[Rec] 2 2009

Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: Frantic from the get-go, this new crop of zombie bait barrels through shadowy hallways and fends off waxen, emaciated attackers with such hysterical speed it's impossible to know -- or care -- whose face has just been chomped. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: With this underwhelming sequel, Spain proves it can stand toe to toe with any nation in the manufacture of unnecessary follow-ups. Read more

Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times: The mayhem, efficiently maintained for a just-right 84 minutes, makes [REC] 2 strictly for horror fans. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: [REC] 2 smartly picks up right where the first one left off, and takes little time to reestablish momentum. Read more

Amy Nicholson, Boxoffice Magazine: The quality has deteriorated like a dubbed VHS. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: Multiplying the video-cams only dilutes the effect. Better to stick with one perspective. And see [Rec] first. Read more

Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter: Bloodthirsty zombies come out to play to diminishing effect in this DIY-style Spanish horror sequel. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The shaky camera work (and explosive gore) can get literally nauseating. But when the characters' cameras run low, and the screen goes black? That's the scariest thing of all. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The new film manages to retain the claustrophobic tension of the original while deftly juggling multiple viewpoints. Read more

Nigel Floyd, Time Out: Despite a few neat surprises, [Rec] 2 mainly expands on familiar images and ideas. Read more

Boyd van Hoeij, Variety: A sequel to the Spanish cult hit that offers an explanation for something that was far more effective when left largely unexplained. Read more

Rob Nelson, Village Voice: Contrived panic abounds, as do expiring camcorder batteries and expletive-laden variations on "Shoot it in the head!" Read more