Rec]2 - DVD

Movie: With the horror thriller "[rec]", Spanish director duo Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza managed to achieve a worldwide surprise success almost three years ago, which has drawn not only a US remake ("Quarantine"), but now also a sequel (parts 3 and 4 are already being planned).

"[rec]2" picks up a few minutes after the end of the first film. A special task force is sent to lead virus specialist Dr. Owen (Jonathan Mellor) into the sealed-off apartment building where a deadly virus broke out a few hours ago, turning the infected into bloodthirsty monsters. Once inside the house, the men of the special ops team discover that Dr. Owen has very different goals than he initially set out to achieve. But that's not all: a group of teenagers also manages to break into the house. And quickly a bloody chaos breaks out again, from which there seems to be no escape...

Were "[rec]" by its documentary narrative style of a certain realism, part 2 goes much more clearly in the direction of fantasy. In doing so, the directors pay particular tribute to classics like "The Exorcist". Admittedly, the whole thing loses a bit of impact due to the fantastic component. Especially the first scene, in which this becomes clear, is not without an unintentional comedy (the makers insist, however, that their film is not meant quite seriously anyway). Nevertheless, the concept itself still works the second time around.

The partly poorly lit environment, infected people appearing as if out of nowhere and purposefully used shock moments make "[rec]2" a thoroughly successful sequel. The plotline surrounding the three teenagers does tug at the nerves a bit, but at least makes a little sense towards the end. The appearance of one of the central characters from Part 1 and the role of this character in the "[rec]" mythology also ensure that fans of the original will end up satisfied hoping for Part 3. So the bottom line is: not quite as original as its predecessor, and not quite as scary, but thoroughly entertaining and atmospheric. For fans definitely recommendable!

Picture + Sound: Since the image is supplied by a video camera or the helmet cameras and deliberately played with stylistic devices such as image flicker, color change or Night Vision, a clean, consistently sharp image can not be expected. The sound is reduced to dialogue and the sometimes very eerie ambient sounds, occasionally interrupted by the screams of the infected or the shots of the special forces. The whole thing makes for an atmospheric soundscape that draws the audience right into the action. Very good!

Extras: The DVD has just under 80 minutes of extras to offer. It starts with a short Making of (approx. 12 min.), which offers a not uninteresting, but much too short look at the shooting. More detailed is the 53-minute look behind the scenes, which goes into more detail about the making of specific scenes. As worth seeing as this extra may be, the fact that there are only German subtitles in those moments in which the directors or others involved give interview statements is a little disappointing. For the vast majority of moments when the camera is watching the creators prepare a scene or shoot, the action is left without helpful subtitles. So those who don't understand Spanish won't get much enjoyment out of this extra.

Continue with "[rec]2 on Tour", which takes a look at the film's presentation at the Venice Film Festival, at its premiere in Spain, and in France (about 9 min.). There are also clips of a press conference from the Spanish premiere (approx. 11 min.), where the directors jokingly reveal, among other things, that the last name of the girl in the film, Medeiros, is a tribute to 80s cuddly singer Glenn Medeiros ("Nothing`s gonna change my love for you"). The whole thing is rounded off by the trailer to the film, as well as a trailer show of the provider.

Conclusion: "[rec]2" lacks the originality of the predecessor, but can convince as a sequel quite - even if the explanation given here for the gruesome events is something that takes some getting used to and clearly moves the action into the fantasy corner. The DVD is technically neatly implemented and has some worth seeing extras to offer. For fans of the first part absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp