Review by Nia Edwards-Behi
I can’t personally think of a horror sequel I’ve more eagerly anticipated recently than [REC] 4. The last one I’ve been as excited for was probably [REC] 3, which I ruddy well loved, unlike, apparently, most people. However, I’ve also tried not to get too excited for [REC] 4, knowing full well that it surely could never live up to such stratospheric expectations, at the end of a well-loved and inventive franchise. Continuing where [REC] 2 left off, news-reporter Angela Vidal wakes up to find herself and other survivors of a mysterious virus on a cargo ship at sea, as medical and military types try to work out how to deal with those people under quarantine, and, it seems, the additional cargo brought on board by Angela…
It seems best to come right out and say it: I loved [REC] 4, but it is the weakest film of the franchise for me. If you approach the film expecting it to be as inventive and as terrifying as the first two films, then you will be bitterly disappointed. [REC] 4 is not a scary film. It’s also not the outright horror-comedy that [REC] 3 is (whether you think that film is successful or not). However, [REC] 4 holds its own as a film in its own right. It’s not the most satisfying conclusion, perhaps, but it is definitely immensely entertaining. I have a few specific gripes about the film, but even so, I still came away happy with what I saw.
To address the gripes first, though, the biggest is that for quite a lengthy amount of time Angela is not really the protagonist, she’s just sort of…there. Thankfully, this is soon rectified, and the film’s all the better for it. Secondly, although bearable for the most part, there were times when Balaguero’s frenetic camerawork got all a bit too much. Given that the found footage conceit of the first two films is long gone, here, the shaky cam is entirely superfluous and verges on the annoying. Luckily, the confined space of the cargo ship on which the majority of the film’s action takes place means that, for the most part, for me, Balaguero gets away with it. The confined corridors and claustrophobic cabins make the usually frustrating stylistic choice appropriate to the setting. The film’s ending was a bit of a let-down for me too, not so much in terms of narrative but in terms of tone, which goes from relatively serious to utterly light-hearted. It’s not a bad ending, but it would have seemed more natural to me had there been more light-hearted moments dotted throughout the film leading up to it. The final main gripe from me is the slight detail of the title: Apocalypse. Er, let’s just say this film is far from apocalyptic. Balaguero himself has commented previously that the film is not apocalyptic, and the title is even absent from the film itself (!), yet Apocalypse still seems to be the official title of the film. That’s a tiny gripe, but it seems disingenuous to continue with a word that mis-sells the film as much as it does.
But I said I loved the film, didn’t I? It’s fast-paced, intensely action-packed and if you care about Angela, then you’re going to be invested in this final instalment of the franchise. I have no doubt that Manuela Velasco’s Angela is the film’s strongest asset. In this film she is both incredibly vulnerable and incredibly badass, and even amongst an array of other characters, she is above and beyond the emotional anchor of the film. Those other characters have their moments too, including the ship’s tech-man who is also Angela’s biggest fan (and more than a bit of a perv), and a member of [REC] 3’s wedding party who thinks she’s still at the wedding. Despite being a direct sequel to [REC] 2, there are some nice nods to [REC] 3 here, including one of my favourite scenes, which is evidently a direct homage to Leticia Dolera’s most iconic scene from the previous film. In fact, it’s these little moments of homage that make it kind of impossible for me to dislike [REC] 4, despite all the things that didn’t quite work for me. Angela herself, starting the film as a prisoner, vulnerable and relatively helpless, wears first a hospital gown and then a fluffy grey jumper, but as the film moves on, you bet your butt that the white vest starts peeking through, and by the time she’s running the show, she’s back as the iconic figure we know from the first two films. Yeah, fine, a lot of that’s got to do with how well Velasco rocks a white vest, but there’s certainly a wonderful symbolism to the use of her costume too.
Overall then, [REC] 4 is perhaps not as satisfying a conclusion to the franchise as it could have been, but it’s very far from being a tremendous disappointment (as several other reviewers have suggested). The film works well on its own two feet, and it does tie in nicely to the franchise as a whole. Wonderfully, it doesn’t leave us with a dangling, teasing open ending, but, it does possibly leave enough questions unanswered that if there was the desire to make another one, there are plenty of directions in which to take the franchise. But, I for one am happy with the conclusion to a hugely enjoyable, inventive modern horror franchise, which has been and will no doubt remain a credit to the genre. Adios, Angela.