Geekscape Movie Reviews: REC3 – Genesis

Nothing should get in the way of a woman and having her perfect wedding—not crazy relatives, not poor catering or a stuttering priest and definitely not zombies.  Fortunately for Clara (Leticia Dolera), the first three potential terrors were not an issue, but when one is a fictional character in a Paco Plaza film, zombies are the order of the day.

Tackling [REC]3: Genesis without his usual co-director, Jaume Balaquero, Plaza broke away from the expectations of the franchise and angled off to explore a different direction: a comedy of the undead.  Stifle your gasps of horror—the movie is still quite enjoyable, though if you are looking for the usual intensity and seriousness of the first two [REC] movies, you’re going to have to search elsewhere.

We are introduced to our lovely couple, Clara and Koldo (Diego Martin), just before they tie the proverbial knot.  The rest of the cast is cleverly introduced as two cameramen, the official wedding photographer Atun (Borja Glez. Santaolalla) and the potentially annoying cousin, Adrian (Alex Monner), explore and interview the wedding guests.

What is lovely about the humor and found-footage style during this decently lengthy section is that we are able to view the relationships between the characters, to see the humanity and experience that loss later on as each character turns into a wandering, teeth-chattering corpse.

However, what should become an emotionally intense tragedy as the wedding party descends into the world of brain-consumption, turns into a building farce as more and more absurd situations come into play.  Koldo dons armor and runs through the reception hall waving his sword while Clara’s weapon of choice is a blood-spattering chainsaw and the zombie battles border on ridiculous.

I am not saying, mind you, that this is a bad movie—it’s very much not.  It’s highly entertaining, beautifully shot, and quite hysterical at times.  But putting the label of the dramatic and intense [REC] franchise on this film was an error, and will certainly cause disappointment in more than a few fans as they settle into their comfy couches to witness an entirely new episode of [REC] that is not at all what they expected.

[REC]3: Genesis will be available on Video On Demand on August 2 and in theaters starting September 7.  In the meantime, check out the awesome promotional posters below.