This collection is killer.
With the release of V/H/S 2 looming, I thought I’d take a look back at the original V/H/S to scare the bejesus out of myself. V/H/S is the story of a gang of small time criminal who are hired to steal a VHS tape from a house by a mystery employer. The only information they have on the tape is “You’ll know it when you see it.”
They break into the house to find a dead body and a shit load of tapes. They start to sift through the tapes; viewing them, they find some very fucked up home movies. From the creepy and bizarre, to down right gory these mini movies are fantastic in themselves. We get 5 stories with some great concepts:
First up, we have the tale of 3 friends out on a drunken bender. One friend wears a pair of spy glasses in the hope of catching their exploits on film. They bump into a couple of girls and get them back to a hotel room. As its about to get sexy, all hell breaks loose! This story was brilliant, a very simple concept with a great pay off. Excellent effects and some really tense moments.
Next up, we follow a young married couple on their holiday road trip. Everything is peachy until a stranger knocks on their motel door to ask for a ride. This story is very entertaining and very believable. I think that why it freaked me out!
Third, we have a story about 4 teens going for a trip in to the woods. A tried and tested formula that I was worried was going to be just like all the other teen slashers out there. Well, it kind of is, although there are some very cool effects, plus it features Jason Yachanin, one of my favorite Troma actors! I didn’t find this story as entertaining as the others, despite the acting being very good.
Next we have a tale of a couple in a long distance relationship and their communication via webcam. She believes her new apartment is haunted and decides to investigate. The concept and way it is shot is fantastic, just the view of the computer screen showing the chat windows. I really enjoyed this section and it was creepy as fuck! This story is definitely more ‘out there’ than the others, and very, very cool!
Lastly, we have a story where a group of friends are headed a Halloween party. The reason for them even having a video camera with them is well thought out; one of the friends is attending the party as a nanny cam. Very awesome, and possibly my next Halloween costume! They arrive at the house and find it to be completely empty. Or is it…? This story is excellent, a great way to cap off V/H/S. Really chilling and super freaky. Again, the setting and characters are believable and it has some seriously cool effects.
Before I had a chance to watch V/H/S, I thought it was going to be another Blair Witch Project rip off, but I was pleasantly surprised. The only thing I didn’t enjoy so much is the story that ties the movies together. Although well done, I didn’t care either way about the characters. It just felt like filler if I’m honest. If you’re not into ‘Cam films’ I’d give it a miss, but if you like your horror freaky and bloody, then it’s worth a watch.
