[REC]

Jaume Balaguero / Paco Plaza
2007

I couldn't have been more done with the first person mock-documentary "Blair Witch" style of horror filmmaking until this came along. The Spanish directing duo of Jaume Blaguero and Paco Plaza hit it out of the park with such finesse and perfection that the film's United States release was suppressed in order for American filmmakers to churn out the English language remake "Quarantine" (2008). A local news program rides along with some firefighters for the graveyard shift and is soon locked into an apartment complex beset by a series of strange crimes thanks to a strict police blockade of the building. As the tenants are picked off one by one they rise up as angry flesh eaters (think the "fast" zombies from "28 Days Later" (2002)), and our hapless reporters are thrust into a dire and unescapable situation. This is definitely the best use I've seen of the format, with the first person Kino eye creating the unsettling effect of constant danger just out of frame. There's also some nice nods to George Romero with a disparate group of people undone by selfish personalities and racial prejudices. The video aesthetic certainly gives the special effects people some leeway but with a combination of prosthetics and lighting the violent ghouls are strikingly effective. This is definitely an outstanding addition to the horror canon.