V/H/S

5.3

All anthology films live or die by the quality of their individual stories. V/H/S ends up being a mixed bag. Out of the 6 stories, one is fantastic, one is pretty good, and the rest is some of the worst storytelling put to film (or video). Let me preface by confessing my love for the terrible look of analog video. It's nowhere near HD and barely SD, but nothing else does a better job with putting the viewer in a convincing reality. This may be attributed to a generational trait that links the format with home video. In my opinion, the use of the medium in a horror film could assist the filmmakers in bringing the audience into the world of the movie, heightening the tension. This is why The Blair Witch Project was a box-office smash. Or so I thought.

The 1999 cult hit, The Blair Witch Project's success is not only due to its engaging cinéma vérité style, but also by a well-told story and believable characters. The majority of V/H/S is filled with weak drama and characters that are so ill-developed it makes watching a chore. Each end with "shocking" finales that come out of nowhere and are not supported by anything prior. The film ends up getting very little right. In fact, the film's trademark VHS style is even abandoned after the first 10 minutes. The remaining stories are captured by the characters digitally. The explanations for the camera's presence vary from story to story and for the most part, are extremely weak.

When the characters aren't believably scared out of their wits, the acting varies from pretty good to horrendous. The first story, "Amateur Night" is too long and marred by weak, cliched characters. When things finally get interesting, the action really picks up and the film becomes not only bearable but actually entertaining. The shock ending is one of the highlights of the entire ordeal, only to be followed by an hour of garbage. A few solid jump scares are scattered throughout the muck. One very disturbing voyeur thrill is to be had. Now, I like gore as much as the next horror fan but a lot of the (albeit technically impressive) effects are complete overkill. The real treasure of the bunch isn't unearthed until the final 20 minutes of the film.

"10/31/98" begins weakly enough with the main character explaining to his friends that the camera he's wearing is part of his costume. Mercifully, things are all uphill from here and the story builds to a terrifying climax. After the expected (and effective) jump scares heighten the danger, the film kicks into over-drive and the remaining 10 minutes are legitimately terrifying. And for the first time in the film's bloated 2 hour runtime, the cinéma vérité style heightens the tension and makes the film scarier. The whole ordeal concludes with one of the best last scares in recent horror history. My advice: stick to the first and last bits and avoid an 80 minute headache.