Rec

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Rec was a story of a reporter named Angela and a cameraman named Pablo. The two, especially Angela, was working in a late night television show that aired stories happening when people were alseep or during late night hours. In the movie, the show was featuring a fire station and Angela was hoping to air a story of firemen in action. Luckily, or should I say unluckily, she got what she wanted and a woman from an apartment called the station. Angela was so aggressive that she recorded everything that was happening even during the times when it was not allowed. All she wanted was to provide a good story for the viewers but it turned out that viewers saw her story and how it tragically ended instead.

What was unique about this movie compared to the other films shown in class was that the viewers saw it through a camera recorder while it was recording. It was giving the illusion that everything seen was live. To me, showing it that way made the audience closer and more involved with Angela since the viewers were not simply watching her. It was as if she was really communicating with the audience and looking at them in the eyes. Angela controlled the situation and Pablo was just following her.

There were times when I felt annoyed at Angela because she still wanted to record what was happening even in the prohibited areas of the apartment. But if it were not for her, there would be no story. Without Angela there would be no progress. Her loud personality even caught my attention that I did not get bored watching it at all. Angela’s character was the most important to me.

This movie can be compared with Paranormal Activity, a horror film that played through a camera recorder as well but I can say that Rec was more engaging. In Paranormal Activity, the audience was treated as an outside party. But in the movie Rec, the purpose of providing a good story was for more viewers to support it.

Overall, I can say that it was something I would recommend. Not a lot of people have watched a Spanish horror movie and this would definitely give them a fresh perspective on horror.

[Rec]

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The title suggests nothing about the plot of the movie, except for the fact that it means “record.” Even so, the idea of the movie being “recorded,” has no significant relevance in the story – but it has relevance in the technique that was used to strike fear to its audience. Apparently Being a “found footage” movie about what happened in Barcelona that night, the whole movie gave the impression that what was happening behind the camera was real, fully immersing viewers into the story, allowing them to experience fear – the same fear that the Angela and Pablo felt during the whole fiasco. This technique didn’t seem so effective, however, and any horror that I felt was due to panic and suspense that the “found footage” was conveying. This “shaky camera” technique unfortunately ruined the movie for me – it became hard to follow and I’m quite sure I felt nauseous after watching the movie. Nonetheless, it was a necessary technique to immerse the audience into the story.

Towards the end, the story was mixed with a hint of conspiracy, but I feel like it’s such a cheap attempt to add conspiracy to a movie by relating it to the mysterious institution we call the Vatican. I found it corny – but even so it gave a decent spin to the transpiration of events. The sickness, apparently, was due to demonic possession and not merely a disease. But despite clarifying the source of the disease, it didn’t add any excitement for me. Again, I found it corny and forced.

The only thing that I would dare commend about the movie would be the immersing experience of the shaky camera method. Running around the building, dark spaces and the sounds of infected people echoing in the halls – these aspects of the movie, I would have to admit, allowed me to empathize with the emotions of the people behind the camera. It actually reminded me of the excitement I feel when playing Left 4 Dead – a first person shooting game that involves fighting through hordes of zombies to reach a certain destination. In a similar way, Angela and Pablo had to retrieve several items in different parts of the building. The only horror I felt was due to the fact that they had to traverse five floors in order to retrieve a key, and then eventually come back down to exit via a sewage system. I reiterate that the movie in itself didn’t make me feel the horror that I’m talking about, but since I was somehow able to relate to the idea I was stricken somewhat with a little suspense. This fear that I’m talking about is derived from the most typical question for situations such as being trapped in a building: will I be able to make it out alive?

I’m no professional film critic, and the only basis of my words is my experience. In terms of experience, I would have to say that the movie did a great job, but the plot in itself was corny.

[• REC] and the Punishment of the Female Gaze

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I’ve always found myself astounded by the found-footage genre of film, as it introduces another level of verisimilitude to the medium that I can truly appreciate. This particular style, of course, is most commonly used in the horror genre, as closeness to reality reinforces just how terrifying a monstrous situation can be to other human persons. When given films like The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, and Paranormal Activity, it’s clear that found-footage is very successful in rattling audiences to their core.

Given that, my first time watching Paco Plaza and Jaume Balagueró’s [• REC] in class was one of the most incredible found-footage experiences I’ve ever had. It provided a very claustrophobic atmosphere, and was not afraid to confront the audience up-close and personal. It was a great horror film, and it was put together well with pacing that keeps me on the edge of my seat. To add even more interest to it, it features a female leading role.

