V/H/S 2 DVD Review

Rating:
18
DVD Release Date:
14th October 2013 (UK)
Distributor:
Koch Media
Director:
Gareth Evans, Timi Tjahjanto, Adam Wingard, Gregg Hale, Jason Eisener, Simon Barrett, Eduardo Sánchez
Cast:
Lawrence Michael Levine, Kelsy Abbott, Adam Wingard,
Buy V/H/S 2: [DVD]


V/H/S rescued found-footage for me last year. It took the frankly tired cash cow medium and applied it to anthology horror, a concept that had taken a back bench in the past few years of mainstream horror. V/H/S 2 continues in the same strand, though this time a pair of private investigators stumbles across the ominous collection of tapes whilst checking out the home of a missing person.

Like last time V/H/S 2 is a mixed bag, some of the films are conceptually intriguing but things misfire in the execution.  The film presents us with four short films but- when teased with piles and piles of ominous tapes potentially containing horror gold-you can’t help but feel some of the naffest films got picked out.

Adam Wingard’s introductory Phase 1 Clinical Trials is a step into sci-fi horror: a man’s new synthetic eye starts shows him things beyond our world. Like I say, conceptually interesting, but its already been handled to a tee by Oxide Pang Chun in The Eye, however that doesn’t stop it pulling off a few good scares. Tension is depressingly fizzled away by the introduction of a girl with a more auditory connection to the afterlife (perhaps a more unnerving idea?), and a laughable way of keeping the ghosts at bay. Wingard’s section ends in a mess that leaves the viewer more bamboozled than scared.

Next up is the slightly better A Ride in the Park; a zombie film from the zombie’s POV. With a camera strapped to his helmet a biker is assaulted, transforms, then goes on his own undead rampage through a sunny camper-filled wood. There’s nothing clever going on here (see Colin) but its concise, enjoyable, and well put together.

The third segment, put together by Timo Tjahjanto who’s most repulsive segment L is for Libido, is the most impressive and by far the most creative.  There are more than a few moments that will stick in your mind, but it really works best as a bit of a blind-sider. With the best and most accomplished narrative, the most striking visuals, and the most intense journey, Safe Haven is a great and commendable addition to the V/H/S collection of short films.

Last and probably least is the near-woeful (comedy?) Alien Invasion Slumber Party. It does what it says on the tin, but not in a great way. Sure there are a few cool moments, some woodland running and a tense pier scene, but overall not well done. Watching it, you can see what the direction is and maybe even enjoy it at points, but bad effects and overexposure – the same over exposure that killed the first V/H/S’s alien story- ultimately spell doom.

By the end of V/H/S 2 we are no closer to understanding the reasons for the macabre collection of bizarre snuff films, but that’s not a bad thing because genuine interest has been tickled. However, when the overarching story draws to an anti-climactic slap-dash finale you can’t help but feel a little cheated. The same hasty regard with which- at least two- of the shorts were hobbled together is reflected in those in-between segments. No desire to build tension is displayed. First time round, the film showed us groups of bastard Jocks who we couldn’t wait to see get offed, this time round there’s an unfortunate lack of any reaction to characters. We can only be led through horror by asshole types for so long.

V/H/S 2 lacks the ingenuity and surprise of the first, so unfortunately it’s not a step up but still a watchable, enjoyable, and varied collection of films. Frankly it’s worth a watch just to get the third segment. If you’re easily peeved at run-of-the-mill film making, then perhaps steer clear.

