V/H/S/2

V/H/S 2 manages to fix the faults of the first. It's shorter and takes the grungy, exploitative snuff film tone of V/H/S and adds more excitement and humor. The quality of the shorts this time around are much more consistent, but they are still a mixed bag. The first short "Phase I: Clinical Trials" is average at best, but it mixed in a bit of humor which I liked. "A Ride in the Park" was fantastic and incredibly unique in it's use of the first person POV. It was my favorite of the four segments. "Safe Haven" is a close second with countless WTF moments. I would have loved a feature length version of this one. The weakest entry was the last, "Slumber Party Alien Abduction". It ineffectively used loud noises and bright lights to generate scares and it just didn't work for me. The wrap around story "Tape 49" was good, but I liked the ambiguity of the first films "Tape 56" better. V/H/S 2 added fun to the series and I hope these films continue.

V/H/S/ 2 is a modern-day horror anthology featuring eclectic talent from the directors of THE RAID and YOU'RE NEXT amongst others. As with many modern horror anthologies, the emphasis is on outright blood and gore over scares, although there are attempts here to frighten as well as repulse the viewer. There are four tales in all, as well as a mildly diverting wraparound story involving a creepy old house and a VHS collection. Most of the material is shot POV style, which I enjoyed as a fan of the 'found footage' genre.

The first tale is a simple riff on THE EYE, as a guy gets a new-fangled optic implant that restores his sight but has the unwanted side effect of allowing him to see spirits at the same time. I love the introduction of the deaf girl with her own twist and this is by far the scariest of the film, with some really jumpy moments. It's all predictable, but that's okay.

The second tale is about a cyclist with a Go Pro camera mounted on his helmet. His trip through the woods is interrupted by a zombie attack, and what we get here is unending gore and bloodshed, some of the most gruesome you'll see. It's all pretty distasteful actually, and more than a little pointless.

The third story is the Indonesian one, contributed by THE RAID director Gareth Evans; as a huge fan of his films, it was the one I was most looking forward to. Evans doesn't disappoint; this is as intense as his action films, and the madcap plot line involves a doomsday cult and the birth of the Antichrist. It's exceptionally gory, delightfully obscure, and without a doubt the highlight of the whole thing.

The fourth and final story is weak by comparison. It tells of an attack by extraterrestrials on a group of redneck characters, who are all really dumb, but there's way too much of the shaky cam here and little real meat to the storyline. The dog is the most interesting character and you can guess what happens to that. V/H/S/ 2 isn't bad at all for fans of gory horror, but aside from the Indonesian segment it's all rather familiar.

V/H/S/2 (2013)

*** (out of 4)

Gory sequel to the 2012 film has a pair of investigators breaking into an apartment where they find an assortment of videotapes. The first story involves a man who receives a mechanical eye transplant that soon allows him to see dead people. The second story has a biker with a camera on his helmet getting bit by a zombie and soon he turns into one. The third story takes place at a strange cult school where the leader is being interviewed when "it" happens. The fourth and final story deals with a group of boys who keep playing a prank on one's sister when something joins them. I enjoyed the first film in the series and this one here is actually a tad bit stronger thanks in large part to the first two stories. The majority of the camera work comes from the camera being placed on people head's and I must admit that this gave me a headache at times but I will give the filmmakers credit as this did allow some familiar stories to be told in new ways. This is especially true for the second story when we get the POV shots from the zombie as he goes searching for people to eat. This was a rather unique spin on the genre and it really worked. The first story was also quite good, although this mechanical eye thing left some logical issues. Still, the episode is a good one and features some nice ideas. The fourth episode is one I won't ruin but there's a nice little twist along the way and I think it manages to be quite ambitious. The third film is without question the weakest but it does contain some very twisted scenes and a high level of gore. V/H/S/2 has the same look of the first film as the quality is quite different from one story to the next but this gives the film its own unique feel. Fans of gore will also enjoy that there's plenty of that going on here and especially in the third story, which is a downright bloodbath and even the second one contains a lot of the red stuff. For the most part the performances were just fine and at 95-minutes the film goes by fairly quickly. V/H/S/2 is a nice little gem that has a few flaws but for the most part it works well and I look forward to future installments.

I liked the original and this one surprised me. While not every story was top notch one stands out as original and had great direction.

Tape 1-Phase 1 Clinical Trials, This was a decent Ghost Story but was not very memorable. Did have a few scares and was fun to watch.6/10

Tape 2-A Ride In The Park, This one was fun and creative. Wasn't scary but I did like the set up and actually seeing the perspective of a Zombie was real cool. It has a lot of gore and while I don't really like zombies this one was nice to watch. 7/10.

Tape 3-Safe Haven, This is the best out of the bunch. Details an investigative team going into a religious cult and the outcome is insane and over the top. Has the best pacing and while there aren't many jump scares, it really manages to creep you out the whole time through. Also it is directed by the Mo Brothers who also did the ABC's Of Death letter L which was one of the best on that horror movie and did Macabre which I will link my review to that movie in the end. 9/10

Tape 4-Alien Abduction, Most people consider this the weakest of the bunch but Tape 1 was the weakest in my opinion. This has a nice set up and the effects are good for a short. Wasn't creepy like Safe Haven but it kept me interested in till the end. 8/10

Tape 49- The main story about two private investigators watching the tapes in a house where their looking for a kid from the first VHS. It was OK and while not the best story, it did give us a reason for watching the tapes which is nice. 6/10

Overall this movie gets a 7/10. Safe Haven was great and I never knew it was by the Mo Brothers in till I watched Macabre. That was great knowing that. My link to Macabre and my review. http://imdb.com/title/tt1447791/reviews-16

Check out my review for that movie as it is my surprise of the year for 2013. If you liked the first VHS then you will like this one. I find this one to be a little better and more creative. Not sure if they will do a third one but I would be open to it.

There is one amazing segment of VHS 2 that has to do with a Cult. It is frenetic, gory, has a great story and makes the most of the "found footage" format. If the rest of the film had lived up to this one sequence, we would have had something special. It's better than Part One in most aspects, though I did like a few moments in that film.

Timo Tjahjanto really blew me away - his segment is imaginative and has some real shocks crammed into it's short running time. Some of the camera work is a bit too shaky as people run around, but I was able to get around that due to the intensity of the story. Out of the remaining short films, we get a return to full on Shaky Cam with Edwardo Sanchez (Blair Witch Project). Truthfully, Edwardo has ALWAYS got to shake the camera like he's in a runaway car or something. He seems to think this is a STYLE. I must argue the point. True artists do not need to shake a camera like a fool to get an image to move someone. Argento, Carpenter, Bava. Masters of the art. Dean Cundy would never run around like a fool, shaking his camera at every object he can find, disregarding the basic rules of directing at will, and no real professional should allow camera-work like this. What an artistic stretch for Edwardo. Next time just throw the damned thing on the ground and drag it around with a rope.

There are a few other sparks. Jason Eisener makes the most of his segment by having some real fun with it and throwing in an Alien Invasion that is both scary and funny. And I really enjoyed the basic idea and most of the execution of Adam Wingard's segment. Still, too damned much shaking here.

I am not sure I understand it really - why so much shaking in these "Found Footage" atrocities? I mean, the old camcorder videos that my family made at Holidays and on Vacation never looked like this. Grandpa tried to keep the camera still. I never actually have seen a home movie like these. Not even on old Super 8. Have you? Eyestrain central. For part 3, maybe they can just go to an old amusement park and give us a POV of the rides or jump out of a plane while filming. At least there'll be a legitimate reason for it being so damned shaky. I think I'd rather watch "HI-8" again.