Try This Different Flavor of Zombie Movie For Halloween

I love October. Mostly, because thanks to Halloween, it makes my zombie obsession seem less weird and more festive. Plus, there's candy.

There are lots of zombie movies that you could watch for Halloween. Brad Pitt's World War Z is OK, I'd recommend the book. Dawn of the Dead, the 1978 original, and the 2004 remake (written by James Gunn and directed by Zach Snyder), are both fun and scary.

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There's also 28 Days and 28 Weeks Later. The first part of 28 Weeks Later, with the kid and the couple in that house and the guy running to the river, is still one of the scariest things I've seen in a movie.

But, a warning. Don't accidentally watch the movie 28 Days. That's the Sandra Bullock movie about an addiction treatment center. It's a good film, but not one zombie to be seen. But you do get to see Alan Tudyk who was the robot in the movie I, Robot.

And for some more traditional, slow-moving, rotting zombies there's Night of the Living Dead and The Walking Dead.

But, if you want to try a different flavor of zombie movie, check this out. It's a four-movie series from Spain. They are a fun twist on the zombie genre, with a bit of Exorcist-style horror mixed in.

A heads up, the movies are in Spanish, so if you don't speak it well enough to follow along, you'll have to pay attention to the subtitles. However, every time I watch these movies I think having to pay extra attention to the subtitles draws me deeper into the movie.

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[REC]

This is a 2007 Spanish movie filmed in Barcelona, Spain. It's a found-footage-style movie with the action seen through a news camera. The film starts with a reporter and her crew following some firemen on a 'typical' night in the city. The news crew goes with the firemen on a call to a building where something has happened. While they are inside the building the health department seals it off. Infected people are discovered, attack others, infect them and our heroes have to find a way out. The movie uses the found footage style to great effect with some nice tension and surprises.

[REC] 2

Part 2 continues the story at the apartment building, this time from the perspective, and cameras, of a SWAT Team that is responding to the event. They are there to find out what happened and again, find a way out. A cool part of this is that the two movies are happening at the same time, you are seeing things in one that you heard in the other.

[REC] 3 Genesis

The third movie in the series is a bit different from the first two in tone, it has a dash of silliness. That could be because there were new characters to set up and backstories to establish, but they get down to zombie business soon enough. This time an outbreak happens at a wedding reception and the bride and groom have to battle the infected. The found-footage style is abandoned partway through the film and the rest is in standard movie style, but I still liked it. A woman in a wedding dress with a chainsaw fighting zombies is always awesome.

[REC] 4: Apocalypse

The last movie in the series returns us to the story of reporter Ángela Vidal who started the series. In the series timeline, it takes place just after the events of the second film. By now the army has taken control of the infected situation and has Vidal quarantined on a ship. She's there along with a survivor from the wedding in the third movie. As usual in these situations, there are people that want to run tests and study the infection. But, as required by the law of zombie movies, the infection spreads through the ship and Vidal must save the day.

We have plenty of time to enjoy this zombie movie marathon as a warm-up for Halloween. Last I knew only Rec 4 was streaming on Netflix, so you'll have to rent the others. But, you'll be glad you did. Plus, you can consider it part of your Spanish homework.