[REC] 3: Genesis, the third installment of the Spanish zombie franchise, distinguishes itself in several ways: It's the first to move the location away from the building of the first two films, cleverly choosing a wedding reception as the site for its carnage; the narrative takes a decisively more humorous tone; and the director, Paco Plaza, has decided after the opening few minutes to abandon the found-footage format that was the primary calling-card for the series. It also distinguishes itself by being close to indistinguishable, an enjoyable-but-not-particularly-groundbreaking exercise in walking dead chills for fans of the genre. Which leads to a bit of a problem for the Cinefantastique Online crew, whose mandate to analyze what makes a film unique gets sorely tested.
So after Steve Biodrowski and I make quick work of [REC] 3, I weigh in on the definitely unique, indie found-footage horror film, V/H/S, and Lawrence French gives his opinion of the upcoming documentary, Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan. Plus: What's coming to theaters and Southern California Halloween haunts.
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