Warning: Red Band NSFW Trailer Above!
Go ahead… watch those tapes. Do it.
Maybe you’ve heard about V/H/S but you didn’t think it would be your kinda of picture. Maybe you read the mixed reviews and didn’t think it would be worth your time. Or maybe you’re just sick to death of found-footage/shaky-cam horror and passed for that reason.
Whatever the case, you did yourself a serious disservice. This is a movie you really want to see – trust me.
No, this isn’t The Strangers. But it is almost as scary.
V/H/S is an anthology film – 5 tales interwoven around a 6th, which tells the story of some serious scumbags who get tasked with robbing a single VHS tape from a supposedly abandoned home. Of course each of the jerks end up watching one of the tapes, and of course they meet their doom after doing so. This wrap-around arc (titled “Tape 51″, directed by A Horrible Way to Die‘s Adam Wingard ) is the weakest of the bunch (and the most nausea-inducing, especially in the first several moments) – but it still manages to grab and upset you, despite its many flaws.
One story is told entirely via web-cam.
The rest of them are pretty damn terrific – each directed by a recent indie darling, and each finding something fresh and exciting in the already-boring “found footage” subgenre. The best of them (David Bruckner‘s “Amateur Night” and Glenn McQuaid‘s “Tuesday the 17th”) are twisty, inventive, shockingly gory, and either deeply unsettling – or exciting as all get-out. Don’t know who these guys are? Well, Bruckner made 2007′s festival darling The Signal, and McQuaid is responsible for the fun I Sell the Dead. If that’s not enough talent for you, the other also-excellent stories are directed by none other than current horror It-Director Ti West, and mumblecore/indie-horror stalwart Joe Swanberg. There’s also an inventive final story, directed by the team known as “Radio Silence” – and while their story (in my opinion) lacked the same level of story-telling as the others – the striking F/X and tension they manage to muster is just as impressive.
I sincerely hope she never LIKES you.
What kind of stories are you in for? If the red band trailer above gives you the impression this will be a misogynist, women-hating affair – guess again. There are twists a-plenty here, and most are so well-told you might not even see them coming – and none involve a last-minute reveal of fakery or trickery. Except for one – every single tale in V/H/S involves a healthy dose of the supernatural toying with people who may or may not deserve it. If you like ghosts, vampires, invisible (sort-of) slashers, gore, body-horror, exorcisms, or just plain well-told mini-stories – you should check this sucker out as soon as possible.
Did I mention the gore? Holy poop… the GORE.
V/H/S is one of those movies that will probably stay with you a little while after you watch it. And for this horror buff, there’s no higher accolade to give. Give it a chance – and trust me one last time when I say… if you can make it through the first 5-10 minutes of shaky-cam insanity of this 115-minute movie… you will be well-rewarded.
V/H/S is available on most cable provider’s On-Demand networks, as well as the PlayStation Store, and Amazon Instant Video (see link below).
