V/H/S 2

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 want to start off by saying that V/H/S 2 is a huge step up from its predecessor. It delivers more chills, thrills, action, and what we enjoy most...FUN! I was completely thrown off when I first watched this movie. I didn't know it was going to be so insane. ~For the people who haven't seen the first V/H/S, basically the movies are about a bunch of 'found-footage' short horror stories played through VHS tapes by people in a house. While they are watching these VHS tapes, something spooky is also going on in the house as well that stretches through the whole movie giving you updates on what's happening in the between changing of tapes. Now let's get to the tapes which is the main focus of this film. I won't give super spoilers, but i'll just give brief description of each tape.

TAPE 1 - "Phase 1 Clinical Trials" This ghost story tape is the only one that made me jump a bunch of times. It will be the jump scare tape and that's what it heavily focuses on in scaring you. I enjoyed it for it's jump scares, but there is a questionable scene in there that doesn't make any sense, but luckily, I, a horror movie fanatic, knows that you aren't suppose to take horror movies that seriously or think SUPER deep about it. This one gets a... 8/10 (generous)

TAPE 2 - "A Ride in the Park" Ever wanted to see through the eyes of a zombie? Well this is your lucky short. This is a pretty cool zombie short. It could have been just a little bit better, but it is still pretty good thanks to a few awesome scenes in it. This one gets a... 7/10

TAPE 3 - "Safe Haven" This insane short is definitely the best out of the bunch. It is completely insane, bizarre, violent, and fun at the same time. Easily the most craziest, but enjoyable short I have ever experienced. If you see this film, make sure you watch this tape. It's long, but the crazy ending is worth it. This one gets a... 9.5/10

TAPE 4 - "Slumber Party Alien Abduction" Well, the title of the tape speaks for itself. This short gets pretty fun and intense, but the most noticeable aspect about this tape, is the unique way that it's filmed. The camera is actually attached to the back of a dog, so we see what the dog sees and I had to give a big thumbs up for that. It's pretty creative and actually works out well enough. This tape will have you wondering what the f**k is going on but keep you thoroughly entertained. This one gets a... 8/10

Wrap Around Tape/Frame Narrative - "Tape 49" As I said before, this is the story that plays on while the tapes are being watched. Two private investigators are searching for a missing college boy. They break into his house, search for him a little, then start to watch the tapes (which are the horror shorts) that he has. This story had a pretty clever twist in it that leads up to it's ending (which ends the whole film). This one gets a... 7/10

OVERALL - 8/10. It's fun, has some scares, is over-the-top violent and insane, and a lot better than the first one. V/H/S 1 fans will LOVE V/H/S 2 and horror fans will love this as well.

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 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.

I believe V/H/S built high expectations for the next movies. Seems like V/H/S/2 let some of us down...

If you are a gore fan, this movie is good for you.

If you are an alien, zombie fan, this movie is good for you.

What I found rather terrible is the agressive shaking of the camera, which really makes the phrase "More is not better" true. It gave me a headache trying to figure out some scenes.

Certainly V/H/S/2 is more gore-y visually than V/H/S and uses a variety of themes. But this movie was very generic with it's themes. My favorite one had to be the one with the cult, it seemed much more uncommon.

Now, I am not saying that this is a time-wasting movie..Not an remarkable one though, either. I expect more from the next movies.