The two films REC. and Quarantine will be covered in slight depth within this article. Going from a Spanish fanatic of a film to the remake of a American film which will be known worldwide is an interesting subject. The factors which influenced the remake of REC. can be seen asd basic and obvious ways from financial factors to trends, genre popularity and even when looking at a technical professional side of things, Synergy (DVDs/Books/T-Shirts) and Vertical Integration which basically means the film company will deal with the production, distribution and consumption of a film. It all ties together perfectly together to create the whys and how’s.
REC. is a film produced in Spain in 2007. This film became a sensation is Spain at the time as it was the kind of film which stood out because of the genre and type of film. The box office itself had $32,492,948 from the film in its taking and that does not include all of the extra money they would of gained by the merchandise which would have been sold separately along the lines to help promote the film. The film itself made a lot of money in every aspect as it was a popular film, people wanted to see films in the horror genre as they seemed to enjoy the thrill which is one reason why the directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza started off making the film and got the first genial idea. Using the technique of a documentary styled film which was reinforced using a hand held camera, gave it that little bit more of an edge to make it seems scarier than it actually may have been. Giving a certain feel to the audience, they get transfixed into watching it. The budget for the film was 1.5 million euros which seems a lot but if you think about it, for a film and the actors as such, it doesn’t seem that much. Using a famous Spanish reporter who is well known within the Spanish community which make the film worth going to see if you was a fan of the certain reporter and it made it slightly more believable as she was doing what she would of be known best for. After the film was finally finished, the film itself was distributed by Filmax International and Fox Searchlight Pictures.
The story is set very simply, at the beginning of the reporter herself doing her job and reporting at the reporter herself doing her job and reporting at the local fire station to show people how it works and what happens within the community help when in need of it. After a distressing call of an old woman who has been reported to be trapped in her apartment, the team set off to help the public with the reporter Manuela Velasco playing Ángela Vidal following and recording everything which happens and what they do. After they arrive, things get serious within the building as they hear horrifying screams and then everything goes terribly wrong from there.
From a year later after the release of the popular Spanish film REC. the USA decided to do the remake Quarantine which was then distributed by Screen Gems which seemed to be just as popular if not more as the original. The remake was so everyone who spoke the English language did not have to read subtitles while watching the film and because Scree. Gems bought the right to REC. which enabled them to do a remake for the film helping along to gain more money. This happens through synergy which happens a lot with many major films which have had a big impact on the general population of the world. By having the film itself in a language which the majority of the world knows, automatically makes it become a sensation as everyone can understand what’s being said and get more into the film instead of focusing more of their time reading. The box office takings for Quarantine were more than REC. itself with it being $41,319,906. The production year of being 2008, had a set budget of which money was $12 million estimated.
