REC, Which & The Smiling Man

Hola, como estas? I welcome any new readers to my blog. For those of you that know me, well I told you I wasn't going to be gone for long. For those of you who don't, it is simple. I am your host, one who prefers the balance between the glorious embrace for light and the twisted love for the dark. Ever since I was little, I loved horror (Even though a lot of people thought I was crazy.) I thought it was natural for anyone to have a curiosity to see what the darkside is like. Not everything is as evil as it seems since sometimes we could witness the dramatic side of it. Sometimes it has a comedic side. Other times it even has romantic feelings for you, but for now let's talk about tonight's showcase. I showcase several things from both the critically acclaimed, the cult gems, the unique messes, or the unknown and forgotten. I also tend to rate some of them (Depending on if they can be rated.) The first item on tonight's showcase is:

REC

This is a modern piece of work here. This film is became an excellent staple for Spanish horror. REC is another one of the "found footage" films that cultivated during the last decade. The reception for this film was highly appreciated that it had three sequels and a remake. (Can you take a hint at which film shared the exact same plot line?) Synopsis: Ángela Vidal is a reporter for a television series named "Mientras Duermes". She mostly specializes in reporting about people working graveyard shifts and today was focused on the fire department. So she and her cameraman, Pablo, film the workers on their daily lives until an emergency breaks out at an apartment complex. Wanting to film them in action, she joins the firefighters (and later the police) to rescue a woman trapped in her home. The lady in question becomes savagingly terrifying and bites the crap out of one of the local officer's neck. Seeking medical attention, they rush downstairs to find the police force and military blocking and clearing out all entrances to the complex, trapping everyone in the complex. An issued quarantine is announced while the real horror begins.

If some of you can tell, the lukewarm remake to this masterpiece happens to be:

And yet the poster gave it away.......

The remake to this was pretty good, until it changed a lot around the end of the film and completely tore the main idea of the film. You see, most people who have seen Quarantine and the beginning and part of REC would assume that it's a zombie film, but it actually isn't. Only Quarantine would hold that title since zombie movies, whether good or bad, still make profit from people interested in watching any adaption to the idea of civilians eating eachother in an outbreak. The original holds a controversial plot on the other hand. The only thing I can thank Quarantine is giving REC more exposure. I think American remakes to horror movies are usually terrible, but beneficially good at the same time. Now that I'm done with that, it's time to get serious.

REC actually has an awesome story and the acting is almost natural, as if the actors were really fucking dying on us. Camera work is excellent, not only because it shakes and swerves a lot "trying" to capture everything, but on the whole plot centered on a TV crew is more believable then teens/adults who act like teens carrying around expensive cameras with the highest definition available only to movie studios and experiencing paranormal activity due to their curiosity (Usually a.k.a stupidity.) Although it's still filmed with a movie studio quality camera, it captured the "found footage" style very well. (Also Pablo is the most interactive cameraman I've seen in the genre.) A very conventional use of an apartment complex for a setting since passages are narrow and induce claustrophobia. Also the fear of an infection that's actually common scares us (In this case rabies with the idea of it mutating to extreme lengths.) The only thing I can add more about this film is it's not intended for easily queasy people. It's now time for my rating, which I give this a:

Now it's time to introduce the second item in the showcase:

Which

As the rise of independent works flourish in the gaming community, notable picks are seen as torches that rival against gaming giants (Capcom, Square Enix, Konami, etc.) while a lot of indie games mostly tend to please audiences with cliché tactics of horror, others can be viewed as simply works of art for using different techniques to creep us out. Take Which for example.

Which, created by Mike Inel, re-images the haunted house without all the excessive blood and decomposing body count. It takes place at a house similar to any freshly abandoned building you've walked through: No furniture, no gore, and the only light source is sunlight beaming through the windows. It takes a minimalistic style since no colors, music or even words are introduced to this empty home. (Let alone the words, but even that can't really be considered a complete word due to the spelling.) You, the protagonist, venture around the empty lot looking for clues on escaping. You are not alone however, as another figure seems to reside inside the building. That game is a short take, usually around 10 to 20 minutes to complete. Since no text or dialogue appears while playing the game, the instructions are seen as symbols etched onto the walls around the house. The games scare tactic also revolves around the quiet resident of the house. Even though it isn't survival horror based, the choices you make in the game can alter the game's outcome. The game has been greatly appraised that it even now comes in three different modes for all players to enjoy! (Lo-Def, Hi-Def & the classic 3-D.) I can't reveal much about the game since it is short. That said, it's time for my review.

Which is definitely a great indie piece. It doesn't have jumpscares, the atmosphere is intense, barely any audio is available except the echoing footsteps, creaky wood and surprising static, and the other main figure in the game doesn't make a noise. The presentation in the game is creepy yet so immersible. Even though I'm not what they call a "Graphics Whore", I do have to say that they are amazing in this take, reminiscent of a classic black & white film around the 50's. The endings in Which are so brutal yet follow a surprisingly simple plot. Even though my only complaint is how short it was, (Even in replay) Which was still good enough for me to etch an imprint into my mind for days afterwards. The fact that it comes in various definitions also pleases me. (3-D glasses are not available though, so you must provide your own when opportunities like this come!) The fact that Which is free to play also gives a great deal of pleasure for those who can't afford 50+ dollar releases. Now that it's settled, it's time for my rating:

Now it's time to finish this showcase with the final presentation! Tonight will end with with a short story. The author goes by the name Blue Tidal. Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you......

The Smiling Man

I'm not going to go into description of the story other than the fact that it gave me fear of nighttime walks. Before I actually let you listen to it, I'm going to immediately to give it a rating:

Reason being for the fact that it is excellent in detail and the story is very, very relatable to many people who've feared actual encounters like this. In fact, according to the author, the incident actually did happen to her. (I think it's a girl......) Now I'm going to present you the story in visual, text, and audio form. The link for the story is here below for those fellows who enjoy reading:

http://www.reddit.com/r/LetsNotMeet/comments/rvzaq/the_smiling_man/

For those of you wanting to hear an audio book format for this creepy tale, I can not think of anyone excellent enough for setting serious moods none other than Cry himself!

I will also post here a film that also was inspired by the story as well and seriously almost takes up the story by detail, but it is slightly different. (Hence the word "inspired".) The film is created by Michael Evans and is seriously a good take on the true story as well.

I hope you all enjoy tonight's post. I will see you all another time, but for now, sweet dreams...............You're going to need them.