Review of V/H/S/2 (2013) by Terry H — 16 Nov 2013

I haven't seen VHS, but I rented this one because I had a free rental. I do separate reviews for each short film:

Phase 1 Clinical Trials: A man with an eye implant sees ghosts, and a strange woman tries to help him stop them from strengthening their presence.

The first short film is decent. Its an intriguing concept, except the ghosts themselves are not exactly that scary. The sex scene was pretty funny and the climax was good, I give it a 3/5 out of 5.

A Ride in the Park: Trying out his new helmet cam, a bike rider is accosted and turned into a zombie, and crashed a birthday party.

I rather enjoyed this segment, it had just enough emotion, gore, and action to be highly entertaining. I liked how even with its short length, it had a definite and solid end. 4/5.

Safe Haven: A group of documentary filmmakers with additional hidden cameras are trying to get the scoop at a creepy and isolated commune, when the leader goes berserk and summons a demon.

This is easily the best of the four. Gareth Evans (The Raid) is able to quickly introduce all the needed elements into an atmospheric and creepy chiller that recalls Rosemary's Baby. Its creepy, violent, gory, and simply incredible. My only complaint is that when the demon is born, the prop for the woman looks really fake. 5/5.

Slumber Party Alien Abduction: A group of kids playing pranks and filming each other are attacked by long armed aliens, and that's it.

This one left a bad taste in your mouth since the last short film was so incredible. The aliens themselves look pretty cool, but the film is not very tense or scary as it could have been. They should have this one play before Safe Haven, because this one pales in comparison. 2/5.

The encompassing plot of the two investigators looking for the missing student is the worst story. 1/5, since it really doesn't make any real sense (the kid survives? he's not a ghost? wtf?).

Overall, VHS 2 is a very well done anthology horror film with some genuine scary short film ideas. This is due to the solid direction and cool concepts, and the great gore.