It felt like a long time had passed since I’d seen the previous installments. While I was familiar with the movies, I struggled to recall specific details, and a quick summary would have been useful. My frustration stems from television series that stretch a season out over many months. This is the fourth film in the [Rec] series, and the third direct continuation of the story begun in the first two. The third movie existed on a separate timeline but felt disconnected from the rest. To bring it back in line with the overall narrative, an older female character was introduced. Aside from the initial few minutes, the entire plot unfolds aboard a ship that’s essentially moving. It shares some superficial similarities with 'Sector 7,' though the films are fundamentally different experiences. The vessel serves as a laboratory for developing a vaccine against a deadly disease transforming people into flesh-eating zombies, and it's secured by an armed paramilitary force. However, the virus escapes, spreading rapidly through various means – lab animals and food supplies. The remainder of the story follows the survivors’ struggle to stay alive in the middle of the ocean, culminating in intense battles between the undead and the living. I honestly didn’t anticipate another film after what I thought was a trilogy, but seeing this one changed my mind; it wasn't a bad idea at all. Like with the 'Jurassic Park' franchise, this fourth movie gets things back on track following a detour in the third. The first film was excellent and genuinely frightening, followed by a second that was reasonably good. As I mentioned earlier, the third installment felt different but still fit thematically. > "I don not know what was going on, > but luckily I was not there." The story begins slowly, though it accelerates significantly in the final act. It’s not particularly scary, but the last few scenes are fast-paced and intense. The ending includes a scene that hints at another film, but I believe the series should have concluded with three films or this one. My rating decreases by one point for each sequel. I think more consistent suspense would have been beneficial. There were minor surprises in the somewhat weak plot, but I predicted the final twist and it wasn’t handled effectively. The focus was on the situation itself rather than an extended storyline because action conveys a clearer picture of what's happening than any kind of character development—a pattern common to many horror movies, though some dramas avoid it. The performances are collectively decent; no one stands out individually, as the story doesn’t center around any particular character. Angela, the television reporter who was prominent in the first two films, does return and becomes a focal point. The filmmaking felt compromised—it wasn't presented in the 'found footage' style that would have been appropriate. The setting didn’t call for that kind of cinematography, and it also lacked the dark atmosphere that made the earlier films so unsettling, especially the night vision sequences which were crucial to creating an eerie mood. The title for this installment was ‘Apocalypse,’ but that doesn't really align with what is shown in the final scene. They could have called it 'Zombie Ship,' like 'Ghost Ship.' I feel it’s worth watching just to stay current with the [Rec] film series, because if they create a truly exceptional fifth movie, we won’t need to revisit this fourth one for context. 6/10

Source on TMDB