V/H/S

V/H/S

Drama (Horror)

2012

Rated: R

Running Time:

Starring:

Directed By:

Rating: 6 out of 10

Outline

4 guys break into a house to recover a V/H/S tape only to find out more than they bargained for in the house and on the tape.

Review

It pains me to think there are kids out there that will be wondering what the hell a V/H/S tape is. With one of the crazier movie trailers in recent history I was stoked to finally get to see this film. While this film is a mess and put together like Melanie Griffith's face, it still has enough frights to ultimately make me like it. V/H/S is the story of 4 guys who film everything to try and make money on line. They are tasked to retrieve a video tape from an abandoned house for a large amount of money. They arrive at the house only to discover there are dozens of tapes and must peruse the content to find the right one. While viewing these tapes they are forced to watch 5 different found footages of terror and mayhem.

This movie is a pretty cool concept reminiscent of the movie Four Rooms. Each of the found footages is shot by different Indy directors, so it is cool to see the different points of views and styles in the same film. I will have to change up my usual review style so please bear with me. What I liked about this film is it has such a variety of different scare tactics. It has Vampires, Hitchhikers, Paranormal Activity, Murder, Demons, and a liberal splashing of blood so you never will be bored of watching one style. The frights range the spectrum from cheap loud noises to in your face murder. Ultimately this movie kept me entertained for the whole watch even though it stumbles in so many key areas. The bad: the main story of the four guys breaking into the house to find the tape is awful. They stumble around the abandoned house not caring a bit when they get split up. They watch the V/H/S tapes in this spooky house which is absurd. The film also ends rather abruptly and doesn’t really give proper closure as to what we just watched. Other complaints I had are about the general feel of this film. They splash way too many instances of sexual assault right through it and it gets uncomfortable. I am not opposed to watching this angle but I felt it a little tasteless at times. Also I felt the film would go overboard with the gore. It would show just a little too much blood, just a few too many body parts being removed, and finally there was just a little too much nudity. (Yeah I just said that)

The first found footage short movie was the best of the 5. Three guys rig a video camera on some hipster glasses and go out to pick up some women for video recorded sex. Their idea doesn’t go as planned and what starts out as fun and games gets frightening quite quickly. One of the women they pick up is disturbingly quiet and has frighteningly large eyes. While the blood in this short film is overused it still was a fantastic little movie that will give you many scares and shivers. Overall I give it 8 out of 10

The second short movie involves a couple travelling cross country and recording their journey. On the way they encounter a strange hitchhiking girl that gives them the creeps and that never seems to leave them. This short movie was okay but it has some truly scary parts involving a switch blade so I felt it worked. Overall it was 6 out of 10.

The third short movie involves a foursome travelling up to a lake for some rest and relaxation. What starts off as a quiet little trip turns ominous as the woods they are in seems alive with danger. This film would have worked better if the killing was more realistic and the camera work was better. It has the odd scary moment but fails to connect with the viewer. Overall it was 4 out of 10

The fourth movie is about a couple that chats by web cam. The girl is convinced her place is haunted and her boyfriend is skeptical. The film proceeds to scare the viewer with barely seen and unexplained images that show up out of nowhere. What is cool about this film is the progression of the paranormal activity shows in the girl’s appearance. She becomes more haggard over time through lack of sleep and wonders if she is going crazy. The film frightens you by scary noises and up close blood. If the ending was better than this would have been a better watch. Overall this was 5 out of 10

The final short movie is the story of 4 friends as they travel to a Halloween party. What they find is an abandoned house and a creepy vibe. Someone has rigged the house to be haunted and the guys travel around it getting scared by random noises and props. What starts off as a good time turns against them as they realize they may not be props they are seeing. This short movie builds itself and then gets suspenseful and super frantic as they try to flee this strange house. The ending is meh but it was the second best short movie of the batch. Overall I give it 6.5 out of 10

So in conclusion this film should be checked out by people who like variety in their horror and like to be scared at frequent intervals. This film should not be watched by people who like well formed films in terms of story and characters.

I recommend this film but be warned it can be over the top in terms of blood and sexual situations.

T Factor + If you like found footage films then this could score higher on the rating scale.

T Factor – If you do not like lots of blood and guts in your horror than this could score lower on the rating scale.

If you liked this film reel recommendations: REC, Quarantine.