[REC] 2 rides the line between a great sequel and a mediocre one. On one level, the scares are largely rehashed from the original film. The infected tenants pop out from every corner and chase our fresh set of heroes with similar results as the last film. You'll see nearly every scare from the original recycled a good two or three times over. This renders a less scary, and sometimes tedious film.
On another level, [REC] 2 is a shockingly sharp sequel that takes the basic premise of the original film and cleverly expands upon it, offering a much more in-depth religious explanation for the viral outbreak, multiple points of view and several different camera perspectives – all properly integrated into the narrative without any inconsistency. And it's in the film's fresh motivations that [REC] 2 finds its footing.
Even with the new innovations and added back story, though, [REC] 2 doesn't quite feel like a complete movie. At just 84 minutes (with credits), the film is littered with padding, especially once the first point-of-view (from a SWAT team) ends and we switch to a group of unknowing teens. The plot slowly devolves into an episodic hybrid of chases elements and random character/plot development. It's a shame most of the exposition is relegated to the opening act as this manifests a problematic middle, one that could almost be skipped entirely without harm to the narrative.
The film does pick up the pace and return to its stronger narrative form at about the hour mark. However, some may find the religious twists and turns that emerge in this finale (or the rest of the film, for that matter) a bit overbearing and ultimately unneeded, or not very interesting. You've got to hand it to the filmmakers for genre-meshing a little, even if the results are decidedly mixed, though. The religious element does add some flavor, just not a whole lot of spice.
While certainly not as refreshing or unnervingly scary as the original (or the remake, Quarantine), [REC] 2 is a scary good time with more bumps and jolts than most horror fare. It also makes a fun complement to the 28 Days Later series or even Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead. And gamers should get a kick out of the film's obvious winks and nods to video game conventions, all of which are intentionally woven into the story and cinematography.
[REC] 2 comes to DVD courtesy of Sony Pictures. The film is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 surround with optional English and English SDH subtitles. No English dub is provided.
For some unknown reason, Sony didn't see fit to drop this title on Blu-ray, despite a Blu-ray being available in virtually every other region, alas region-locked to those regions. I still don't understand why the studio that created Blu-ray would not support the format on ALL of their film and TV releases. That just doesn't make a whole lot of sense, especially considering their ad campaign that boasts that everything from Sony is HD.
The widescreen presentation is pretty solid. Naturally, the film has a shot-on-video look and intentionally looks murky in a few camera perspectives, but this visual aesthetic helps set the tone for the creepy narrative so there's little reason to complain. Shadows are fine, and details are striking. There is quite a bit of noise throughout the film, but again, with minimal lighting and the HD medium, that's to be expected. The encode, however, looks about as sharp and clean as standard definition will allow.
Not surprisingly, the Spanish 5.1 mix is layered with atmosphere that helps elevate the film's jumps, bumps and jolts. Surrounds are active and lively. Bass is haunting and occasionally thunderous. Dialogue is well mixed with few crackles or distortions (that aren't intentional). Subtitles are pretty ugly looking, unfortunately. Wish this film had made the transition to Blu-ray. With the higher resolution, subtitles are always much sharper.
Extras might seem trivial on the surface, but they're actually quite in-depth. For starters, there's a modest collection of deleted/extended scenes that run about 7 minutes. It's nothing too extraordinary, but worth a look. Next, there's a series of three behind-the-scenes featurettes. This extra is where the bonus materials really stand out. The featurettes are broken down by three scenes in the film. From there the filmmakers discuss the production in great length, detailing the effects, shot design, the story and much more. While this disc may lack a commentary track, this nearly hour-long examination of the making of the film makes up for it.
Rounding out the extras there's a set design featurette that runs about 9 minutes, an 11-minute press conference with the filmmakers and a 9-minute featurette about the film's press tour. Extras are subtitled in English. The disc also includes a slew of pre-loaded trailers from Sony. Yuck.
If you love fast-moving zombie-like monsters, religious horror or the previous film, [REC] 2 is definitely worth a spin. It's perhaps not as shocking as the original, but it's a worthy follow-up nonetheless. And with the DTV sequel, Quarantine 2 just around the corner, it looks like it's time for a Rec/Quarantine movie marathon.