The follow-up to the smash hit Spanish contagion horror turns out to have a nasty case of sequelitis. All of the elements that propelled the original toward global multiplex audiences – mockumentary murk, a diseased apartment block setting – are here unhappily regurgitated with more money and to lesser effect. Taking up where Rec 1 left off, the new film follows an army unit into the ill-fated building where most of the former residents are either dead or transformed into raging demonic zombies. Like so many horror franchises before, Rec 2 embellishes the mysterious circumstances behind the outbreak until it fans out into a grandiose conspiracy involving the Catholic Church and their unfortunate youthful charges. Trouble is, the increasingly ludicrous explanation is rather like seeing a crappy B-movie monster; no rubber suit or can ever live up to a terrified reaction shot.
It’s not all bad news. Directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza understand the physics of the scare and work their handheld digital images to mask all manner of lurking evils and twisted, possessed souls. The twist, which will likely mean more to those who’ve watched both movies, is neat while allowing for Recs 3, 4 & possibly 5. This may spell good fortune for those who lapped up Quarantine, the hit US remake starring the divine Jennifer Carpenter. But at the very least it means that, even on its own slightly wobbly terms, Rec 2 is no Blair Witch 2 style disaster.