Spanish Horror Hits Japan: REC

"While covering the night shift at a small-town fire department, an ambitious young television reporter (Manuela Velasco) and her cameraman follow the crew on a call to rescue an elderly woman(Matt Frew) trapped in her apartment. Upon their arrival at the scene, the calm midnight air is pierced by the sound of horrific screams, and the television report takes an unexpectedly dark turn." That is the basic premise of the Spanish horror flick, 'REC' - if you want something a bit more visual here's a YouTube flick. The movie has a Blair Witch-y handicam look.

The REC sim, recommended to me by my chum (and ace photographer) Lem, is actually a Japanese construction, presumably built to help promote the film's release in Japan. At one point in your wanderings thru the sim, you will pick up a link to the Japanese promotional website. I don't know how the film has fared - or indeed if it has been released. If I am interpreting the website correctly, it looks like it may not actually open in RL cinemas in Japan until the 14th of June.

As for the sim itself, you never really get to see it. Instead, on arrival you will find yourself in a dimly lit, blood-stained room. Help yourself to the movie camera, wear it (it is a HUD) and follow the arrows. This will place you inside the lobby of the apartment block - also dimly lit and dripping with unpleasantnesses. From here, find your way around. The HUD gives you a scene-by-scene view of your progress (unless you opt for mouselook mode), as you explore the stairwell and various rooms, clicking on the sparkly points of light. I suspect there was more to the sim than the areas I saw - but I was impressed with both the look&feel, and the clever use of the hud. Being easily suggestible, I would have been happier operating my avatar by remote control, with me hiding behind the sofa. I took a few snaps to - of course - to give you a flavour:

The sim is well worth a visit, to sample the ambiance - though whether anything truly horrific happens I don't know. As a wuss with a dodgy ticker, it was enough to give me The Willies though.