Best – [REC]
Before Paranormal Activity swept the globe, this Spanish horror flick scared the pants off just about everyone lucky enough to discover it. Following a news reporter and her team who are quarantined into an apartment building by the US government and must survive the zombie outbreak that is occurring there, [REC] has few peers in terms of sheer, pulse-pounding terror. It’s furiously paced and scary as hell, turning every dark corner into a place filled with unimaginable horrors.
Part of what makes [REC] such an affecting experience is that the found footage angle locks the audience into the apartment building alongside the characters. The quick-tempo feel and sympathetic characters draw viewers in, allowing director Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza to manipulate the scares for maximum mental scarring. The pair use the found footage format brilliantly, positioning [REC] as a horrific roller coaster ride packed to the brim with jump-out scares, shiver-inducing sound effects and just enough suggestion for viewers to fill in the blanks with their own worst nightmares.