You get all kinds of movies when you come to Screenhead, folks–you get the biggest and best that Hollywood has to offer, but we’ve also got plenty of stuff you might not ordinarily see.  Today is one of those times.  We’ve got for you a copy of [REC], which I will be referring to as Rec throughout the rest of this piece because I’m not typing all those brackets.

Anyway, Rec is, as some of you might already know, the movie on which the magnificent Jennifer Carpenter piece Quarantine was based.  We also know that Quarantine was a spectacularly spooky piece of filmmaking, but how does the original stack up?  They’re approximately equal in storyline, which makes perfect sense: once again, a spunky young television reporter who sets out to spend the night with a firehouse full of firefighters in Barcelona for her television show.  It all starts out rather slow until a rescue call perks things up.  But what’s waiting for them on the other end of that rescue call is going to change some lives…and end some others.

I don’t much like the word “spunky” myself and wouldn’t have used it if it to describe  didn’t FIT so very well.  Every time I see her all I can think of is that old David Spade joke:  “Hi, I’m Angela Vidal and I’m twelve.  And I’m gonna stay up ALL NIGHT!”

The really interesting part about Rec is that it doesn’t really compare to Quarantine.  The reason why it doesn’t is because they’re so incredibly close to being, well, identical.  Sure, there are some small differences–the doctor in Rec was an intern, whilst in Quarantine he was a veterinarian, but still.  Just about every part of Quarantine shows up in Rec, and vice versa.  Granted, I haven’t seen Quarantine in the last couple months, but based on what I remember, it’s almost exactly the same movie, except Rec is shot entirely in Spanish.  There will be some differences near the end, but they’re really more differences in the backstory than anything else.

It’s pretty much the same movie, so just about everything I said about Quarantine applies to Rec.  There’s no question about it, this movie is just as awesome as its remake.  All the frantic action and rollicking thrills and profound horror are all very much in place.   And indeed, this sucker’s downright frantic.  There’s lots of rushing around and tearing around in this one, just as much if not maybe just a bit more than its remake.  This sucker’s like one big nonstop adrenaline rush.

It actually got my heart rate up.  Watching Rec felt like running uphill.  If there was ever a movie that could be classified as an aerobic exercise, then Rec is that movie.  Seriously, I’m beat.  Watching this thing made me desperate for a nap, and yet, at the same time, I really didn’t want to turn the lights off.  This is scary stuff.

Thus, Rec, which really is neither better nor worse than Quarantine, gets exactly what Quarantine would have: a full ten out of ten.  This is a optimally effective horror title, and if you want to be scared, whether you’re a relative newcomer to the genre or a seasoned veteran, you will still be scared.