The story follows a TV reporter named Angela and her cameraman Pablo, who are assigned to cover the daily activities of the local firemen of Barcelona. The fire department receives a call from an apartment building, telling of troubling matters regarding an old woman in the premises. The firemen and news team head to the apartment building, only to be dragged into one hell of an evening. The building is immediately placed on quarantine by the police, trapping anyone inside. The inhabitants eventually discover that a serious infection is spreading within the building, and it is quickly reaching the surviving members of the building. The entire film is Angela’s attempt to document the entire ordeal, as she feels it is necessary for the public to know about the terrors brought upon them.

Watching the film, one can quickly see that the movie shows Angela’s attempt to discover and understand the events that are happening around her. She gets Pablo to video record everything she sees, pushing him to not miss a single thing. In that sense, the entirety of the film illustrates the leading lady’s point of view.  Using this takes advantage of a particular idea that Linda Williams describes as the female gaze. When a woman looks, not only is there a sense of fear, but there is also a sense of recognition, as the woman stares at a monstrosity of difference as a man does a woman. A woman looks at the monster, and in doing so, challenges patriarchal ideals. Once male power is threatened, however, one can only expect a violent punishment as a result. A phenomenon like this is very common in horror films, and is very much seen in REC. While Angela insists on pursuing the truth of the apartment building, she is exposing herself to too much to see. In the end, she paid for it dearly in an assumed horrible death.

For me, [• REC] is an excellent horror film not only because it felt so real and traumatizing, but also because it forced audience members, male or female, to take on the gaze of a woman who continues to look. With that kind of perspective in front of us, one can only expect a terrifying sight.

[REC]

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Angela who is a reporter was just doing her job, interviewing firefighters one night. It seemed to be a normal day in the office or should I say night but little did they know that it will be their last job as they were pulled in an out of this world phenomenon. It started in a normal job of the firefighters where they were just doing their job and helping different people in a building but things went sour when the old lady bit an officer and everything just went nuts. I pity Pablo and Angela for being in that situation as they were like doing their job then suddenly that’s it. The infected were all around the building and continued to infect people throughout the movie. From being a friend or acquaintance, when you become infected, you will no longer recognize other people. Rec continued on until Angela and Pablo kept on running from the infected and their acquaintances were killed and became infected one by one until two of them are left. They went to the 5^th floor and discovered where it all began and how it started but in the end they both got killed or so we think.

What I liked the most is that [Rec] gave its audience something to think about and not your typical “zombie apocalypse” films where people just suddenly die. It started from a typical day until suddenly everything went bizarre and things got out of hand.  I like how the film maintained its mysterious approach and left the characters searching for clues for the next step. In the beginning of the movie it leaves us, the viewers with the rest of the characters, in the dark as to what was really happening or as to what the explanation for the zombie attacks and infections were. I think the pacing of the movie is just of the right amount and the big reveal at the end was really worth it. The movie has its right amount of effective gore and very unpredictable scares and all of these is leading up to the moment of revelation and explanation. In the end they found the source of the infection and left the audience satisfied on the question of what caused it in the first place. [Rec] has shown its consistency with the title itself with a twist of the zombie movies. I like how the story revolved in the perspective of the camera where the shaking of it was effective on how it showed the theme of the movie. The shakiness of the camera has been crucial in setting the tone of the movie and has made it more engaging to the audience.

[REC]

What is fascinating about [REC] is the source of the zombie infection. It is not like Resident Evil where the source of the infection was a virus created by a corporation which is used for biological terrorism nor is it like the Rage virus from 28 Days Later, which came from berserk chimps. The zombie virus of [REC] comes from a mutated enzyme that emerged from a girl named Tristana Medeiros, and that mutated enzyme is believed to be the cause of “demonic possession.” So the zombies here are also “demons;” they do not die even after being bludgeoned or shot multiple times. The zombified Tristana Medeiros does not even bite in order to kill her victims; instead she bashes them with a hammer.

