Trailer Review: [REC] 4: Apocalypse (2014)

The [REC] found footage horror movies are relatively unknown compared to others in the genre. This is a shame as the Spanish horror series is one of the best in the business. There have been three movies in the series so far and this fourth movie will conclude the story.

Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza directed the first two [REC] movies which focused on an apartment block full of people infected with a virus. The victims who succumbed to this malady exhibited symptoms similar to the zombies from 28 Days Later. The third movie in the series was a horror-comedy prequel which eschewed the found footage format completely. It was also a solo effort directed by Plaza alone as Balaguero decided to focus on directing this movie. [REC] 4 was first announced back in 2010 and is a rather belated finale.

[REC] 4: Apocalypse focuses on Ángela Vidal, a survivor from the events in the first two movies played by Manuela Velasco. Vidal has managed to escape the apartment block which is cordoned off and surrounded by cops. She is then escorted to a makeshift base on an oil tanker for survivors of the plague. Things go bad rather quickly unfortunately as the plague spreads through the tanker and more zombies are created. This film also eschews the found footage style and is filmed in a more traditional manner.

The trailer doesn’t reveal too much information about the plot and only a few infected are shown clearly. Horror movie trailers often throw everything and the kitchen sink on-screen but this trailer does the opposite. It is quite short and focuses mainly on a few regular soldiers guarding the tanker who are left out of the loop. Vidal is also shown running around in a panic after the infection has spread to the tanker.
This teaser creates tension without revealing too much and makes good use of the poorly-lit areas of the tanker.

Setting the movie in another interior location like a tanker is a surprising development and unexpected. Many fans expected the final film to take place on the streets as the virus would inevitably spread beyond the apartment block. It is possible the studio didn’t have the budget to make a big film with hundreds of infected running through the streets. Therefore they decided to work within their means and focus on a small bunch of people in one location again. This approach seems like a bit of an anticlimax after the events in the previous films.
However, if the film can deliver the goods the way [REC] 1 and 2 did it should be worth a look.

[REC] 4: Apocalypse has no official release date in the UK or US yet but look out for it. Spanish fans however can catch the movie when it is released in Spain on October 31st.