New [Rec] On The Way - Some Spoliers Below

[Rec] and [Rec2] were masterful horror films. Well paced and acted, they demonstrated what could be done with a limited environment (an apartment building), as well as how to make an effective "found footage" style film. [Rec3] was uneven, going for slapstick humor in stark contrast to the unrelenting horror of the first two films. The director of the first two films - Jaume Balagueró - as well as the star, the ubercute Manuela Velasco - is back for [Rec4]. If the trailer (below) is any indication, the new film will return to the tone of the original, being a balls to the wall horror movie.

For those of you who have not seen these movies they are a twist on the zombie genre. The back-story involves an experiment by the Catholic Church to find a biological cause for demonic possession. The priest assigned to the task does so, finding a virus that causes the victims to become homicidal - and hard to kill - monsters, like the "fast" cinematic zombies from the Dawn of the Dead remake or 28 Days Later. Unfortunately, in finding the virus, the priest either makes it more virulent or it mutates. Either way, it infects the inhabitants of an apartment building in Barcelona. The authorities seal the building off, trapping a dwindling number of survivors, including a couple of firemen and a news crew that was following them around, led by a reporter played by Velasco. The second film starts immediately after the first film ends, following a tactical team and a group of teenagers who both enter the building. The virus from the first film displays some supernatural qualities when a sample of contaminated blood bursts into flames when a religious rite is performed on it. [Rec2] ends with Velasco's character the sole survivor and possessed by a demon.

It looks like [Rec 4} is going to ignore the third film and start with the aftermath of [Rec 2]. According to the director, it will also drop the found footage aspect, which is a good thing. The first two films had used it to good effect, but with the glut of found footage films on the market, it really isn't that fresh a look.

See, Manuela Velasco...ubercute...