Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘V/H/S’

Written by Scott Edwards and John Edward Betancourt

​Scott's Review
What would you do to make a couple of extra dollars? I know there are times we need the money, but it is not usually the greatest feeling earning it. Taking a second job, no matter how nice it could be, you are still working your full forty hours at one location, then have to head off to another for another twenty plus. It does not seem like a lot of fun and all of your personal time goes down the drain, but hey, you did make a couple extra bucks, so you have accomplished what you wanted. Now the tricky part is to find time to go out and spend it.

A group of misfits that have been making internet movies showing them wreaking havoc around town have just gotten a new type of job offer. It seems simple enough as they look it over; break into a house and relieve it of a special VHS tape. There is nothing to it, so the group jumps at the opportunity and gets to the house as soon as possible. With the promise of a large payoff and more work, they will do anything to make it happen. When they get into the house however, they find it relatively empty and the owner dead in his recliner. Searching the house for the tape they need to take, every member is astonished to see the images coming out of the VCR when they pop in a tape and hit play.

As the tape starts to play, a strange story about a group that is out looking to make a voyeur movie comes to light. As one member of the group meets a young woman that really likes him, he is too slow and loses her to his good friend that that just looking for a little bit of love. But what they do not know is that she is looking for a little bit of love as well and goes straight for the heart, literally. A second tape is inserted and plays showing a young couple on their second honeymoon that are very much in love. When a fortune teller machine beckons the wife to come and get her future told, she finds out that an old love will be coming to her soon and instead of fighting it, she should embrace it, and she does.

As members of the gang keep searching the house for the tape they are looking for, each member finds themselves in front of the dead man’s television, watching something very strange. A third tape is inserted, and a story comes to life about a young woman that is taking her friends on a quick trip up to the lake for a great time. It turns out that she is hunting for someone that she blames for taking her youth away but needed bait. Another tape is watched that shows a great internet relationship as both parties are waiting to be with one another. But the young woman has a sorted past and thinks that it is catching up with her as strange sounds start going on around her apartment. Thinking that it is haunted, she is unsure what to do and implores her boyfriend to be her eyes as she goes ghost hunting, over the webcam. But what she does not know is that there is a more childish game afoot, one that will cause her great harm.

A fifth tape is played and takes a turn for the worse. As a group of friends are looking for a party on Halloween but seem to get turned around. Finding the desired house, or so they think, they are not able to find anyone around. The house is practically empty, but that does not deter the men from looking around. As lights seem to turn on and off on their own, doors open and close, and hands come out of a wall, they think it is the greatest haunted house ever and will make for a great party. As they continue to search the house, they hear voices coming from upstairs and go to investigate. What they see next, they believe is a prank and play along, but what they don’t know is that they have entered a realm that is darker than they will ever know.
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What is the best way to sum up V/H/S? It is basically a compilation of short stories that have been tied into a plot line. Each tape that is watched brings a different scare to the screen and that makes it a unique viewing experience. Moving from one horror sub-genre to another, it is hard to pinpoint who would really be the target audience for it, unless you are a lover of all things horror. I liked the format of the movie, it was like reading a book of short stories, so you don’t get too invested in each one, but keeps you entranced to see what happens in the end. With good scares and some great stories hidden inside, I am still left wondering how all of the modern films and internet feeds were loaded on to an old school VHS tape, but that is my only question. Stay Scared.

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​John's Review
Some things in this life just go perfect together. Ketchup and mustard, zombies and brains and when it comes to nostalgia, horror movies and VHS tapes. VHS, in my humble opinion, is one of the biggest reasons that horror films found their staying power during the 1980s and most of the 1990s. Because a simple trip to your video store would allow for any fan to enjoy a wealth of horror on a moment's notice.

So it only makes sense that someone decided to combine these two elements and the ever popular found footage sub-genre to create something that quite frankly I have never seen in horror before...the aptly titled V/H/S.

In this film, a group of vile thugs have received what they consider to be an easy task. They are to break into a house and swipe a VHS tape for their client. But this easy task quickly becomes a terrifying experience. For within the walls of the house they not only find a fresh corpse but a strange television setup complete with a vast collection of VHS tapes, full of disturbing images, and each time one of these tapes is viewed, something within the house seems to become more aware of their presence.  

I have to hand it to this movie for providing us with a truly fresh and original take on the found footage genre all while paying homage to the horror greats that came before it. Part Creepshow, part The Blair Witch Project, V/H/S is a unique little twist on the genre. In fact, we are given five tales of terror and the randomness of each one works quite well within the video cassette theme since we never quite know what we will get when the next tape gets popped in.  

Sadly, the stories are a mix of awesome and just...okay.  I don't want to say any of them are outright terrible, because they're not, they are just inconsistent in the scares.  Each one is special in its own right, but truthfully the first and last stories; 'Amateur Night' and '10/31/98' are the cream of the crop for this film. But regardless of the mediocre stories, this movie is worth a watch. For those of us who grew up on VHS horror it's a great throw back and the movie is flat out entertaining. There is no philosophy and commentary to be found here and that's okay, because there is nothing wrong with a little popcorn horror and V/H/S delivers in that department.

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