[REC]

[REC] was directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, two of the most established figures in Spanish horror cinema, and produced by the Barcelona-based Filmax — at that point the largest horror-genre studio in Spain. Released in late 2007, it became one of the most internationally successful Spanish-language horror films of the 2000s, spawning three sequels and an American remake, Quarantine, that landed in theatres almost simultaneously with the original's US release.

Manuela Velasco won the Goya for Best New Actress for the lead role; she had been cast partly because of her real-life background as a TV presenter, which lent the film's framing-device structure an unusual authenticity. The film also won Best Spanish Film at the Sitges Catalan Film Festival in 2007 and earned a Saturn Award nomination for Best International Film. Cinematography is by Pablo Rosso, working with handheld digital cameras and shooting almost entirely inside a single Barcelona apartment building.

The film is regularly cited as one of the high points of the post-Blair Witch found-footage horror cycle, alongside Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity. Its reputation has grown over the years rather than diminished; in academic genre studies, the original [REC] is now treated as a turning point for Spanish horror's international reach, opening the door for the global success of figures like J. A. Bayona, Guillem Morales and Rodrigo Cortés in the years that followed.