We were graciously given the opportunity to interview Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza ,the directors of the incredible Spanish horror flick [Rec], about their recent sequel [Rec]2. In this exclusive interview they revealed many exciting [Rec] 2 tidbits including one major announcement. Read more.

Follow up:

HB: We'll start off with a question we always like to ask. It's kind of an icebreaker. What is your favorite movie from the horror genre and why?

J&P: It’s THE EXORCIST. Because is the most scary film ever and because it uses the genre to explain a drama of a mother feeling guilty for not being “a good mother” to social standards. I love when a horror film goes beyond and tells about the society of its moment.

HB: Were you expecting the type of global success that [Rec] has received?

J&P: Not at all. It was just a tiny film I shot with a friend of mine and a videocamara. somehow I think the film had the energy of a group of friends shooting a horror film for fun, the kind of film we loved to see when teenagers. We did, we had great fun and I think that can be felt; it’s a very special film with a unique energy. Our only ambition was to please the audience.

HB: With the success of [Rec] and [Rec]2 it is obvious you both know how to make a great horror film. Your use of the P.O.V. handy cam perspective is some of the best we've seen in a movie. With that said, what inspired the idea of [Rec] and [Rec]2? How did it all start?

J&P: While writing the script we constantly spoke of Lovecraft, and his vision of the uncanny, the evil beyond imagination; he often wrote in the shape of letters, so we felt that translating that into the XXI horror filmmaking would be using a TV show. That was our main inspiration.

HB: What was your motivation behind the [Rec] sequel? Why do another?

J&P: To be honest, when we went together to a theatre in Barcelona, it was crowded, sold out, people yelling, laughing and an ovation during the credit block. Jaume and I looked to each other and knew we couldn’t just leave it there. Our main goal was not to disappoint all the people who had enjoyed with the first one; we work for them, and we tried to do something different in a way, but at the same time very respectful with the one they has already liked; our model on this was James Cameron ALIENS and its turn into action.

HB: What's it like directing as a team? What are the advantages of have two directors work on a project like [Rec]2?

J&P: It’s great collaborating with someone you respect so much and share a same way of enjoying horror; I think the combination of our very differente approaches to work was good for the film. We are there together the whole process, from writing to grading, the whole way together. We have a pact, and it is not to argue; ever. If one of us is not 100% convinced of anything, we simply take it out of the way, never try to convince each other.

HB: We must say that you both did a brilliant job with not falling into the sequel trap of rehashing the same story from the original. Instead you were able to add more depth and twists making a familiar premise very much new and fresh. How was this accomplished? Did you have this idea while creating the first [Rec] or did it all just work out when it came time to do the sequel?

J&P: It was after the release and success of the first one that we began to think that it was worth developing the cosmology we had created. When we thought about it, we came back to the original to rescue some ideas already planted there, like the demonic possession, that left a lot to explore.


HB: [Rec]2 can easily hold its own as a stand alone film however both films are so similar in style and plot that they can be viewed as one continuous movie. Would you support a special cut of [Rec] and [Rec]2 that edits them together as one long movie or are they meant to be separate?

J&P: We’d love to do that!!! We talked about it for the Spanish edition of the dvd, but, maybe for a Christmas Special reedition.


HB: Going off topic but still relevant to film, what do you each think about the more recent 3D development now being employed in film? Do you think this is just another phase that will disappear over time or is it here to stay? Would you ever consider using the 3D technology in a film directed by yourselves?

J&P: I just finished shooting a 3D concert for Spanish Rock star BUNBURY (he’s on tour in the US right now). And it’s something I’d apply to a feature fiction film, no doubt!


HB: Finally, the climax of [Rec]2 leaves open the possibility of a third installment. What are the chances that we'll be seeing a [Rec]3?

J&P: 100%.