[REC] 2

Directed by Jaume Balagueró
2009
Rated R
85 minutes

Summary from Netflix: In this sequel to their 2007 horror hit [Rec], directors Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza take viewers back to the scene of the original nightmare -- a now-sealed-off apartment where a raging virus was unleashed on rescue workers. With camera once again in tow, a medical officer and a SWAT team venture into ground zero of the virulent virus to try to contain the disease and abort its deadly spread. Manuela Velasco and Jonathan Mellor star.

My rating: ★★★★★ out of 5

It's nice to see a sequel to a low-budget film that actually excels upon the original movie and makes things even far more claustrophobic and tense then the first time around. The first film established that a virus was unleashed upon the residence of an apartment building and the authorities on the outside quarantine everyone inside while specialists try to figure out what is going on. It's now just hours after where the original film ended and a specialist has arrived and being sent inside with a SWAT team to figure out why all contact was lost with those inside. The single camera aspect is removed this time around as each team member has a helmet cam of their own and often a picture in picture aspect is used when the team splits up during their investigation.

The supernatural plot element is further expanded upon as we discover along with the characters that the virus unleashed has demonic properties and that a much bigger cover up is going on then anyone was led to believe. No longer are we caught within a zombie outbreak movie but a much larger supernatural mystery and unless the source of the virus is found there is a far worse outcome for the world outside. Many minor plot elements from the first film are revisited as well including an escape route and the father of a family trapped inside who talks a fireman to sneak inside. We also discover that there is a survivor who managed to escape the chaos inside after all and helps the SWAT team explore the deeper chambers inside the apartment.

I will not spoil the big reveal of the film including a few twists along the way but it was a very enjoyable ride and manages to make the film hardly as predictable as one would might expect a sequel to be. If you were curious that an American version of this movie will come along as well then don't hold your breath because Screen Gems already moved on to writing their own sequel to Quarantine and placed it within an airport. Maybe they might pursue this storyline for a further sequel but with the elimination of the supernatural plot it's very doubtful they would be willing to expand on further exploration of the apartment building incident.

During a recent interview with Jaume Balagueró he has stated that he has plans for a prequel to REC showing the initial virus escaping into the apartment building as well as a third sequel which shall deal with the evil escaping into the outside world and the chaos it causes.