REC: Apocalypse (UK Blu-ray / DVD)
Gareth Jones
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Starring Manuela Velasco, Ismael Fritschi, Paco Manzanedo, Héctor Colomé
Directed by Jaume Balagueró
Distributed by Entertainment One
Writer/Director Jaume Balagueró, co-creator of the [REC] franchise, hops back behind the wheel to bring the mythology to a close with [REC] Apocalypse. Heading back to the building where the demonic outbreak thrilled us all in the first two movies, Apocalypse begins with a team of military personnel climbing the stairs in a search for survivors and with the intention of planting explosives on the way that will completely level the site.
With time running short before the building is destroyed, the team are just about to evacuate when a scared and shaken Ángela appears, and rescue seems certain. Of course, known only to the audience at this point is the fact that Ángela now carries the parasitic source of the infection within her.
Abruptly, the setting shifts to an unknown location where Ángela and her rescuer, Guzman (Manzandeo), awaken from sleep to discover that they are now held captive aboard a massive freighter in the middle of the ocean. Said freighter is a research vessel, aboard which a gaggle of scientists hope to discover the mystery behind the virus and develop a vaccine.
Naturally, things are due to go very wrong – and when the parasite is discovered to no longer be inhabiting Ángela’s body and virus-infected monkeys start turning the crew into super-fast, monstrous zombies, the search for a cure shifts to second place behind basic survival for all on board.
In keeping with Paco Plaza’s previous entry, [REC] Genesis, Apocalypse takes a standard cinematic approach to its visual narrative, abandoning the thrill-ride found footage take of the first two films (the footage that forms those initial entries, however, is used as a plot device here). In a nod to Plaza’s film, one of the denizens of the ship is the sole survivor of Genesis‘ ill-fated wedding party – a confused old lady who still believes that she’s attending the happy event.
Cutting straight to the point: [REC] Apocalypse is not the balls-to-the-wall finale that every fan of the series wanted to see after Genesis‘ more comedic approach. It takes much too long to get going and, more crucially, makes the crime of giving series stalwart Manuela Velasco next to nothing to do for most of the runtime. For more than half of the film, Ángela is little more than a bewildered victim, offering very little to the story given that her hosting of the ancient entity behind the infection has absolutely no effect on her character’s behaviour whatsoever. It isn’t until much later in the game that she starts the ass-kicking – but for many, it’s too little, too late. Those expecting to see her spend some time as the ultimate evil (given [REC] 2‘s wonderfully wicked finale) are also going to be very, very disappointed.
And speaking of the evil itself – the demonic parasite that hid within the Madeiros girl and spread its unearthly influence into the souls of the infected? Well, Balaguero also makes the decision in Apocalypse to completely abandon the religious and supernatural aspects that made the series’ antagonist so interesting, in favour of a purely biological approach. It’s thoroughly bland and incongruous with what came before; at this point, we aren’t coming to a [REC] film just to see more running zombies and infected monkeys. But that’s what we get.
Yet despite this core disappointment, there’s no denying that Apocalypse, when it gets going, is a thoroughly thrilling and effective horror flick. It looks great – Balaguero is a director with a dependably striking eye – and the claustrophobic corridors of the ship make for a palpably tense atmosphere. Appreciably, Balaguero isn’t afraid to crank out the high-impact action, brutal violence and splashy gore, but needed to rein in the shaky cam antics a little more – after all, this is no longer hand held found footage.
Ismael Fritschi steals the show as supporting character Nick, techie nerd and self-professed biggest fan of Ángela Vidal, and it’s in the latter stages where the two join forces in their attempt to escape the boat alive that Apocalypse soars – throwing threat after threat at the pair with relentless intensity and a sense of true danger.
And yet, while those later scenes begin to make the rest of the project seem worthwhile, the entire series is brought to a close with a copout ending that promises more to come while merely delivering an insult to the viewer’s intelligence in itself. [REC] Apocalypse is a hugely frustrating piece of work – on one hand, we have a capable and intense zombie flick (with a bit of creature feature thrown in) let down by its early pacing, but on the other we have one of the most disappointing finales to this particular series that fans could ever have expected. Despite the moniker, there’s nothing apocalyptic about it – in fact, the scale could hardly have been smaller.
There’s enough to like here on a general level, but as a [REC] film – and especially as the closing chapter to what is a phenomenal series – Apocalypse drops the ball on far too many mythological elements to be truly worthwhile. So while you’ll enjoy it for the visceral thrill, you’ll still feel cheated when the credits roll. Sorry guys… but this isn’t the climactic finish that we needed.
Entertainment One brings [REC] Apocalypse to UK DVD sporting a 25-minute ‘Making of’ featurette that actually delivers the goods that one hopes to see in this kind of thing. Tons of on-set footage is coupled with short interviews with plenty of people involved in the creation of the film, and Manuela Velasco sticks on her reporter’s hat once more to lead a camera around the set and point out various features of the shoot. It’s good stuff – but that single extra is all you’re getting on this particular release.
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