It’s nice to see that the Europeans aren’t letting us get too far ahead in the vitally important cultural area of zombie movies. Although “[REC] 2” — the sequel to the Spanish hit of a couple of years ago that was faithfully remade on our shores as “Quarantine” — doesn’t exactly bring anything new to the genre, it’s no less effective than its predecessor in expertly conjuring an air of low-tech-style dread.
This sequel, set mere minutes after the first film, again is set in a rundown apartment building whose residents have all mysteriously been transformed into bloodthirsty zombies that have a nasty habit of popping up unexpectedly.
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Clearly inspired by vintage predecessors like “The Blair Witch Project,” the film uses the conceit of having all the action depicted through shaky, first-person videocam images.
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Revolving around the efforts of an increasingly spooked SWAT team to clear the building of its infected occupants, its footage supposedly is being shot by an unseen cameraman, helmet-cams on the soldiers’ heads (is that a common police technique?), and a group of interloping teenagers who naturally document their every move.
The all-too-familiar proceedings mostly comprise a series of gory surprise attacks by the zombies, though an effort is made to punch up the narrative via a priest (Jonathan Mellor) posing as a health ministry doctor who provides a cheesy, “Exorcist”-style demonic explanation for the events.
Despite the undeniable technical proficiency of co-directors Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza — they also wrote the screenplay with Manu Diez — the ultimately repetitive “[REC] 2” doesn’t add much to the original, and the ending that clearly sets the stage for a third entry in the series doesn’t inspire much hope that things will be measurably different.
Opens: Friday, July 9 (Magnet Releasing)
Production: Filmax Entertainment
Cast: Jonathan Mellor, Oscar Sanchez Zafra, Ariel Casas, Alejandro Casaseca, Pablo Rosso, Manuela Velasco, Andrea Ros, Alex Batllori, Pau Poch
Directors: Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza
Screenwriters: Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza, Manu Diez
Producer: Julio Fernandez
Executive producers: Julio Fernandez, Carlos Fernandez
Director of photography: Pablo Rosso
Editor: David Gallart
Production designer: Gemma Fauria
Costume designer: Gloria Viguer
Rated R, 84 minutes
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