[REC]³: Génesis (2012)
(On Cable TV, March 2013) The original Rec was a small horror gem straight from Spain; follow-up Rec 2 was a flawed but intriguing expansion of the original. This Rec 3, unfortunately, is a very thin retread of a familiar idea with little material to fill even its short running time. Taking place at a lavish wedding, Rec 3 first flirts with the idea of keeping the subjective-camera experience of its predecessors before ditching the idea out of practical concerns. This leads to a lengthy introductory sequence that builds to… nothing much, as the clearly-identifiable menace of the first few minutes is instantly nullified by a swarm of jumping zombies. (You’ll understand when you’ll see it. Probably even laugh at the absurdity of it.) The Catholic mythology that was so weak in the second film is layered on even more thickly here, and yet Rec 3 doesn’t do anything particularly new with the ideas of the series so far (it may actually back-track on some things), making it an oddly generic take on the material. Still, there is about ten minutes’ worth of really good drama toward the end of the film, as the groom-and-bride have to measure their romantic relationship against a zombie infection: Once the bride (Leticia Dolera, better as the film goes on) takes a chainsaw in her own hands, the fan-service of the strong imagery becomes enjoyable and the thematic subtext of doomed love finally has something original to say. Sadly, this late burst of energy doesn’t last long: Rec 3 soon ends on the usual nihilistic tone of zombie films, and ten minutes’ worth of good material can’t really sustain even a short 80-minutes total running time.