V/H/S 2 - Review

Horror anthologies have always been a favorite of mine ever since I watched Creepshow and more recently Trick R Treat. I also love found footage films, D]despite many people’s tendency to shit on them, and think there's a lot more new and creative things that can be done with this genre. In no film is this more evident than in V/H/S 2.

V/H/S 2 is comprised of five segments, unlike six in the original, one of those being the wrap-around story. This, however, is a welcome change as it allows the directors plenty of time to flesh out their stories, one of which runs 40 minutes and is definitely worth the extra time. If there’s one part of the first V/H/S that I thought was most lacking it was the wrap-around story. It followed a group of troublemakers as they recorded themselves causing mayhem and ended at a creepy house where they have to find a V/H/S tape. Of course they slowly begin to disappear as the viewer is treated to each new story. It wasn't terrible but you didn't care about the characters at all because they were assholes and it felt like it was thrown in simply to provide a reason for all of these films to exist together. This time around, we follow a sleazy private detective and his partner on their search for a missing student when they come across.... you guessed it, a pile of VHS tapes that they can’t help but watch. I found this wrap-around story to be much creepier than the original film as the tapes actually affect them in strange ways and we can see someone else in the background watching them. In the original V/H/S we’re not given many hints to the origin of the tapes but in V/H/S 2 we are given a few more clues, though they still remain vague. The ending was a big step up from the first as well and turned out to be a bit of a surprise.

The first segment, entitled “Phase 1 Clinical Trials”, was directed by and stars Adam Wingard. He plays a man who receives a robotic eye allowing him to see once again. Unfortunately for him, his new found sight is accompanied with the ability to see ghosts. This was probably my least favorite segment of the four but I still found it thoroughly entertaining. When he gets home following his operation the ghosts immediately begin to torment him. We are then introduced to Clarissa (the lovely Hannah Hughes) who also has the ability to communicate with the dead but through a hearing implant rather than an eye. Her method of making the spirits temporarily disappear almost makes a robotic ghost-seeing eye seem worth it. Of course the spirits return to reap their vengeance which they accomplish quite successfully. It’s a fun segment with some good jump scares but doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to the table in terms of the story itself.

The next segment, “A Ride in the Park” directed by Eduardo Sanchez and Greg Hale of Blair Witch fame, is an original take on the zombie film which is surprising given how saturated that market is. The story follows a mountain biker taking a ride through the forest with a camera attached to his helmet. He soon stumbles upon a bloodied screaming woman who turns into a zombie and infects the biker. Now we're treated to the first zombie POV that, to my knowledge, has ever been done. I've seen films like Colin that focus on a single zombie but being able to see through the zombies eyes is much more entertaining. At this point we're taken through the trials and tribulations of being a new zombie from the turning phase where he continually spits up a noxious bile reminiscent of the infected in 28 days later to figuring out what not to eat, whether that be a chunk of your own flesh or your victim’s wallet. This is probably the goriest segment as we're given a close up view of him ripping a stomach open and digging in. It all culminates in the zombies laying waste to a kid’s party. It’s interesting how you get to see all of the scenes typically left out of a zombie movie. Where a typical film might begin at the kid’s party, the zombie POV allows us to see the horde build up. We get to see all of the people that fall into the trap of trying to help an infected. Overall this is a fun and unique segment that any zombie fan would appreciate and find interesting.

The third segment is “Safe Haven” and was by-far my favorite. This was written and directed by Timo Tjahjanto and Gareth Evans, most recently known for his cult hit “The Raid:Redemption”. “Safe Haven” follows a news crew as they investigate an Indonesian cult. It begins with the crew interviewing the cult leader as he explains their beliefs. The crew is able to convince him to bring them to his compound so they can have an in-depth discussion of his group’s beliefs. As they begin the interview things quickly go south as we learn that it’s a very important day for the cult and they have big plans for one of the crew members. There is even some drama interjected into the news crew which pays off later on in the story and works well with the found footage setup. I really don't want to give much away much about this one because it’s something you have to experience for yourself. What I will say is that it gets insane and just when you think it’s reached a crescendo of bat-shit craziness it goes further and further into completely unexpected places. The cult leader is insanely creepy as well and has an awesome clockwork orange-esque scene that's particularly brutal. The film-makers do such a great job at keeping you on the edge of your seat and continuously making you uncomfortable that it’s honestly one of the best horror shorts I've ever seen, maybe even the best. The ending also has an appropriately insane twist and honestly couldn't have ended better. If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this review it’s to SEE THIS MOVIE if only for this segment.

Jason Eisener’s “Slumber Party Alien Abduction” is the fourth and final segment and is undoubtedly the most fun of the lot. It follows a group of kids whose parents have left for the night so of course they decide to pull pranks on their sister and her asshole boyfriend like pissing into squirt guns and… well I'm sure you can figure out the rest. There's another interesting POV in this that involves a camera attached to a dog which helps bypass the common issue of “why are they still filming?” in found footage films. Throughout the entire segment there seems to be a legitimate reason for the camera to be rolling while the insanity is happening. It never feels forced like in other movies. There's always a believable reason for the footage to exist. After the sun goes down the aliens come out to play as they're briefly teased and eventually shown in all their naked big eyed glory as they drag the kids away one by one. I really liked that the director went with a classic alien design. This is exactly what you'd expect them to look like which isn’t to say they aren’t creepy. In fact, they look awesome and appear to be all practical effects. The shots where they were silhouetted against the glowing lights of their spaceship are fantastic and even the way they move is fun to watch. Again, it concludes perfectly and exactly how you would want an alien abduction story to end.

V/H/S 2 is a worthy follow-up and improvement to its predecessor. It’s not often that a sequel comes along that actually one-ups the original but V/H/S 2 has done exactly that. The stories are tighter and more entertaining without a glaring weak one in the bunch. While the original film could easily have its segments rated from worst to best, V/H/S 2 is not as simple. Instead we get 4 segments and a wrap-around that are all well directed, written and acted and while my favorite was “Safe Haven” with “Phase 1 Clinical Trials” being my least favorite, that isn’t to say it was a weak entry. If anything it’s as good as anything in the original. The wrap-around story is also a vast improvement over its predecessor with characters that may have questionable morals but certainly aren’t complete douchebags and has a payoff that is much more satisfying. V/H/S 2 is extremely entertaining, well-made and with a total running time of about 95 minutes it’s leaner and tighter than the original. This one is highly recommended!

4.5/5