[REC]2 (2009)

Picking up right where the first [REC] left off, a small S.W.A.T. team equipped with helmet mounted cameras and a government official enter the quarantined apartment building, searching for answers, and any survivors. As they explore the penthouse apartment, it becomes apparent that the government official knows more than he is letting on, and that they are not alone.

[REC]2 unlocks more of the mystery behind the virus that turns people into slavering, bloodthirsty monsters. You learn why the penthouse was papered with articles about a girl named Tristana Medeiros, how the virus ties in to her story, and just what the hell that thing was at the end of the first movie. There are very interesting revelations about the nature of the infected people, and the protagonists discover a new weapon against them.

What [REC]2 doesn't do is scare me the way the first one (and its remake, Quarantine) managed to do. I think that may have had something to do with the fact that most of the protagonists go around heavily armed, making the infected less of a threat. Also, other than some cool uses of the helmet cameras and switching from one camera to another, there just wasn't much going on that wasn't seen in the first movie. And furthermore, the tough guy S.W.A.T. team isn't nearly as charming as the cute reporter from the first movie, so I didn't build up as much sympathy for them.

Which isn't to say [REC]2 wasn't good. It was very well shot and very impressively edited to accomplish the complex - and more effects-heavy this time around - action going on here. It does have its share of thrills and suspenseful moments, and the expanded understanding about the nature of the infected leads to some cool sequences as well. It's still a very intense movie, and even if [REC]2 isn't as scary as the first movie, it's well worth a watch.