Horror sequels, for the most part, rarely live up to their originals. Hollywood in particular is more interested in quantity over quality, as it flogs sequel after sequel to death. And in the case of the Nightmare on Elm Street series, jump starts a rotting corpse under the dubious pretence of a ‘reboot’ to the series, just to stock pile even more cash. It’s enough to make die-hard horror fans weep in their coffin-shaped beds at night.

Thankfully though, this didn’t put off Spanish directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza from turning on their cameras once again to film a follow-up to their 2007 horror hit [REC]. Set in Barcelona, it followed a TV reporter and her cameraman shadowing the night-shift crew of a local fire station. The firemen get a call regarding an old lady trapped in a nearby building, which they all respond to. Once inside the building however, the reporter and cameraman soon realise there’s more to this story than meets the eye. Something far more sinister in fact.

This sequel literally picks up the story from where the first one finished, as we return inside the original building, but this time following in an armed police unit, who are all equipped with video cameras on their helmets. They are accompanied by an official from the Ministry of Health who wants to investigate the strange goings on inside the quarantined apartment building.

Once inside, it soon becomes evident that the infection that has spread throughout the building is slightly more serious than, say, an outbreak of food poisoning. The only thing that they are all very much aware of, is the fact that they are not alone. If you could have a home for the recently transformed into zombies, they’ve just walked straight into it.

I appreciate you may have been expecting a bit more when you rang our Dial-A-Dentist service, but I'm afraid this is it.

The first noticeable difference between the two films is the number of cameras. The original relied – successfully it has to be said – on the footage being film with one camera. By adding a few more, this sequel immediately heightens the overall sense of tension. The audience isn’t just concerned about the one group being followed, but all of them.

When three teenagers also sneak into the building, with yet another camera no less, it could have easily started to feel like overkill. Somehow though, the directors manage to integrate this new point of view into proceedings without corrupting the ongoing story.

What they also manage to convey is a sense of the eerily familiar from the interior of the building, as audiences are reacquainted with the same location as the first film. This déjà vu also makes the experience even more unsettling. This feeling is increased further when characters from the original are re-introduced.

Not only does the fact that these events take place exactly after the last, managing to sustain the dread and fear, it somehow carries it over like some truly horrific maths equation. It’s as if it’s reminding us just how scary the original was, then whispers menacingly “and this one is a whole lot scarier”.

With more cameras used, you would think that the different perspectives would give the audience a little more breathing space. However, due to the claustrophobic nature of the film, it can still make an audience feel overwhelmingly helpless. The use of night vision on the cameras is also a nice touch and thankfully doesn’t feel either bolted on or re-enforcing the horror cliché.

The premise of the idea may no longer be original, but as a pure extension to that story, it still remains a unique thrill.

Instead of Hollywood simply remaking sub-standard versions of excellent foreign horror films – as they did with REC with the US version called Quarantine – it really should concentrate on producing original stories of their own.

The kind of shocks that these REC films can produce is enough to make the new Freddy Kruger hug a corner of a room and piss his pants in fear.

If you have to make a horror sequel, this is the way it should be done. If you loved the original, you should be dying to see this one too. You won’t be disappointed.