Melbourne Film Festival Review: V/H/S 2 (2013)
Cast: Lawrence Michael Levine, Kelsy Abbott, Adam Wingard
Country: USA | Canada | Indonesia
Genre: Horror
Official Trailer: Here
Editor’s Notes: The following review is part of our coverage of the Melbourne International Film Festival. For more information on MIFF visit http://miff.com.au/and follow the festival on Twitter at@MIFFofficial.
The concept for V/H/S (2012) was genius - an anthology horror film with alleged found footage on video cassette tapes (remember those?!) - but the execution was woeful. Despite the collection of talented writers and directors (Ti West, Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett, Jo Swanberg and more) working presumably independently, they each came up with the same repetitive, misogynistic muck. Every short had a sleazy college jock who wanted to film people having sex and a trampy young chick who wanted to get her boobs out for the camera. Instead of doing this to make some sort of comment on society, it was done to appeal to the lowest common denominator. The “characters” in each segment were deplorable, the scares almost non-existent and the wrap around story that hangs it all together lacklustre. One of the most dispiriting cinematic experiences this reviewer has ever endured.
[...] it is by no means intelligent, innovative or particularly clever film making (although compared the original it does seem like it). It is, however, a vast improvement over the rubbish that preceded it.
After aiming so low and achieving so little, the only way to go with a sequel can be up, right? With great apprehension I gave this sequel that no one asked for (especially me) a chance. Everything that was wrong in the original was thankfully ignored. The sleaze had been shafted and the misogyny given the flick. Instead of trying to win the award for the vilest characters in a film, the people behind part two focused their attention on stories that would make us cower. This is not to say that V/H/S 2 is the cinematic miracle of the century - it is by no means intelligent, innovative or particularly clever film making (although compared the original it does seem like it). It is, however, a vast improvement over the rubbish that preceded it.
The narrative frame is even less enthralling than the original - it concerns two private investigators Larry (Lawrence Michael Levine) and Ayesha (Kelsy Abott) who are looking into the disappearance of a male escort. When they enter his dark and empty home, they find and watch a stack of VHS. Between each video, creepy things occur and there are several “look out behind you” moments. The anthology shorts vary in quality. The first, Phase I Clinical Trials, is a visceral tale about a man who suddenly sees ghosts after eye surgery, which serves and appropriately eerie start full of effective jump scares. On the other end of the spectrum is the last titled Slumber Party Alien Abduction, which is the lamest as aliens invade a slumber party.
A Ride in the Park puts a spin on the familiar zombie story by charting the evolution of human into zombie when a bike rider is bitten during an outbreak and is one of the more imaginative and amusing entries. But it is Safe Haven, about a news crew reporting on a cult, that knocks it out of the park, thinking outside the box and truly intent on terrifying by going into bizarre territory that is impossible to predict. So traumatizing was this segment that in one brief moment of peace allowing the audience to catch its breath, one woman yelped “Make it stop!” I felt like yelling the same thing during the first film but for very different reasons.
But it is Safe Haven [...] that knocks it out of the park [...]. So traumatizing was this segment that in one brief moment of peace allowing the audience to catch its breath, one woman yelped “Make it stop!”
Far more enjoyable for its restraint in trying to insult its audience, scarier for its semi-realistic set ups and unnerving for its promise that it does want to freak you out, V/H/S 2 achieves where part one failed miserably. It is amazing how much fun you can have at the cinema when you do not feel like your IQ is being smashed to smithereens with a sledgehammer.
60/100 ~ OKAY. Far more enjoyable for its restraint in trying to insult its audience, scarier for its semi-realistic set ups and unnerving for its promise that it does want to freak you out, V/H/S 2 achieves where part one failed miserably.
Related Posts
Review: V/H/S/2 (2013)
V/H/S/2 begins with a private investigator team that is out on the town doing the usual deeds (filming unfaithful people, you know the fun stuff). As they’re about to call it a night when a juicy c...
Melbourne Film Festival: You’re Next (2011) - NP Approved
It has been a while since I was giddy with joy, while at the same time shaking in my boots, at the end of a really great horror film. Something that moves me to pure joy from seeing something fresh...
Review: You’re Next (2011)
Moviegoers can be forgiven for assuming that You’re Next, a blackly comic, semi-subversive home-invasion thriller directed by Adam Wingard (V/H/S 1-2, A Horrible Way to Die) and written by Simon Ba...
Review: V/H/S (2012)
The rep of horror anthologies, or should I say the balance of it, has always been a victim of the topsy-turvy. The solid thrives while others can crumble. What makes V/H/S the standout in the party...
Review: The ABCs of Death (2012)
The name of the game is experimentation, and the horror genre plays the game with oh so much glee. Seriously, you’ve got to give them props for not being afraid to try something new every once in a...
Julian Wright
Staff Film CriticI am a film reviewer and blogger from Perth, Western Australia. I fell in love with cinema at an early age when I saw my first horror film and realised the impact movies can have on a person. For me it was terrifying me into an almost catatonic state. Later it was how much they made me laugh and cry. I'll watch pretty much anything and love indulging in a good film discussion.
Latest posts by Julian Wright (see all)
