[REC]3: Genesis

I’ve really enjoyed the [REC] series since they started a few years ago. The first film was a nice little breath of fresh air in the disgustingly smelly cesspool of the modern day Horror genre. The second film, while not as good, was still a worthy follow up and actually took a different and fresh approach to film sequels. Both films used the now boring and over utilized approach to horror films which is most commonly referred to as “found footage” or “POV style” filmmaking. I, however, felt that both films used this stale method quite well, infusing it with great scenes of terror that are built out of a true sense of suspense.

Now we have the third (and unfortunately not final) entry in the series which is subtitled Genesis. The film starts out with the same found footage aesthetics of the first two films, but after an audacious opening 20 minute scene (that is actually really good) that goes from a beautiful wedding all the way to the bloodiest wedding reception I’ve ever seen, the film shows us the title card and ditches its style for the typical American style that includes everything in the book from the dumb clichéd horror characters to the cheap scares and overbearing score on the soundtrack.

The reception is a great scene. One minute we are watching dozens of people dancing and drinking the night away with not a clue what’s to happen next. What does happen next is all out chaos as people are running and screaming for their lives while others are having their throats ripped out and their blood gushing onto the dance floor as strobe lights pulsate over the madness. It’s a very well done scene. Unfortunately the rest of the film is a terrible mess.

After the opening scenes, the main plot basically involves the escapades of the bride and the groom as they hopelessly try to find each other on the massive grounds of a chateau in Spain. There’s really not much more to the film. Whereas the first film had this aura of mystery involving this mysterious disease and where it came from and how it was found in an apartment building in the middle of Madrid, Genesis is just mindless violence.

One of the big reasons I love watching films from other countries is to get a taste of something new. American horror films (other than Ti West) are mostly all the same. Most are overly glossed films with cheap scares and thunderous crashes on the soundtrack designed to make you jump. A lot of foreign horror films seem to emphasis story over cheapness, instead gaining empathy for its characters so that we care for them later making the results all the more frightening. Genesis gets this all wrong.

I don’t think [Rec]3: Genesis is a total loss. There are some inspired visuals and some very well done death scenes. If you’re a gore hound, you’ll find some of the scenes well worth watching. Tons of blood is spilled in Genesis. But otherwise if you’re looking for something of substance, I would highly recommend skipping this. And don’t even get me started on the final scene; my, what a train wreck.