast, and brutal. It was harder to care about the characters in Rec4 as the action takes precedence over development but it does certainly make for a fun ride. This is the first in the series where I can remember seeing the infected actually being taken out by automatic weapons. I'm sure there will be fans of the original films that chalk this up as a loss but in my opinion it was more than serviceable as a conclusion (maybe?) to the series.

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  ★★★½ review by Joachim Andersson on Letterboxd

  I'm a huge fan of the [REC] saga, particulary the first two. The first one is just a great horrormovie and the first sequel is among one of the rare few - the sequels who are as good as the origibal movie. Heck, I evev love the reason behind all of this that is revealed towards the end of [REC]2, something that I know a lot of people don't. Part three was a fun watch too, although the dark and nasty tone of the first two was sorely missed. It felt more like an 80:s horrormovie.

  So now it's finally here, the movie we have been waiting for. The final part in the saga and I will admit to being a bit peeved when I learned that the whole thing was set on a boat. No major apocalypse in the streets here, something I was hoping for. But the trailer looked good so I kept an open mind.

  And I am happy to say that [REC]4 is a solid piece in the series. The movie begins with a couple of policemen entering the building where the first two movies were taking place to place explosives and find Angela Vidal, the heroine of the first movie still alive. Flash forward an unknown amount of time and we are on a boat with a security lockdown. Angela and the two policemen are in quarantine, a lab has been set up and people are working on something, possibly a cure. We learn that (slight spoiler for part 2) Angela is not carrying the virus like everyone, including the audience, thinks. The people doing all the testing have a testsubject locked up and soon someone let's it out. Mayhem ensues. Terrific mayhem ensues.

  I have a couple of issues with the movie. First, there is an awful lot of shakycam which can be quite disorienting in some of the attackscenes when everything is shot in closeups. I saw the movie at a cinema and suspect that it might look better on a tv, time will tell.

  The second issue I have with the movie is a minor but sad one. And now there will be major SPOILERS of [REC]2 and [REC]4. It turns out that the cause of it all is a parasite, a large slimy thing that wants to find the perfect host. This is incredibly sad to me because I loved the reveal in part two when it turns out that the whole thing is a disease that might have been (accidentally? Haven't seen part two since it was released) created by the Catholic church. There are no demons in part 4, something that i truly missed. Sure, the concept of a satanic parasite is quite fun but the notion of a satanic virus is supremely cool. This was a letdown for me but it didn't stop me from enjoying the movie. A lot. This just struck me hours after watching it and it's what makes me a little sad. I wanted more demons. END OF SPOILERS

  And the bottom line is that [REC]4 is a great horrorflick. It's tense from the start, building up to an awesome explosion of violence and mayhem and never let's you down as it frantically runs along to a great climax. It does tend to focus more on jumpscares than trying to freak you out in the darkness but there is a sequence towards the end that involves infected monkeys that is a nailbiter. And I am happy to say (this must be the first time for me) that this isn't the gorefest I was expecting from the trailer. Sure, there is gore, but the movie is more brutally violent than messily gory which works great.

  It might not have been what I expected and hoped for but it's a great finale to the [REC] saga.

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  ★★★★ review by 🆂🅰🆁🅵🅰🆁🅰🆉 on Letterboxd

  [REC] 4 (Apocalypse) - Spanish-horror film. This is the fourth and last installment in the Rec-franchise, all the first two and this were co-written and directed by Jaume Balagueró. The third sequel was poorly received as compared to the early two firsts.

  Jaume begins the story from the events of second-sequel - He also mentions in his interview that film's enclosed atmosphere on the ship was intended to keep the rhythm of seriousness and that the plot may look more convincing and solid, instead of city of Barcelona full of zombies.

  Purely credible story that hits on the central theme of the story. Movie-title may not be taken for diversion as it lends most important segment of the plot - we have good performances from these artists. What has actually led me to love it, was the pace of the movie (that) did not seem to stop anywhere (from) entertaining you with non-stop thrill and suspense.

  Fine makeup and direction here. It brings an additional certification that Spain has grabbed the horror genre by its neck.

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