VHS 2 - Review

I remember when V/H/S came out last year and quite enjoyed it, but it was really just another found footage flick to toss on the rapidly growing pile. Now I happen to really like this genre, especially the anthology or short story horror collections, but you have to agree that it's an oversaturated market. I would also say that I held no true hope for a V/H/S sequel because lets face it. When was the last time a low budget sequel was actually any good? This film proved me wrong and also proved that a follow up can be made that surpasses expectation, but V/H/S/2 blew it's predecessor clean out of the water! This was a hell of a good anthology in almost every way one can think of.

It covered a wide array of horror, from zombie to ghosts and even monster, but the addition of aliens was a nice touch. Each of the four segments were excellent as was the fifth at the start and end of this anthology. It began when a pair of detectives come across a large collection of VHS tapes, while looking for a missing person. They begin to review the tapes and come across some horrific material which causes one of them to bleed. This segment is titled "Tape 49".

The first tape viewed is "Phase 1 Clinical Trials" and involves a man being fitted with a replacement eye that causes him to see ghosts. The second, "A Ride in the Park" is a classic zombie flick with some amazingly gross intestine eating scenes. The third was "Safe Haven", an Indonesian horror with some of the best head shots I've ever seen, and last but most definitely not least was "Slumber Party Alien Abduction", with its self explanatory title we see aliens busting in on a slumber party. The final tie up story was also very good, as the detectives come in to some of their own trouble and once again a gun is used to cause considerable damage to a head.

My favourite was the Indonesian horror "Safe Haven" because director Timo Tjahjanto created an interesting story but the realistic gun shots (there were a few) were spectacular, and the combination was amazing. The entire film was a genuine pleasure to watch and this is a sequel I can't recommend any higher. Watch it, or suffer the consequence!