So are they zombies, or what?

July 15, 2009 10:36 AM

Question about the Spanish horror film [REC]. Spoilers ahoy!

I watched [REC] last night and am a little confused about the last 15 minutes or so.

There's the clear implication that the infection is linked to demonic possession (a nice touch). So what was the business about "enzymes" on the tape that Angela and Pablo were listening to? How did the infection initially spread? Finally, what happened to the doctor speaking on the tape?

Sorry if I'm being a bit dense. Overall, a great little movie.

posted by orrnyereg to media & arts (4 comments total)

Ahem
posted by permafrost at 11:13 AM on July 15

You're not being at all dense. Unfortunately, the questions you ask are not fully answered by the film. [REC] is great, but its plot pretty much unravels in the last fifteen minutes. Personally, I don't even think the final scenes with the room, the girl, the tapes, and the handy wall of newspaper clippings at the end, even belong in [REC] - they spoil the exposition-free realism that is the secret to its success up to that point.

(And it's telling that the US remake, Quarantine, imitates the original in every respect (even the sets are almost identical) except that for those final fifteen minutes, where the nonsensical last-minute plot points are replaced by other, similar-yet-different ones. The "revelations" at the end are not the key to the film.)
posted by hot soup girl at 11:32 AM on July 15

Sorry, that didn't properly address your question―let me try again.

1. I don't really know about the enzymes, except that somehow Enzymes = Demonic Possession the way Midi-chlorians = The Force; 2. The infection probably spread from the possessed girl to the old lady via the little girl's dog, but this isn't really explained. It may have had something to do with the little boy in the attic space, or the unseen elderly Asian man, or the old lady's cats; 3. The Vatican agent, having discovered that the possessed girl's virus had mutated and become transmissable, sealed her in the room and fled.

I am curious to hear other people's answers to this question.
posted by hot soup girl at 12:52 PM on July 15

I agree with hot soup girl's interpretation, which also lines up with what the wikipedia's got. Demonic possession being explained as a disease (much like Underworld did with werewolves and vampires), Vatican Guy tries to isolate and study it, things go horribly awry and he hits the road leaving everyone else to deal with the mess.

(As an aside: I now assume that the events of this movie form the backstory to the game Left 4 Dead)
posted by Monster_Zero at 1:25 PM on July 15 [1 favorite has favorites]