This is probably the scariest tale with some very disturbing imagery. The first is the story about a couple of girls picked up from a bar and recorded secretly on camera glasses. ![]() Once in he house they find a huge collection of videos, each one showing a different tale of horror. V/H/S sees a gang of guys break into a house in order to steal a video cassette for blackmailing purposes. I was amazed to find that for the most part they were met. The two joining together for V/H/S was a very exciting idea and gave me very lofty expectations. I also love horror anthologies withe some of my favourite TV shows being The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and Tales From The Darkside. I love found-footage films, especially when they are done well. It's genuinely unsettling quite often and the anthology format means that no idea overstays its welcome. Overall, I have to say that this is a rather fine example of a recent horror film. The combination with both styles of horror is very successful. But it's the mysterious moments that create the genuine tension, such as sinister figures seen briefly on camera, strange sounds and general weird goings on. From the former there are several scenes of blood and guts including a beheading by knife and some disembowellings. There's a skillful combination of visceral and suggested horror. I won't reveal many details of the contents but, amongst other things, there is a vampire, malevolent ghosts, a supernatural serial killer, a house invader and a weird ritual. The different stories are basically disturbing in the way that the best found footage flicks are, in that we are literally put right into the shoes of these people and their terror transmits more easily. Each and every one delivers the goods in this respect and that's half the battle when it comes to horror flicks. While some of the segments are better than others, where this one scores is that even the weaker stories contain some very scary moments. ![]() It's an anthology movie, made up of a selection of short stories based around a series of videotapes found by burglars at a scary house. Perhaps at the root of the film's success is its structural format. Well, rest assured, there's nothing to worry about as this is an excellent example of the sub-genre. Some folks might be a little deterred from seeing V/H/S when they learn it's a found footage movie. So as with any other anthology horror, you roll the dice and take your chance, just don't expect genius in every story, for that is purely folly of expectation. However, if you ask another fan of the film what stories they feel standout, you may just get two different answers. The former is a cautionary tale of frat boys out for sex who get more than they bargained for when they take home the mysterious Lily, the latter an eerie tale unfolded via Skype communication as Emily appears to be a victim of a haunting whilst chatting to her doctor boyfriend. It's a format loved by many for its supposed realism factors, I don't get that myself, but for those people this really is up their trees! Amateur Night (David Bruckner) and The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger (Joe Swanberg) are the standouts. Not everyone is a fan (myself for instance), and much of V/H/S is dizzying and often hard to follow, especially as regards the Tape 56/frame narrative story that cloaks the other five stories as a bunch of no-mark young crims burgle a grotty house and sift through the tapes. The usual problems are evident here, a couple of great stories are surrounded by mediocre ones, but at least there is something for everyone, with most bases covered, but that in itself is a problem, all horror fans have preferences, it's a big ask to expect a fan of stalk and slash to love a story about a winged harpy! Then there is the issue of the found footage format, here recorded on actual VHS. This will come as no surprise to anyone who knows their horror anthology onions. Six indie directors have produced a picture that was well received at Sundance but has proved to be most divisive with critics and horror fans on internet forums. V/H/S brings the format into the new age by unfolding its tales by wrapping around the latest craze of found footage. ![]() The horror anthology has a chequered history, some are bad but saved by one great segment, others boast a couple of genuine creepers but are undone by one instalment so bad it tarnishes the film forever.
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