[REC]²

Following the mysterious epidemic that struck the residents of an apartment building in the heart of Barcelona, several members of the special police unit, accompanied by an official from the Ministry of Health, are sent to the scene to rescue the two firefighters and the journalist trapped inside the building, with whom all contact has been lost. Meanwhile, three teenagers, curious about the authorities' intervention, sneak into the building through the sewers. In 2007, Spain delivered "[Rec]", the adrenaline-filled and terrifying mockumentary crafted by the Iberian "masters of horror" Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza. The public and critical success was such that it even spawned an American remake, "Quarantine", and a continuation of a story that already offered good development potential was inevitable. Thus, two years later, "[Rec] 2" arrives, and Spain scores again. The risk of failure was high: on one hand, because a sequel would inevitably have to contend with a "formidable" predecessor, and on the other, because reusing the first-person filming technique and the same location could have led to a repetitive and pointless mechanism. Yet Balagueró and Plaza manage to almost equal the first installment, delivering another solid film that once again offers an authentic horror experience. Although the situation and location are the same as in the previous film, the two directors succeed in avoiding repetition by changing the tone of the story and introducing the fundamental novelty of narrative ubiquity. "[Rec] 2" begins exactly where the previous chapter left off, showing the intrusion into the building of a task force equipped with helmets featuring integrated cameras. This time, the camera's eye no longer coincides with the viewer's eye but rather with the cameras documenting the events—a plurality of visions providing a comprehensive overview of the events: the viewer can see what happens in one room while simultaneously observing the corridor of the same apartment, depending on the team's layout within the building, not forgetting the "alternative" view of events provided by the trio of camera-equipped teenagers wandering first outside and then inside the building. This approach allows a vision that is not only spatially complete but also temporally comprehensive, utilizing footage from different devices recording simultaneously and shown to the viewer in real-time and in playback. The critique of the television world, which seeks sensationalism and scoops at all costs, has been wisely abandoned here—a discourse brilliantly pursued and concluded in the first film—giving way to pure narrative development that dives into intense entertainment, where sensationalism is no longer a means but an end. The homo videns remains the protagonist of the story, the image still mirrors the content, but this time, the emphasis is primarily on unraveling the threads woven in the first film, making the two installments a work that could even be enjoyed in one sitting, given the continuity and philological coherence present. Balagueró and Plaza, also screenwriters alongside Manu Díez ("The Nun"), delve into the cause behind the contagion, offering an enjoyable supernatural-demonic angle that undoubtedly represents the best choice, thus differentiating the "[Rec]" saga from the myriad of films within the "contagion" genre. This choice also allows for new gruesome situations that manage to frighten and unsettle without relying solely on sound effects. Particularly, the first part set in the attic offers a couple of truly effective scenes, worthy of anthology. The level of violence and gore is also remarkable, increasing compared to the previous chapter, and the makeup of the infected is particularly well-done, in some cases truly "monstrous", transforming the building's residents into true fang-bearing demons, further declaring the already evident homage to the Italian "Demons 2 - The Nightmare Returns" by Lamberto Bava. Of course, it lacks the novelty effect that hovered over the first film, an essential feature for turning a good film into an excellent one, but once again Balagueró and Plaza have hit the mark and crafted a high-quality sequel. An example of how a clearly commercial operation can result in an inspired work capable of adding significant elements to what has already been said. Rating rounded up.