Quickly following up on lasts years horror anthology is V/H/S/2 a leaner and much more focused feature..
The original premise is back with some subtle twists, Two private investegators break into a house in search of a missing college student, what they find is an installation of TV’s and a collection of video tapes. This sets the stage for each short found footage installment.
Easily the scariest and most entertaining found footage film to be made to date V/H/S/2 is the funnest horror anthology since the original Creep Show. Back with an all star cast of up and coming directors, who deliver some grade A horror. The lone exception being the Slumber Party alien abduction clip with feels a bit out of place with The Alien angle.
What sets V/H/S/2 apart from all the others is the inventive ways that they have all used to incorporate the camera into the stories, a traditionally weak point in the found footage genre. From GoPro’s to film crews to doggie cams, to prosthetics there are some inventive techniques utilized.
Adam Wingard brings Phase I Clinical Trials about a man who receives an eye implant which allows him to see ghosts. A concept pulled from the Japanese film Gin Gwai
Aka the Eye but morphed into a biometric eye which works great for the genre
Eduardo Sanchez and Gregg Hales direct “A Ride in the Park” a great look at zombie attack partly from the Zombies perspective. Original and at times slyly funny stuff.
The standout of the bunch is “Safe Haven” Directed by Timo Tjahjanto and Gareth Huw Evans (Director of one of the best action movies ever made “The Raid”) about a film crew making a documentary on a cult.
Jason Eisner brings us “Slumber Party Alien Abduction” a title which pretty much sums up the story a group of kids have a slumber party when Aliens come to abduct them. While this one felt out of place with the sci fi element the dog cam was inventive.
Tying them all together is Simon Barrett’s “Tape 49″ the story of the Private investigators. A story that is hard to find faults with, it’s a great piece of glue to hold the project together.
Far superior to the First V/H/S which I quit enjoyed. V/H/S/2 is everything a sequel should be, it takes the original premise then amps up the originality, storytelling and the scares.
GRADE – 87
