REC 3: Genesis

I failed to mention in my introduction that I am a big movie fan. Especially of horror films. So periodically I will review films on the site. Mainly horror films, but not exclusively. For my first film I am reviewing the third installment of the Spanish film series Rec. For those of you not familiar with the films, the original REC is from 2007 and centers around an apartment building where the residents are locked in and not allowed to leave after a gruesome emergency is reported to the authorities.

Some of you may be more familiar with the American remake starring the lovely and talented Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter's sister). Quarantine (2008), is an almost scene by scene remake of the original, but for those who'd seen the original, such as myself, it still feels fresh and terrifying.

There have been sequels to both REC and Quarantine, both of which were fairly decent.  Now a third installment in the Spanish series has been introduced, REC 3: Genesis.

As you might guess from the image above, the film revolves around a wedding....a very bloody wedding. While the second film is a logical continuation of the original, this third film goes in a completely different direction. In fact, aside from an outbreak that turns people into ravenous bloodthirsty creatures, REC 3 has very little in common with the first two films. I"m not sure if it was intentional, but aside from a few genuine scares, the film seemed a bit campy. I love camp, but if that was the intention here then I wish the director had gone all the way with it.

As is the case with so many of these "found footage" and hand held camera films, the first half is used to introduce the characters and setting. We find out that the young and beautiful couple Clara and Koldo are about to get married. With all their family and friends in attendance, this is set to be the greatest day of their lives. To add to that excitement, Clara has a little surprise she's not able to reveal to Koldo until later in the film. Just before the wedding, we also find out that good old Tio (Uncle) Victor works in some kind of profession where he deals with dogs, one of which bit his hand. After the wedding ceremony, the couple and guests are bused to a secluded estate where the reception is to be held.  This is where the fun begins.

During the reception, there is dancing (including the awesome choreographed number between bride and groom picture above), speeches, even some singing and of course lots of drinking. Later in the evening the cameramen go outside for a smoke break and notice a "drunk" person stumble up the steps and begin to vomit violently.  The camera guys realize it's Uncle Victor and don't think much of it, after all, what's a wedding without a drunk uncle blowing chunks. Unfortunately for the guests, Uncle Victor didn't have one too many martinis. As it turns out, that bite wound on his hand wasn't just from any regular dog. In next scene we are back inside the party where everyone is dancing and having a good time. All of a sudden someone notices that Uncle Victor is leaning over the second floor balcony overlooking the dance floor. Over the banister he goes, crashing down on a table and sending people scurrying in all directions. His wife runs to his aide and someone calls for an ambulance. Shockingly he is moving and doesn't appear badly hurt, but when his wife leans down to comfort him he latches on to her neck and tears out a chunk of flesh. All hell breaks loose but before anyone gets a chance to act, "infected" people come flying down on the party from all directions. I suppose we're to assume that at some point Uncle Victor infected these other people? The film is unclear as to how so many others were infected. As the zombies begin their feeding frenzy the guests make a run for their lives, which of course lead to Clara and Koldo getting separated. As Koldo and a few other guests, including the cameramen, barricade themselves in the kitchen, Koldo freaks out and demands they turn the cameras off. Actually, he rips the camera away and breaks it. This is where we get one of the few unique moments of the film as it switches from the hand-held shooting style to the traditional third-person point of view. Interestingly shortly before this happened I was thinking how I was getting sick of the hand held "found footage" films so this was somewhat refreshing.

From this point forward we see the typical zombie film formula: people trying to escape, said people getting bitten, bitten people turning into zombies, new zombies joining in the feeding frenzy and so forth. However, there are a couple bad ass moments that do make REC 3 stand apart from other zombie films and I'm not just talking about the glamorous zombie beauty pictured here. 

No, what I'm referring to is that the film, as the title implies, brings in a religious element to the equation. As we discover that Clara is alive and hiding in the control room of the compound, we see that she is accompanied by the priest who performed her wedding ceremony. As is typical with men of the cloth, the priest turns to prayer as his defense from the abominations trying to feast on his flesh. Personally, I've never noticed overt religious themes in other zombie films, so you can imagine my surprise that not only is prayer used, but that it actually works! That's right, GOD-FEARING zombies. How is that for a bad ass twist? More on the god-fearing zombies later but first on to the second reason why this movie stands out from other zombie films.

As I mentioned earlier, Clara has a surprise for Koldo but is unable to share it with him as they have not had any time alone. Well, when Clara is in the control room with the priest, she uses the intercom system to send a message to Koldo (whom she says she can sense is alive). In her impassioned  message to him, she gives him the news that she is in fact pregnant with their child. This only serves to fuel Koldo's already frantic quest to find her. As the two are seen going from room to room of the giant compound dodging zombies and trying to find each other, Clara winds up in a tunnel under the house along with another one of the guests, Rafa. As Rafa pleads with her to make a run for it she insists she will not leave without Koldo. Rafa tries to persuade her that Koldo is dead since he's not sent her any signs. Right on cue, Koldo makes it to the control room and begins playing their wedding song. This really gets Clara going, which brings us to our second bad ass moment. As Rafa continues to plead, Clara finds a discarded chainsaw in the tunnel and tells Koldo she is not turning back. Clara turns on the chainsaw and uses it to cut off her dress revealing some very sexy undergarments and then declares "Este es mi dia", THIS IS MY DAY!

That's right, a pregnant, chainsaw wielding bride ready to kick some zombie ass! Gives the term bridezilla a whole new meaning. You really can't get much more bad ass than that. As they make their way back to try and find Koldo they encounter a group of zombies and this is where Clara's inner bridezilla really shines through. As she chops and dices her way through the horde of undead, one of them manages to bite Rafa. By now, nothing is getting in the way of our heroine....and so of course, this is what becomes of poor Rafa

Ouch. Eventually, Clara and Koldo are reunited leading to a very gory and bloody ending that has a few shocking moments of its own. Aside form that however,  I won't give any additional details so as to not ruin the ending for anyone who wishes to watch this film. Overall, this is an entertaining film.  It took me a bit to get past the initial confusion over the change in setting, in all honesty, this could have been a stand alone movie as it doesn't really follow the firs two. The original REC is still my favorite but REC 3 certainly provides fans of gory horror with the thrills and splatters they seek. As I mentioned there is a lot of religious themes which I won't even bother to get into because frankly, I'm not so sure I understand all of them.  All you need to know is that there are god fearing zombies in this movie! And when you combine that with a chainsaw carrying pregnant bride you're bound to be entertained. I give this 3 out of 5 stars.