New Release Review - Rec 3: Genesis

Directed by: Paco Plaza

Starring: Leticia Dolera, Diego Martín, Javier Botet

Dolera and Martin have their wedding reception interrupted when the guests turn rabid and begin to eat one another.

The first two installments of the "Rec" series were a couple of the better entries in the found footage genre and helped launch a new wave of Spanish horror. The movies were the work of two men, Paco Plaza and Jaume Balaguero but now they've decided to go their separate ways with Plaza directing this prequel and Balaguero helming a sequel, "Rec: Apocalypse", which is due next year. On the evidence of this it's Balaguero who has the talent.

The movie opens promisingly with a clever recreation of the opening of a cheesy wedding video complete with dodgy Spanish pop music. We then get the point of view of two different cameras; one is that of a professional wedding videographer (who happens to be a double for Guillermo Del Toro) while the other is a handicam belonging to a young guest. There's absolutely no difference in picture quality between the two, the first hint that this may not live up to it's predecessors. 

One of the guests is a veterinarian who shows up with a bandaged hand having being bitten by a dog. No prizes for guessing who is the first to start chewing on his fellow guests. This is the first time we break from the mythology of the first two films but it's sadly not the last. As soon as all hell breaks loose the cameras are smashed and we move from found footage to traditional film-making. It's a bold move on Plaza's part and one I applauded at the time. I've grown tired of the gimmick and can count on one hand with fingers to spare how many times it's been used well. The problem is that Plaza doesn't replace it with anything interesting, instead turning this into a sub-standard horror comedy.

Seeing a girl in a wedding dress chainsawing her way through zombies might have been fun in the eighties but now it's just tiresome. I sincerely hope Balaguero isn't taking the comedy route for his movie.

3/10

---