REC

Seventy-eight minutes, one apartment block, no let-up.

A late-night television crew follows a Barcelona fire crew to a routine call. The building is sealed behind them by the authorities without explanation, and the film never leaves it.

What separates it from the rest of found footage is discipline about the camera. There is always a reason it is running, the cameraman is a character with a job, and the light source is the camera light, which means the film can simply turn the lights off and take away almost everything.

The final sequence in the penthouse, lit only by nightvision, is the most frightening two minutes in the format.

Remade in English as Quarantine almost shot for shot the following year, which is worth nothing. The Spanish sequels are worth one and a half.