Review of V/H/S/2 (2013) by Andy N — 03 Nov 2013

V/H/S 2 is a pretty good sequel(?) to the roller coaster that was the first V/H/S film. This one centers around two detectives hired to find a missing college student. As per the V/H/S anthology set up, it revolves around a place that's boarded up and dark, but full of televisions all on and turned to static with a boat load of VHS tapes lying around. This time around there's a bit more to the mythos created about the VHS, but more on that in a second.

The first short film is "Phase 1 Clinical Trials." In this short a man gets a cybernetic eye implant and begins to see ghosts. It's a pretty dull start with acting that even Syfy would be ashamed to air. A few of the jump scares got me, but to kick things off, this was not a good choice.

The second short film is "A Ride in the Park," and this short film is fantastic. It's about a guy who goes bike riding in the woods, gets turned into a zombie, and then from there on out it's kind of a comedy, kind of a depressing story, etc. If this was the only good short in this anthology I'd still say to rent it just to see this short. I can't stress enough how much fun it is.

The third short film is my favorite and it's called, "Safe Haven." This is the WTF short of the bunch and it is f*ing creepy. Just when you think they're not going to go there...oh...they go there. It centers around an Asian documentary team that heads to a commune to interview a religious leader. I'm just going to stop it there, because you're not going to guess where this one heads. It's my favorite short film of the bunch and between this and "A Ride in the Park," V/H/S 2 an extremely high recommendation.

Last, but not least, is "Slumber Party Alien Abduction." Flashing lights. Loud noises. If you hate aliens then you'll probably be scared. If you've never seen a horror film, you might be scared. Otherwise...it's really a terrible short to end the film on. I was quite surprised this even made the cut. I would have rather seen the continuing adventures of some of the monsters from the first film like the crazy winged, bat lady thing or the killer who cuts in and out of our time and space or heck, maybe even more from the doctor of ghosts. Either way, not a good short to end on.

Overall, V/H/S 2 is extremely worth your time only for the shorts that are in the middle of the film. Other than that, the rest is all easily thrown away. The mythos(?) if it can be called that is added upon in this film and it's still extremely vague on what is actually happening. I think Paranormal Activity was quicker to the draw on revealing plot, etc. It's interesting to know that there is something to watching the tapes, but as to what and why someone would do it--I'm not quite sure. Which is when people say, "Shut up Andy. They watch the tapes because if they didn't, there wouldn't be a movie.".