Besides the source of the infection, what is interesting in the film is that it uses the shaky camera style of filming. This makes the film more suspenseful than other zombie movies because it gives viewers an experience in which they are like the characters running around the apartment, trying to hide from the zombies. This shaky camera style can be analyzed by using the concepts from Linda Williams’ essay that are about the woman’s gaze. Unlike the male gaze, which is piercing and disturbing, the female gaze on the other hand is punished. Williams says that the woman the woman looks, “she is often asked to bear witness to her own powerlessness.” Angela, one of the two main characters of the film, seeks to document the terrifying events that are taking place in the apartment where she is supposed to film firemen doing their work late at night. Even after being told by one of the police officers to stop filming, she orders Pablo, her cameraman to continue filming because she believes the zombie outrage needs to be shown to people. Her interest and curiosity for the zombie outbreak in the apartment is punished because like everyone else, she is forced to flee and to fight her way to find rooms where they can be safe from the zombies. Even at the end when she and Pablo discover the source of the infection, she and Pablo continue to shoot. They encounter Tristana Medeiros, and Pablo gets bludgeoned to death by her hammer. The camera falls to the floor, and Angela reaches for it; because of her curiosity, not only does she put herself and Pablo in danger, she gets dragged into the darkness by Medeiros. In a sense, the camera is her eyes, especially in the dark, and with her own eyes, we see her powerlessness and her bleak situation.

The setting makes their situation more intense because they are in an apartment that is sealed off by government and medical officials. The space that they are in makes it difficult for them to move around because there are many locked rooms and those that are unlocked have infected tenants that become part of the wave that chases after them.

While this is one of my favorites for this class, I have a problem with how the infection started. It started with the dog, but how did the dog get infected by the virus? While we are supposed to watch this film by suspending our disbelief, I cannot help but think about it.

REC

REC was definitely one of my favorite horror films viewed this sem. It contained horror elements that I usually look for and elements that have been discussed throughout different readings about the genre: it was a foreign film; straight-up I was taken away from the usual Hollywood film feel that is just too familiar. It slowly revealed its horrific properties and at the right pace, piquing my interest and continuously feeding my curiosity as to what was happening. It even somehow was related to some relevant, social concerns like the fear of diseases spreading. What made it more interesting for me though, was the film’s 1st person shaky camera treatment that enhanced the experience by breaking the fourth wall.

Typically, films are presented with a solid barrier between the narrative and the audience. Although well-executed films, no matter what form they take, are able to immerse their audiences and are able to grip them, I feel like the editing, camera angles, different effects, cut-to-cut of scenes will always somehow remind viewers that what they’re watching is created. This barrier was lessened for me in the movie REC, where a less common first-person approach was used. Angela was a reporter seemingly just going through a regular work-night with Pablo being her camera man, when the horrific things started to unfold. But apart from them and the different characters, the style had made the audience feel more part of the film, as real-life viewers of this tape that was found. The film was also moving relatively in real-time; although of course there were cuts, the events throughout the film felt like they were happening as the viewers watched because they were closer to each other. This made the film more exciting as one could feel more immersed with it, things were revealed to the characters and to the audience at the same time.

In Linda Williams’ piece “When the woman looks”, the woman’s gaze in horror films is said to imply different things. In one understanding, it can be seen as an attempt at power; an attempt to face the fear and to overcome it. Related to this is the overcoming of the patriarchal society views that women are weaker than men. The reading also discusses how the women identifies with the monster– as both women and monsters are seen to be objects of the male gaze, in my understanding (No offense). In the film, although there is actually no face-to-face scene between Angela and the “monster”, we’ll notice that Angela tries her best to cover the story and the events unfolding as they happened; being aggressive and defying orders from the policeman. Clearly we see that this deviates from the usual perception that women get scared easily in horror films; and we get a sense that she does this not just to fight the fear of the scary things that were happening but also to fight her way up to better opportunities with her reporting career. As for the second point, I believe William’s thought on how the woman and the monster identifies with each other can be seen with the stylistic use of the shaky 1st person camera. Here it is further emphasized how the monster, or the horrific properties, are object to the audience’s gaze.

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Recognizing the Female Gaze in [• REC]

[• REC] follows the story of Angela, a reporter who was doing a segment on local fire fighters in lieu of a slow news day. She and her cameraman accompanied some fire fighters who responded to a mild disturbance in an apartment. They soon discover that some violent entities are lurking in the apartment, but as they all end up being trapped inside with some of the residents, they must find a way out before it’s too late.

