![]() ![]() One of the best of such shock scares is when a fireman comes crashing to the floor in the background of a group shot, with the thud spiked up to an almost unbearable level, like most of the sound is (the yelling, screeching of the infected people running toward the camera was so loud I had to cover my ears at times). However, such is the convention of the genre: on one level you could argue that the camera must remain on because there is no fear without a camera that records the fear!īereft of major plot development directors Balaguero and Plaza concentrate on generating a simple rhythmic interchange between thick lathers of tension and the releasing of tension through effective startle effects. As in most every reality horror, one places themselves in the situation and wonders: Would I continue filming if it would put my life in jeopardy?įollowing another reality horror convention, at one point the lights in the building go off necessitating the use of the camera’s built-in light. Only when a health inspector is sent in do they discover why they have been quarantined, and only when the threat becomes high, with rabid infected people a constant threat, does the conceit begin to feel strained. When things are still in the early ‘we don’t know what is happening to us’ stage the police officer seldom asks them to turn off the camera, but Angela argues vehemently that they need to continue filming to have a record of the event, given the government’s strange and inexplicable policy toward them (sealing them in without a reason). Performances are strong throughout, from the lead journalist/reporter, Angela, to the swat-like hero (Jorge Serrano), and the befuddled tenants. The virus spreads by the saliva, hence the drive of the infected to bite and cannibalize so as to spread the virus quickly. ![]() ![]() ![]() We learn later that the initial carrier was a pet dog that was taken to the vet and became excessively aggressive. Although they are unaware of why they have been contained in the building, they soon learn that the building has been quarantined by the health department to contain the spread of a powerful virus which originated in the building. News reporter Angela (Manuela Valesco) and her cameraman Pablo (Ferran Terraza) are filming a documentary on firemen who work the nightshift for a television show called “When You’re Asleep.” When two firemen, Manu (Ferran Terraza) and Alex (David Vert), are called into a tenement block the two-person documentary team follow them in and subsequently become trapped/sealed in the building complex, along with a group of tenants and a police officer. In this case the conceit of the camera having to be always on is strong, even if by the end it begins to stretch credulity, but by that point the engaged viewer should no longer be nitpicking. is an effective reality horror entry which plays with all the usual reality horror subgenre conventions -the camera must always be on, except for odd black frames, camera-on-floor POV, night vision lighting, wildly moving hand-held shots, running point of view shots, etc.-, with an added narrative twist which recalls earlier horror/giallo films: the tape recorded plot point thickener. Petty, 2006, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, Scott Glosserman, 2006), and classic big monster movies ( Cloverfield, Matt Reeves, 2008). (2007, Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza) is Spain’s latest entry into the by now bulging sub-genre of reality horror, which includes the antecedent grand-daddy Cannibal Holocaust (Ruggero Deodato, 1980), its modern classic equivalent Blair Witch Project (Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez, 1999), and its kissing cousin The Last Broadcast (Stefan Avalos, Lance Weiler, 1998), and an impressive range of a by no means exhaustive list of styles/subjects which include serial killer/stalker films ( Alone With Her, Eric Nicholas, 2006, The Last Horror Movie, Julian Richards, 2003, A Film by Carroll McKane, Gary Sherman, 2006), urban myths ( Blair Witch Project, The Last Broadcast, Five Across the Eyes, Greg Swinson, Ryan Thiessen, 2006, The Poughkeepsie Tapes, John Erick Dowdle, 2007), ghost tales ( Paranormal Activity, Oren Peli, 2007), family horror ( Home Movie, Christopher Denham, 2008), torture porn (Fred Vogel’s August Underground series), survivalist horror ( Slashers, Maurice Deveraux, 2001), classic zombie mayhem ( Dairy of the Dead, George Romero, 2007, The Zombie Diaries, Michael Bartlett, Kevin Gatesy, 2006) and pseudo zombie (people that are not dead but rabid) films ( 28 Days, Danny Boyle, 2000, 28 Days Later, Danny Boyle, 2002, Rec and its US remake Quarantine, John Erick Dowdle, 2008), mockumentary ( Man Bites Dog, Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, 1992, The Last Broadcast, Blair Witch Project, S&Man, J.T. By Donato Totaro Volume 12, Issue 10 / October 2008 6 minutes (1344 words) ![]()
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