Since it’s my birthday, I decided to venture outside my Netflix account and “treat yo self” with an Amazon Prime download of “[REC]” (2007).

Wait — this isn't the movie that inspired 'Parks and Rec'??

As you can see from the DVD jacket, it’s lauded as “The movie that inspired ‘Quarantine.'” NO SHIT. That’s an understatement if I ever heard one. That’s like saying Gus Van Sant’s “Psycho” was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho.”

The skinny: a cute and spunky TV reporter and her cameraman record their fire engine ride-along on an emergency call at an apartment complex in the dead of night. Hi-jinks ensue.

This is another POV (point-of-view) horror movie, but without the cliché “Everyone died but we found this tape…” at the beginning (see: “Alien Abduction”). So this isn’t really a “found-footage” flick, though everything seen is through the lens of the cameraman’s camera. I admit there was one scene that made The Doc jump— a rare occurrence I promise you. For that alone this movie has merit.

The version I saw was dubbed and it wasn’t that bad. Apparently the Spanish love dropping F-bombs as much as we Americans. I wonder if the subtitled version is any scarier. Anyone want to chime in on that?

I understand there are four [REC] films in the series, with the third one being non-canon (like “Halloween III”). I think I should like to see them.

The Doc gives it an A+. Highly recommended, even if you’ve seen “Quarantine” (2008). Available on Amazon Prime and probably elsewhere.