I appreciated how the film began with a slow, oftentimes dragging start, but escalated to very fast-paced shock scenes as the film wore on. The “found footage” style of filming made use of shaky frames and naturally flowing dialogues to create a realistic feel to the story. The choice of a dark and limited space made the film seem all the more claustrophobic, and it raised my level of discomfort by doing so. Putting these elements together had set a decent mood that got me hooked to see what happened next.

Film elements aside, the story itself puts into perspective the power of the female gaze. Linda Williams, in her work When the Woman Looks, compares the male gaze to the female gaze in horror films. Williams says that in horror films, seeing is equated with desiring; the male gaze, therefore, is a conventional and acceptable norm. In contrast, the female gaze is condemned, and the woman is punished for looking. This is exemplified in how women are often the victims of the monsters movies, no matter if she is a protagonist or a secondary character in the story. While the male gaze does not see much difference between objects of desire and objects of horror, the female gaze is able to recognize the freakish qualities of the object of horror, and sees this freakishness to be similar to her own position as a woman living as a sexual Other in a patriarchal society.

We now look at Angela’s character from this perspective. Angela is quite naïve, and foolish enough to be willing to sacrifice her own safety by defying the precautions of the fire fighters and going inside the apartment building in the hopes of getting a sensational story that would put her on the map. When things begin to go downhill and she ends up fighting to survive, it is as though she is immediately forced to pay the price of her bad decisions. As Williams would say, she is being punished for gazing into the eyes of the monster. Moreover, the moment the monsters reveal themselves to the audience, a shift in attention occurs. In typical film narratives, women are used as spectacles to keep audiences interested, but once the monster emerges, the focus becomes directed to the terror, and what the realization about the object of horror will do to the woman.

All in all, in spite of the uncommon approach to filming stories involving being chased by zombies, I think that [• REC] still conforms to more traditional practices in horror films with regard to the treatment of women on screen. This piece of work might be reflective of a culture that is still guilty for being fascinated by watching women be objectified and put in harm’s way, as horror stories often do.

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REC

REC (2008) is one in a long line of movies that people call “shaky cam” or found footage”, that supposedly bring a sense of realism to the story, like it really happened. The movie is quite short and also moves and a very fast pace, the audience pulled along with the story at practically running speed, there’s almost no time to take a breath. REC is all throughout very effective, I feel, at putting us watchers in the story, like it’s actually us up there on the screen.

The story centers on Angela, a TV presenter, and her cameraman Marcos, who follow a fireman crew into an old apartment building. They find an old lady, screaming, who suddenly bites one of the officers, infecting him with a contagious virus. As everyone tries to leave the building, they find that they have all been trapped inside by officials outside the building who want to quarantine the virus. Angela and Marcos film the goings-on in the building as they, the fireman and the other residents try to survive.

REC is basically a horror movie about zombies that somehow start in an old apartment building. There seems to be no explanation for this, we are simply asked to take this on as fact. The story moves quickly as I’ve said, and the darkness and closed in hallways and walls add to the terror and the feeling of being trapped, a basic human fear. On top of that, the zombies don’t move slowly, they move quickly, many times jumping out to catch someone. Once bitten, it’s all over.

It’s interesting how the camera became almost a hidden participant in the story, that through it we watch and become part of the events. The hidden participants are us, running along besides the main characters, confronting the monsters, and the scares and surprises happening to them were in a way also happening to us. The “shaky cam” mimics our feeling of helplessness and terror as we fight our way through the apartment building, looking for a way to escape. One major problem with this though is the existence of the subtitles. Being a foreign language film, in Spanish, subtitles are definitely necessary to be able to understand what’s going on. To me though, this really moves away from the logic of the story. We are supposed to believe that after the events of the movie, someone found the camera, thought the story was worth sharing with the world, and added English subtitles so the rest would be able to understand it, being set in Spain and such. The movie could just as easily have been dubbed in English. I think the subtitles were an unnecessary distraction.

On the whole, I find a lot to RECommend about REC. From the acting to the story, to the scares and ‘boo’ moments, everything was really well done. I checked and found out that there are three sequels following this one, REC 2, REC 3 and REC 4. I’m now hoping those are as good as this one, because if so I will be definitely watching them.

[• REC]

Williams (2002) describes the woman’s gaze in a horror film. It implies many things – an attempt to confront her fears, a trigger for punishment, or a sign of acceptance of her inevitable demise. It sounds like the woman is so belittled, but the film REC was just a clear proof of the reasons behind that.

