Halloween Horror Movie Marathon: Film #2

So much for getting a head start.  Well, it's October now and I'd hoped to be a few Halloween movie suggestions into this by now.  But that lovely flu-like bug I had last week altered my plans.  On the plus side, I watched several movies while lying on the couch all week.  On the not-a-plus side, I didn't feel like writing about them.  

But oh well.  Such is life.  On with the show.

There seems to be very little middle ground when it comes to the "found-footage" style of horror film.  There's lots of love and lots of hate, but very little "ehh, they're ok."  And then there are those that refuse to see them not because of any dislike towards the found-footage style, but because the shaky-cam that inevitable comes with those films makes them nauseous.  And if it's allergy season, count me in that last group.  Sinus pressure equals headaches, and that plus shaky-cam makes Chuck a sick boy.  Seeing one in a theater, where the screen takes up your entire field of vision only makes matters worse.  I remember seeing "The Blair Witch Project" in the theater and, though I never hurled, I did need to take a long nap afterwards.

Outside of allergy season, though, I've got no issues with found-footage films if they are well made with a compelling story.  Style is just a tool for telling your story effectively.  If you've got a good reason for choosing a particular shooting style and it suits the story, then what's the issue?  If, however, a filmmaker thinks they'll shoot a found-footage film because it's "easier and cheaper" than doing it the traditional way, then fuck 'em because the end result will most likely be an insulting piece of shit.  I've definitely seen a few of those.

That whole preamble sets us up for today's film, "V/H/S".  This one is a new release, so new in fact that it hasn't even hit theaters yet, but will very soon.  It is currently available OnDemand on Amazon and DirecTV (which is how I saw it), and probably most other cable providers that offer an OnDemand option.  At $9.99 for a pre-theatrical rental, it's a pretty good bargain.

But what is it and should you bother?

"V/H/S" is an anthology film made up of five short films plus the wrap-around story tying them all together, albeit loosely, and all shot as "found-footage" films.  As with all anthologies, there are stronger and weaker segments to the film.  Never have I seen an anthology where every piece worked perfectly and equally, and that's certainly not the case here.  What they all are, though, are solid, well conceived stories that delivery plenty of creepiness and a fair bit of gore, so there is plenty here for the horror movie fan to like.  This really would make for an excellent Halloween movie watching experience, especially with a few friends over because everyone will likely have their own favorite as the segments each offer a different tone and are trying to achieve different goals within the found-footage framework.  Mine, hands down, was the segment directed by David Bruckner ("The Signal").  More than the slamming doors and "oww, did you see that in the corner of the screen!" stuff you get from something like "Paranormal Activity," this segment was downright ghoulish, with an excellent monster right there in your face.  Unfortunately, it's also the first segment in the film (after the wrap-around segment setup, that is), which made the rest of the film slightly disappointing to me as nothing else that followed lived up to the completely screwed up nature of that first story.  Things never got boring, mind you, and I also really dug the final segment directed by a group calling themselves Radio Silence.  But the stories in between those two really never achieve better than just "okay," with one actually being a disappointment (surprisingly it's the segment directed by Ti West, probably the most accomplished of the directors involved).

So final word; yes, definitely would recommend for Halloween viewing.  Fun, creepy, nasty and lots of other horror film related adjectives.  Two warnings; this is a hard R-rated film, so don't watch with the kids, and lastly, despite a lot of hyperbole from some reviewers who saw this film at Sundance and other festival screenings, it really doesn't break any new ground in the realm of found-footage films, so if you already don't like that type film, this one isn't likely to change your mind.  Otherwise, have fun!