Home Video Exclusives

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Q Part I


[An earlier version of this PT was originally posted on August 2nd, 2012 on JoBlo's "DVD, Blu-Ray & Home Theater Discussion" forum.]

Week two of Limited Edition Horror 2016 accidentally gets exposed to infectious bodily fluids in a "Quarantine"...



The remake of "[Rec]" (2007) opened on October 10th, 2008. It was made with a budget of $12,000,000 (estimated) and grossed over 31 million during its U.S. theatrical run. The film opened number two at the box office, the following week it dropped to number seven.

The feature opened against "Eagle Eye", "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" and "Appaloosa".

This DVD release did not come with a slipcover nor any insert.

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There was a single exclusive and it was from Wal-Mart, a bonus disc in its own case (side packed with the movie). This set streeted on February 17, 2009 and sold for $22.99. The bonus disc has a run time of 19:21 minutes, a lone featurette.

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Rant.

In Japan it's known as "Rec: The Quarantine".



For me, it was a solid/decent horror movie - NOT as bad as some would lead you to believe.

I think they're just sore that this got made with more money and received more popularity. Bitter. The same goes for Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, the directors of the original movie. They hate it as well. It stole their thunder.

A point I do agree with is the terrible ads; the trailer and TV spots gave it away - a major plot point, reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) falters.

Hell, even the film's poster gives the finale away - same image used for the home video release. It's like the promotional department just stopped giving a crap. A prime example is "Terminator Salvation" (2009), the major plot point that dives the movie is revealed in the trailer. The VERY same thing happened to "Terminator Genisys" (2015). Frack me.

Why are you guys sabotaging your own movie? Not a rhetorical question.



One of the aspects I rather enjoyed was how there was no score - no music. The thing plays out like you're watching live footage. Only two times have I ran into that; the films, "Network" (1976) and "The China Syndrome" (1979) both have no scores. It's quite a rarity.

The staging of scenes as a continuous shot, feels genuine. Everyone needs to be on their A-game. These are long shoots between four to six minutes per take. Anybody who screws up or forgets their lines brings the whole moment back to zero. That's a lot of pressure to get it right the first time.

It's a stage play on camera. Sway.

Another part I liked was the single camera. The actors don't know when the thing will be pointed at them. So much of their performance isn't for us the viewer(s), but for the other actors to work off from.

Do appreciate the kind of commitment.

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Tangent.



Have yet to see the original movie, "[Rec]" (2007).

I need to get that DVD. It's on my to buy list. So I can't give much of a comparison. But...

One of the issues some had with "[Rec]" is that our heroine (at the end) reads a document which has all the exposition on it. The whys and hows. No mystery left. The remake offers the info in distorted bits (the reel to reel tape deck that's broken) and images on the wall, an unnerving presentation.

The infection here is biological, a virus which was accidentally released by a terrorist in his apartment complex.

In the Spanish film, it was possession; research on the nature of demonic possession got loose - like a virus. Which is original, well not that new.

The biological infection of malevolence was explored in "The Creeping Flesh" (1973).



The year is 1893, Professor Emmanual Hildern (Peter Cushing) has returned to England with a discovery, bones of an unknown creature found in New Guinea. It is from these bones that he discovers that 'evil' is a blood disease. And set off to cure it.

Long story short, bad stuff happens on his quest for a vaccine. And he accidentally resurrects the Fallen One and now the beast is loose on Earth.

The movie still holds up; more of a fantasy than sci-fi, rooted in horror though. I have the DVD, the American release (2004) is bare bones. That same year, the United Kingdom got the feature with extras: a twenty-four page booklet, commentary by Cushing with film historian Marcus Hearn, film gallery and the movie's trailer. Plus other Hammer trailers.

The commentary is a recording Cushing made before his death in 1994, talking about his long career and this movie. His comments are spliced in Hearn's lecture.



Man, it's too bad this hasn't been re-released as a better DVD. I would re-buy it. The R1 (above left) release has three trailers (from Columbia TriStar home videos), but none for the movie and not even a chapter listing insert.

For some it's sacrilege to even say.

I HATE watching foreign movies with English subtitles.

If it's part of a film, a few scenes, sure. But a whole feature? No. I'll pass. I prefer dubbed, but correctly dubbed. None of this Godzilla kind of translation where the spoken words don't remotely match their lips.

That was one of the gripes of fan of the original film had, this remake was unnecessary - purists. But it is, folks don't want to read subtitles.



The best dub I've ever seen was for the Japanese film, "Azumi" - instead of doing a direct translation word for word, they took the spirit of the script. Replacing words with others which mean the same thing; having it match the beat of the person's mouth. This did not take away from the story.

I remember watching it the first time and being confused, 'I'm on the dubbed track, but she's speaking English'. I appreciate that kind of dedication to make the dialog fluid. I believe, I would've enjoyed "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000) much more if that kind of adaptation was employed. Their mismatched spoken words pulled me out of the experience (saw on opening night).

Look, there's a second part to subtitles, cultural differences and it can be very drastic, like viewing an alien world. I know there are some who are enthralled by that - others repelled. I'm in the latter camp.

I'm going to use the same nation again, Japan. Yes, I know the original film ("[REC]") was Spanish. I listened to the original audio for "Azumi", holy crap, it hurts. Why do the women there need to be so high pitched? The same could be said for when I watched the original anime, "RoboTech" (1985). The authentic Lisa Hayes made me cringe.

It happened once more when I went looking for the original Korean film for the American remake "My Sassy Gal" (2008). God, I HATED the woman!!! The Korean guy was such a Butters for handing his heart to her, mega bitch. Probably a cultural difference at play, but I'm gland I didn't buy it.

People who watch movies, the base line folks, want to enjoy the production and should not have to do homework on why a person is behaving in such a particular way. Not mention national lifestyles.