V/H/S/2 (2013) (Movie Review)
Director: Simon Barrett (segment “Tape 49″), Jason Eisener (segment “Alien Abduction Slumber Party”), Gareth Evans & Timo Tjahjanto (segment “Safe Haven”), Gregg Hale & Eduardo Sánchez (segment “A Ride in the Park”), Adam Wingard (segment “Clinical Trials”)
Starring: Kelsy Abbott, Hannah Al Rashid, Fachry Albar
Coming Soon from Magnet Releasing
Searching for a missing student, two private investigators break into his house and find collection of VHS tapes. Viewing the horrific contents of each cassette, they realize there may be dark motives behind the student’s disappearance.
I didn’t hate the original V/H/S, but I was somewhat letdown by it overall. This time around if we still look over the fact that this HD video is on VHS tapes instead of burned BDrs, we can’t help but notice that V/H/S/2 is head and shoulders above the original film. Each segment here shows a massive amount of creativity. I’m not just talking about the plots, I also mean how they find different and cool ways to get everything on footage and still make it make sense. We have bikers with camera on their helmets, we have hidden spy cams, we have dogs with camera strapped to them. It is all very creative and it all makes sense. At this point in the world of HD and Blu-rays we are just going to have to accept it for what it is and try not to think too much about the fact all this stuff is on tapes in the movie. Looking away from that you shouldn’t at all be disappointed. These directors are motivated and brings their A-game for this awesome sequel.
My only real complaint about this film is the wrap around story. While it makes more sense than the original one did it still lacks and seems a little re-hashed. Other than that we have great shorts in this movie. Adam Wingard’s tale about a robotic eye that is always recording starts things off and while it may be weakest of the bunch it still packs jump scares. From there it’s the zombie story about a bike rider riding in the park that runs across some trouble in the woods. This story reminds me of a Night of the Living Dead comic book I have read and is full of creativity. Gareth Evans and Timo Tjahjanto then give us a blood soaked segment dealing with a cult and other really creepy things. This might be the bloodiest of the bunch and has some creepy visuals that will stick with you. We round things out with perhaps the most unnerving story of the bunch by Jason Eisener. This one might not be the bloodiest, but this one is well done and has a little something extra and creative to it that might stick with you for various reasons. Again, if you get the chance to see V/H/S/2 you should see it. I feel it’s one of the year’s best.
