[REC] (2007)

This is the diamond in the rough. This is the film I've wanted to see since Blair Witch. [REC] is a first-person haunted house story. It is a cast of unknowns and amateurs. The directors didn't tell the cast the script until they shot. All the rehearsals were recorded on straight-up handycams. The film was shot sequentially with 20 minute takes. On the last day of shooting the lead actress was kept entirely in the dark as to what was going to happen to her so her reactions could be real and pure. It is shot entirely with practical effects. It feels so real and so visceral. [REC] is the horror film to beat. Forgoing any message deeper than "don't trust the government/church," it relies on effective action, real scares, and the pleading invitation for you to fully suspend your disbelief and Become Pablo. Anyone who has read anything I've written before knows that I value suspension of disbelief over all else. This is the film that rewards that. There is not a single lagging section in the film, there's not a moment that pulls you out of the action. It throws itself at you full force and its all you can do to fight back. I don't want to write too much plotwise, because its so good, but let me assure you that this film makes you believe in it. [REC] is the holy grail.