Last year the interesting horror anthology was released upon the horror genre and got a mixed bag of reviews. For most horror fans they seemed to enjoy it for the most part. I personally really enjoyed it because it took the whole found footage genre and actually made it entertaining. A year later and we have a sequel which follows the same structure as the first film, but does involve new characters as well as new stories of course. Now like you would ask about any sequel is does it stand up strong next to the original or does it fall flat and is just a cash in on the success of the original? Well let's get into this autopsy and see!
V/H/S/2 follows two investigators who are hired to search for a missing student. They break into an abandoned home and stumble upon a a bunch of mysterious vhs tapes and televisions. The further they get into watching the tapes they start to realize that there is something more going on with the students disappearance. Will the couple leave the house with their sanity or will the evil within the tapes take them to the edge of sanity and push them over?! V/H/S/2 does what the first film did by having a wrap around story and a group of short horror films. There is only 4 inner stories which consists of homicidal cult leader, evil aliens, ghosts, and zombies. Each one of them serious take on some new territory as far as found footage films go.
If I had to pick my favorite segment I would have to go with the "Safe Haven". Safe Haven is about a group of reporters who go to a commune where they interview a cult leader. They each wear in spy cameras so you get more than just their handheld cameras. At one point things go insane and go in directions I really was not expecting. Each of the segments are quite well made and presented. I really like that they brought fresh ideas to each story and did not recycle anything from the previous film. I say if you enjoyed what V/H/S had to offer than I think you will enjoy what this great sequel has to offer. The other segments include wraparound "Tape 49", ghost story "Phase 1 Clinical Trials", zombie segment "A Ride In The Park", and last but not least "Slumber Party Alien Abduction".
Now I am not really going to touch on the characters because really you don't get too much of a chance to get to know the characters. Really the only ones that I did feel any bit bad for honestly was the kids who get abducted by the aliens. I think that is because the first time watching that segment I got really caught up into what they were going through and it was actually a terrifying situation they go through. Nonetheless the actors and actresses involved all dig an amazing job with their characters and really there was not one that I can say I did not think did a good job.
The presentation on this blu-ray release was really good but you must keep in mind that it was filmed with multiple types of camera that include ones that are not in HD. Some people would probably say that you don't need to get this film in HD and I would say that would not be correct. With DVD you get alot of compression issues which leads to bad picture quality added to some of the already bad picture quality. There is a combo pack that has Blu-ray, DVD, and VHS versions of the film which I think is cool. I would love to personally get the VHS copy of it just to watch it on the format it gets it's name from and it would bring back fond memories of watching VHS tapes when I was younger.
Overall this is a damn good sequel that I think stands strong next to the original and in ways it could be seen as being better. If you liked the original film then you will enjoy this sequel. If you did not like the original I say give this one a shot because you may actually enjoy it more because in ways the stories are a bit more fun.
I give V/H/S/2 5 out of 5 scalpels!
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Eduardo Sanchez, Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Huw Evans, Jason Eisener
Lead Actor/Actress:
Genre: Horror/Anthology
Blu-ray Release Year: 2013
Theatrical Release Year: 2013
Time Length: 96 mins.
Rating: R/Unrated
Region Code: A
Release Company: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Website: www.magnetreleasing.com
ADDITIONAL SCREENSHOTS:
Last year the interesting horror anthology was released upon the horror genre and got a mixed bag of reviews. For most horror fans they seemed to enjoy it for the most part. I personally really enjoyed it because it took the whole found footage genre and actually made it entertaining. A year later and we have a sequel which follows the same structure as the first film, but does involve new characters as well as new stories of course. Now like you would ask about any sequel is does it stand up strong next to the original or does it fall flat and is just a cash in on the success of the original? Well let's get into this autopsy and see!