★★★☆☆

Scott Clark

FF 2013 Review - V/H/S 2

Rating:
18
Release Date:
23rd August 2013 (Frightfest) 14th October 2013 (UK DVD)
Director:
Simon Barrett, Greg Hale, Gareth Evans, Adam Wingard, Timo Tjahjanto, Jason Eisener
Cast:
Lawrence Michael Levine, Kelsy Abbott, Adam Wingard
Pre-order/Buy V/H/S 2:
[DVD]
The horror anthology has received a fair bit of new blood lately with two high-profile effort V/H/S and The ABCs of Death both arriving on a huge wave of hype in horror circles but ended up raining a shower of disappointing poop over us instead. Both indulged in the worst of what this genre’s filmmakers seem to think fans want, splashes of misogyny, gore purely for gore’s sake and the same old story repeated ad infinitum with the same old scares played the same old ways. The insanely quick turnaround of V/H/S 2 (or as its original brilliant title had it, S-V/H/S) was cause for concern but with filmmakers more exciting than those involved in the first instalment, there was cause for hope. This is something which is thankfully proven to be the case with V/H/S 2 improving on the first anthology in virtually every single way and in moments pushes your expectations of what a horror film can do .

Simon Barrett’s wraparound segment, Tape 49, is wholly more satisfying than the original films equivalent showing two private detectives breaking into a house to retrieve a woman’s son and finding a bunch of tapes. Unlike many wraparound segments in horror anthologies, this has a beginning, middle and end, it’s a story in itself with its own little horrors working as a stand-alone but also giving us the inkling of mythology, alluding to certain events in the first film but not feeling beholden to them and weaving elements of both J-horror and body horror to crunchy effect.

Adam Wingard, director of the next hotly buzzed horror film coming down the road, You’re Next, brings us the first uninterrupted short Clinical Trials, which is the least effective of the whole film, relying on jump scares which feel very tired, but the first person perspective manages to remain effective and at least a gratuitous sex scene, one of only two in the whole film, in itself a refreshing change, comes off as funny and not leering.

Better than this is Eduardo Sanchez and Gregg Hale’s A Ride In The Park, a zombie tale with a USP of being told from the zombies perspective. Suffering from tonal inconsistency with a vein of humour uncomfortably meshing with somewhat sadder, darker content, this still hits home thanks to its at-times ferocious paciness, it by far feels the shortest of the bunch, the directing team wisely understanding that this is a one-note story and thus can only be played for a limited time to remain effective. This pace also feeds into some rather crazy “how did they do that?” moments of directional sleight of hand which are huge fun to behold.

This is just an appetiser for the main course that is Gareth Evans’ and Timo Tjahjanto’s Safe Haven, the longest film in the anthology and one which is absolutely breathtaking. The first film of either V/H/S to be centred in another country, already bringing a sense of otherness, this tale of a documentary crew entering a cult’s sanctuary manages to pull off the brilliant and highly skillful trick of being both incredibly disturbing while also being an awful lot of fun with mixture of body horror and cult rituals which builds up with superb intensity but ends on a quiet but rather chilling note. This one feels like a love letters horror fans which evolves from the pathetic “fratboy” nature of so many horrors today and instead offers the cliched but true “thrills and chills”. A mature and harrowing effort, it is the finest piece of horror cinema I’ve seen in quite some time.

After Safe Haven virtually anything would be a bit of a come down and Jason Eisner’s Alien Abduction Slumber Party is indeed that, though it’s got a lot of merit to it also. Focusing on a bunch of kids having rather dirty fun and getting caught in a house invasion from unfriendly aliens, this works through a sheer sense of blind panic. When the alien strike it’s visually and audibly overwhelming, hitting that primal nerve of “what the hell is going on” with the camera being tossed around all over the place before finding the characters in perilous situations. The intensity recalls the final segment of the first film but is a meaner beast than that especially with the last shot which is a little too cruel for my blood takes away from the enterprise somewhat.

This and other relatively minor quibbles peppered in spots aside, V/H/S 2 is a wholly more impressive and satisfying collection of horror shorts than last year’s film, resulting in the best horror of 2013 up to this point. Daring, shocking, fun and managing to regain my sense of hope that there is still horror of great worth out there, the whole experience is hugely refreshing and it’s delightful to say so.

★★★★☆

Review By Phil Wheat at Nerdly.co.uk