REC vs Quarantine

Thanks to Crackle, I was finally able to watch both movies. One by one. Scream by scream. So, let's get to the 411!

The Original:

REC

Directed by Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza
Starring Manuela Velasco

A 2007 Spanish movie, where a television reporter, Angela Vidal, and her cameraman, Pablo, follow a Barcelona fire fighting crew who answer a mysterious call in an apartment. Before they know it, tenants are stricken with a mysterious illness that reduced them to ravenous beings. To make matters worse, they find themselves imprisoned in the apartment and Angela eventually stumbles onto the truth behind the insanity.

The American Remake:

Quarantine
Directed by John Erick Dowdle
Starring Jennifer Carpenter

Made in 2008, it is essentially the same plot as above, just the setting is changed, as Angela Vidal is following the Los Angeles Fire Department on their fateful night at the apartment. The CDC take further aggressive steps to keep the people detained.

My Verdict:

After almost 3 hours of screaming and nerve racking first person perspective camera angles, I have to say that I enjoyed REC more. Although Quarantine probably had a higher budget to work with, the execution of REC was very well done. I felt a real sense of claustrophobia from it. I also must add, this wasn't my first time seeing Quarantine, I actually saw it in 2008 and I recall losing interest. That never happened with REC. Both did have fairly slow starts, which were meant to capture that Angela was a reporter from the beginning. Much like how the Blair Witch kids were just college kids before their encounter with whatever it is they encountered.
Some other differences I took note of, are that the source of the disease differ. In REC, it is suggested to be a contagious demonic possession. In Quarantine, it appears to be a biological chemical.
The one thing that bothers me is that many classify these films as zombie films and I have to say, just like with 28 Days Later, that's just not the case! True, it appears that the victims are killed and then come back as these dark entities. But that was exactly how 28 Days Later went down, and I thought of them more as these primitive and feral beings. I guess that thought is open up to argument.
In the end, I feel in a time where Japan or Italy are thought of as great countries of horror movies, Spain is definitely has some films to add to the international collection. REC will go down as one of my favorite horror movies in recent years. As for Quarantine, it was a good attempt but it was just missing the key elements of REC.

Which now opens the door for future blog postings about horror movies and perspective. This summer, I plan on discussing the first person camera angle and why it seems that the US just really makes poor horror movies when compared to the countries I mentioned above.

And remember people, both movies are available for free on Crackle!