Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

REC 3 Genesis Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 28, 2021

This Blu-ray release of 'REC 3: Genesis' is currently only available in a four-film boxed set with 'REC,' 'REC 2,' and 'REC 4: Apocalypse.'

Change is in the air with REC 3, a film that, at first, ditches the relentlessly grim and claustrophobic stylings from the first two films and invites its audience to a festive wedding ceremony that does eventually turn bloody. But in not-REC fashion, Director Paco Plaza, who also co-helmed the first two films in the series, chooses to forego the P.O.V. camera work for a more traditional style. The film, then, plays a little more like a paint-by-numbers Horror flick but kudos to Plaza for shaking things up, even if in doing so he simply employs a more familiar tactic. The film is fine as it is, a fun diversion and a capable follow-up (which is really a "parallel" film, taking place more or less during the events of the first two films) that should please fans, even if some might be irritated at a sudden change in photographic technique.

It’s a time of happiness and revelry: wedding day. Bride and groom, Clara and Koldo (Leticia Dolera and Diego Martín), are madly in love and she has a secret to share with him. But as the night wears on, the booze flows and the revelry just begins to hit its stride. Then, the camera begins picking up strange sights: men in yellow hazmat suits, police cars coming down the street, and a man inside the party who seems to topple from a second-floor balcony to his death. But he quickly picks himself up and ravenously bites another guest in the neck. Quickly: panic. Several more with an appetite for flesh tear through the crowd. The wedding is ruined, lives are destroyed, and it feels like beginning of the end of days. Clara and Koldo are separated and find themselves, with a few others, battling a horde of monsters.

The film opens with a festive, happy wedding celebration but after 20 minutes it turns brutally violent when, out of nowhere, the attacks begins, the title card appears, the handheld camera is shown to die, and the film follows in a more traditional cinematic and photographic structure. And why not? The “haunted house” element that played so well in the first two films is gone, so it stands to reason that maybe a story set in a different location could withstand a change in structure, too. It works because Plaza certainly has an eye for moviemaking and knows the franchise well. Even if REC 3 doesn’t stand apart for any particular reason, it stands tall on its own as a capable genre film that fills in some side story content to enrich the larger REC universe while finding opportunity for some good character moments and gory violence along the way.

There’s a bit of silliness in play, including some characters dressing up in medieval suits of armor and wielding some of that era’s most heinous weapons. There’s a certain tongue-in-cheek aspect to the film, though, which does take its material seriously on the surface but, ultimately, it’s a bunch of wedding guests and zombies, for lack of a more in-depth descriptor, going at it to bloody result. A bit of silliness essentially comes with the territory, particularly here in a film that isn’t quite so immediately grim as its predecessors or far more serious and sober genre fare like The Walking Dead. The cast has fun with it, the movie isn't afraid of blood, and there's enough raw, visceral entertainment to keep it all in line even when it teeters on goofiness.

REC 3 Genesis Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

REC 3 is like a tale of two productions, one occupying the first act and the other the second and third acts. Most of the footage at the wedding is shot in some manner of handheld or semiprofessional (there's even a fun aside that pokes fun at the shaky handheld from the first two films in a tongue-and-cheek sort of way) and this content is smooth, crisp, and colorful, a departure from the first two films but certainly still in the same basic style. The film ditches the approach once the attack commences and turns to a more traditional photographic style that resultantly yields the best Blu-ray content so far in the series (though to be sure the first two films look fine on Blu-ray in context, but this is a more traditionally "true" look). It hits all the right notes: fine clarity, good high-definition detail that is well capable of presenting core elements like skin, clothes, and environments with exacting clarity and textural finesse, and well-rounded color reproduction. Blacks are very good and skin tones are strong. Certainly, this is not "format pinnacle" type of content but the picture is true and dependable in all areas of concern. Noise is not too much of a concern here and neither are any other source issues nor encode problems.

REC 3 Genesis Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

With the more traditional video structure comes a more traditional sound design. REC 3 features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack, the results of which are largely excellent. The film does begin with footage sourced from various handled cameras and the audio engagement here is not always so tight and exacting as what's to come, but all of the wedding day merriment comes through with enough essential definition to please, whether the vows and toasts, crowd din outside the church, or intense dance music at the reception. As the film's structure changes the presentation gains some structural definition and output momentum. Well-spaced music with exacting instrumental detail and balanced low-end aid in defining the film's more traditional cinema stylings. Action effects are hard-hitting, including when various blunt force instruments connect with flesh and bone. The track makes fine use of the surround channels for ambience and action alike and the subwoofer likewise isn't timid – but not overly aggressive – in supporting all content as needed. Dialogue presents flawlessly in all typical areas of concern.

REC 3 Genesis Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This REC 3 Blu-ray includes a couple of making-ofs, deleted scenes, outtakes, images, and trailers and TV spots.

• REC 3 Genesis - Preparing a Bloody Wedding (1080p, 1:57:45): A comprehensive breakdown exploring the making of the film which actually runs longer than the film itself. It explores the film's place in the franchise, costume and set design, score, shooting locations, technical shoot and cinematographic details, stunts and action, and much more.
• Making of REC 3 (1080p, 23:12): A less involved, but still worthwhile, making-of that looks at many of the same basics explored in the first piece (and even reuses content) but with a more accessible runtime.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 23:58 total runtime): Several scenes with no identifying markers.
• Outtakes (1080p, 2:55): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Theatrical Trailers (1080p, 5:01 total runtime): Four trailers.
• TV Spots (1080p, 1:53): Eight spots.
• Image Gallery (1080p, 4:11 total runtime): Images auto advance. There is no accompanying music.

REC 3 Genesis Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Talk about an unforgettable wedding night. REC 3 turns the franchise over to a more traditional structure and foregoes the grim and grimy, dark and dank, hopeless and hellish stylings that defined the first two films in favor of a more straightforward "Zombie" picture. It teeters on goofy but it's solid genre entertainment that should please both open-minded series fans and newcomers alike. Shout! Factory's Blu-ray delivers solid video and auio and a fair selection of extra content. Recommended.