REC 3: Genesis (2012) Review

"This is my day!"
-Clara




Taking place during the events of the first two films, REC 3: Genesis occurs during the wedding day of Clara (Leticia Dolera) and Koldo (Diego Martín).  Koldo's Uncle is a veterinarian who was recently bitten by a dog that lived in the apartments from the previous films.  His health deteriorates over the course of the wedding and eventually he attacks some party guests.  As more of the infected invade the wedding reception, which is in a huge mansion, Clara and Koldo are separated.  Now they have to find each other and escape the mansion with their lives.


What Works:

The blood and gore in this film is top notch.  Most of this movie isn't found footage, so we get a great look at most of the deaths.  There are some really brutal, bloody, and memorable kills.  Clara even uses a chainsaw to kill some of the infected and you will never catch me complaining about that.

The cinematography is excellent and the visuals are very smooth and fluid.  It all looks great.  It's very jarring when they switch from found-footage to traditional cinematography, but it definitely helps that the movie looks so good.

Simply put, this is a solid zombie movie.  It has some thrilling sequences and awesome gore.  There isn't much more I would want out of a movie like this.


What Sucks:

One problem with this movie comes from the fact that it's a REC sequel.  The whole premise of REC is that it's found footage.  The first 20 minutes of REC 3 is found footage, all shot on various cameras for the wedding video, but just after the zombie attack the cameras are all shut off and besides one very quick scene, the rest of the movie is traditionally filmed.  It's just weird that this film would ditch the premise that made the first two movies so good.

Another problem is the tone.  The first two movies are played completely straight and are terrifying.  This is more of a horror-comedy.  It felt more like The Evil Dead 2 than a REC movie.  Now, I love movies like this, but it doesn't work as a sequel to REC.  It's jarring, distracting, and inconsistent with what came before.

Finally, apart from the bride and groom, none of the characters are interesting in the slightest.  They are all very disposable and we rotate through a lot of them.  Most of the side characters are with the bride or groom for a scene or two only to get killed off.  That's fine and all, but we spent the first 20 minutes developing them, especially the three camera operating characters.  All three of the camera operators die quickly.  It's an odd way to tell a story; introducing and developing characters in the beginning only to toss most of the aside like tissues.


Verdict:

Character issues aside, REC 3: Genesis is a solid zombie movie.  It has a lot fun sequences, great gore, and cool visuals.  It's a really fun movie.  But it is not a good REC movie.  It disposes of everything that made the first two movies so go and really isn't scary at all.  I like the film and for the most part it has got it going on, but I wish it hadn't been released under the name REC.  I could give it a higher score if it had just been called "Wedding of the Dead" or something.

 7/10: Good      
   

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