31 Days of Halloween (Day 25) - V/H/S/2 (2013)

When I saw V/H/S (2012) earlier this year, I wasn't impressed. The film had gotten a lot of good buzz when it came out, but the various stories - both films are found-footage anthologies - ranged from mildly interesting to mind-numbingly dull. None of the characters presented were sympathetic or even relatable. On top of this were the normal "found-footage" issues, in particular, the poor quality of the cinematography. While not a disaster, it is not worth a second viewing.

While checking out Netflix last night, I noticed the sequel and decided to give it a shot. I was ready to be underwhelmed again. I was happily surprised that this installment is much better in all respects.

V/H/S/2 is made up of five stories. The first story "Tape 49", is also the wrap-around device. A pair of private detectives are hired to discover the whereabouts of a missing college students. They go to his home and find that there are TVs and videotapes scattered around, as well as a laptop. The other stories are videotapes that the detectives watch.

"Phase I Clinical Trials" follows a man who has had an experimental artificial eye implanted, one which records what he is seeing. And what he sees are some very unhappy ghosts. "A Ride In The Park" takes place on the first day of a zombie apocalypse, as a biker with Go Pro camera is bitten, turns into an undead gut muncher and then things get worse. "Safe Haven" is set in a cult's compound in Indonesia. A camera crew is going in to conduct an interview and do a little covert filming using disguised cameras. What follows is bug-nuts insane, incredibly gory and pretty amazing. Finally, "Slumber Party Alien Abduction" is about...while aliens abducting people during a slumber party.

Even zombies understand basic bike safety.

The weakest story is probably the wrap-around. It does its job - provide an excuse for the other segments - but the ending doesn't make much sense. I was watching this with my Horror Movie Baby. Her response "what was that all about" pretty much sums it up. "Phase I" has issues as well, mostly due to the unimpressive ghost make-up (think Carnival of Lost Souls) and the flat acting by the lead, Adam Wingard, who also directed this segment. "Ride" is much better, with some intense gore and an ending that was funny, gruesome and sad. However, if you have a problem with seeing fake intestines in extreme close-up (since the camera is mounted on the helmet of the zombie-biker) you may want to close your eyes at certain points. "Safe Haven" is the best segment, with extreme gore, some uncertainty about which characters - if any - will survive, a pretty awesome monster, and a lot of creativity and disturbing images packed into about 20 minutes. As a bonus, much of the dialogue is in Indonesian, which makes it a good learning tool for me, since I'm currently studying the language. So, that makes it edutainment. Finally, "Slumber Party" is fun, if predictable. It does have some nice alien costumes - a variation on the classic Grey - and the extensive use of a doggy cam! I did find that the sound was a problem, with some of the dialogue lost.

Overall, everything about V/H/S/2 improves on the original. The acting is better and the stories are more original and imaginative. The reduction in the number of stories (from 6 to 5) gives more time to develop each one. The shaky-cam, a drawback of many found-footage films, does get to be a bit much at times, particularly during "Slumber Party." That said, the direction, particularly Eduardo Sánchez and Gregg Hale who co-directed "Ride," is uniformly good, with a number of memorable images and the clever use of format conventions - "natural" lighting, lack of focus at times on the action - to effectively cover budget constraints. Unlike the original, this is a movie I'll be watching again. Check it out.