Angela was a free spirited young reporter who really wanted something excited to happen for her documentary. However, you know what they say, you have to “be careful with what you wish for”. When the gaze happens, the confrontation between the woman and the monster, you just have to brace yourself for the attack. It’s a point of no return. Angela got the exciting story she wanted as she and others become victims of mysterious and vicious attacks. It was out of her control, as she couldn’t escape from the building and she had no choice but to face the monster.

Throughout the film, you are able to see the transformation of the protagonist from feeling thrilled to extremely frightened. Just like how a woman is expected to seem, you are able to see the reporter’s vulnerable side, through the documentary reel to the unintentional behind the scenes footage. A woman’s fear paralyzes her, Williams (2002) suggests and it was evident in the main character’s 180-degree shift of emotions. Aside from being the weak and defenseless one, Williams also describes the woman as in many ways, similar to the monster. Women are seen to be “biological freaks”. Though I may not really agree with this, the monster in the end was unsurprisingly, a little girl with a demonic possession. I guess women are just viewed to be weirder, creepier and slightly mental, just like how we saw in the film Ginger Snaps.

Though overall, I enjoyed the film. REC delivered a better execution compared to Paranormal Activity, who used the first person horror film effect as well. Its shaky and unstable effect added to the horror feel of the film. The film progressed with its characters, and the whole ‘when the record stops to switch scenes’ strategy worked to its advantage. Since we were just seeing things in the view of the lens, we had the weird eerie feeling of something lurking behind us, something we couldn’t see with our eyes. This lessened our visual control (as compared if the frame viewed the whole scene like in other films), and we felt like we were in the position of the characters, and it made it much more horror-like.

If you’re a fan of horror, the film was definitely entertaining all throughout. It wasn’t just the ending that was frightening, but the movie was creepy from the start. The attic scene was just the perfect ending to the well-made film. I remember thinking that Angela was pretty stupid acting the way she was in that scene, but it is a horror film after all. It would not have been great if it ended differently and if she wasn’t dragged by her feet by the mysterious monster. Stripped down and straightforward, this is a horror film I’d recommend.

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[REC]

This is one of the few movies in the list that I have watched before and not mind watching again. [REC] is essentially a zombie outbreak movie but taken in a new light. Normally zombie movies involve a widespread outbreak that infects the entire town or city that basically ends society and all of humanity then the usual survival story begins. [REC] however is the first movie I had seen that limits the outbreak into a small confined space where the survivors are dying/infected one after the other like a slasher movie. The film also depicts the story through a camera footage point of view which is very unique when applied to the zombie outbreak setting. Normally I am not a fan of the whole camera pov because it becomes very limiting and disruptive with all the movements. Ultimately I get the feeling of being detached from the movie because I am unable to grasp a complete perspective, much is the feeling I got when I watched The Blair Witch Project. However this style worked very well with this particular movie because it helped with the suspense and intrigue of the movie. In other words I was drawn more to the film because i was left wanting to know more and more about what is going on without feeling deprived. I am guessing the formula for this stye is keeping it in a confined space wherein the audience is able to put into perspective the surroundings yet is left captivated by the events that transpire. An excellent example to prove my point is the Paranormal Activity series, particularly the first 3 or 4 movies. In those movies we are dealing with various point of views around a fixed setting. All those elements of the film make for a very entertaining and eventful movie. The story also is very intriguing  because the origins of the outbreak is unknown, unlike Resident Evil or 28 Days Later. Although an origin story for the outbreak is what ultimately every audience desires so that they get to grasp what is happening the mystery is quite inviting. At least the movie does us the favour of giving us a glimpse of the outbreak’s origins at the ending of the movie unlike movies such as World War Z or Pontypool. This leaves the audience mystified, wondering the cause of all the chaos. The movie does a great job keeping the intrigue and suspense going throughout the duration of the film. The characters in my opinion provide much realism to the whole situation the movie which again adds to the tension and build up. But admittedly, it is hard to get a feel for any of the characters because of the visual style but the payoff is worth it. The cameraman’s, Pablo, point of view served to be the bridge for the audience to the movie thus getting a better feel for the movie.

All in all, [REC] is a very unique and well made movie with perfectly applied elements that enhance the viewing pleasure of its audience. I only hope that I soon find the time to watch the sequels of the movie.