V/H/S (2012) Review

V/H/S (2012)

116 minutes

This was the second film put on by the guys at Grimmfest recently (April 2013) . And I was really looking forward to this, I had heard great things and dreadful things in equal measure so I was wondering which side of the fence I would fall on.

So this is a collection of 6 *found footage* films all under the one umbrella , and each segment is directed by some of the best up and coming indie horror filmmakers like Ti West (House of the Devil) , Adam Wingard (A Horrible Way to Die) , Glenn McQuaid (Stakeland) and more.

The film starts with Tape 56 (Adam Wingard) which is the wraparound feature that which all the other stories interlock with. A group of guys are paid to break into a house and steal a videotape , when they arrive there they find a man dead in a chair in front of a bank of TV’s and surrounded by many videos , so in order to find the right video they start to watch some individually. And the other five stories are the ones they watch.

Amateur Night (David Bruckner) has three guys going on a night out. One of the guys is wearing a pair of spy like video glasses that record everything he sees. They meet two women and take them back to a motel room.

This is probably the strongest of the collection and has some truly disturbing moments and fantastic imagery.

Second Honeymoon (Ti West) features a young married couple documenting a roadtrip with a handheld cam. We see them in various locations (I think) around the Grand Canyon area. In the evening there is a knock at their motel door , when the husbands answers he sees a woman in the parking lot pacing. From then on their vacation takes some real dark turns along the way.

Next is Tuesday the 17th (Glenn McQuaid) where a young woman invites three friends to secluded spot in the woods. Each friend has been invited under a false pretence, but why?

The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger (Joe Swanberg) features a man and woman talking on Skype. She has just moved into a new apartment while he is out of town. They have various discussions where she reveals her flat may well be haunted by the ghost of a child. She tries to contact the spirit while her boyfriend can only look on helplessly.

Finally its 10/31/98 (Radio Silence) where four friends in poor Halloween costumes set off for a party , but instead find themselves at the wrong location trapped in a demonic house.

This anthology is a superb shot in the arm for the *found footage* genre which has got considerably lamer over the last few years. All the stories are completely individual but are all tied in with the great Tape 56 feature.

It is an excellent showcase of some of the best indie horror filmmakers , and will shock you and surprise you in equal measure.

I cannot recommend this highly enough , and I think this was much the better for being seen in a lovely old building with likeminded individuals on a big screen.

Well worth tracking down 8/10