Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘V/H/S/2’

Written by Scott Edwards and John Edward Betancourt

Scott's Review
Watching movies can be one thing but letting them determine how your life goes is another. If the movie ends with a positive message, you are much more likely to take a look back at how you live your own life and see what you could do better. If the movie comes out with a negative message however, you could be more likely to not reflect on anything you have done and just think about how much better you have it in your life, or that the movie has your troubles in this world pegged. Either way, movies do change our outlook on life in one way or another, it just depends on what you want to take from them.

After a job gone bad, private investigator Larry and his girlfriend Ayesha have taken on another project. Getting a call from a worried mother, they are now on the hunt to find her wayward son. Being given an address and the guarantee that there will be an open door or unlocked window to get into his last known residence, the couple are able to enter the home, but what they find is much more than they could have ever expected.

With the young man’s laptop sitting on a chair in a room littered with television screens, Ayesha starts to piece together what he was doing.  Putting notes on all of the VHS tapes in the room, the young man was trying to unlock their power and make up his own. While Larry searches the house for more clues as to what has happened, Ayesha pops in one of the tapes and is astonished to see what is on the screen before her. As a man is featured leaving the doctor’s office with a new eye implant with a camera embedded in it, he is ready to start his life over again. Seeing some things out of the corner of his new eye, he dismisses it as a glitch, but as he continues to see what appears to be dead people coming at him, and he tries to get his doctor to correct whatever is going wrong with the implant. Being pushed away, he runs into a young woman who can smell the dead and tells him not to focus on them and only keep his eye on her. Thinking everything is all good, he tries what she tells him, but finds out that what he keeps seeing may be realer than he could imagine.

A second tape is inserted into the player showing a young man riding his bike which is affixed with Go Pro Cameras. Enjoying his ride, he is shocked to see a hysterical woman running towards him asking for help. When he sees a zombie herd that she is running from, he tries to gather her and get to help before it is too late. Being bitten, he is not able to control his urges and a firsthand account of a zombie attack is recorded, but is there still some of him left in his lifeless body? The third tape is put into the player and a documentary about an Indonesian Cult is reviewed. The reporters are trying to gather the truth about what is happening in the building where the cult is held up and find that the Father is not ashamed to be who he is and is proud to 'cleanse' all of his followers regardless of age. Being equipped with hidden cameras to record everything inside of the compound, the reporters are shocked to find out that they are on the premises to witness the time of reckoning. Being outsiders, they are not required to drink of the same water as the followers but are all targeted when the transformation comes to life.

Checking on his girlfriend, Larry is shocked to see her lying dead on the floor in front of the televisions.  With one tape still sitting on the floor, he pops it in and gives it a view. Two brothers and a sister are being left at home alone for the night and they are all looking to have a great time. The sister calls her friends over, and the boys follow in suit. The brothers only want to torment their sister since she is supposed to be studying and have decided to have some adult fun. As the sleepover progresses, both groups take shots at each other, but a loud scream comes from outside of the house. Not knowing what is happening, aliens have entered the house and take everyone out for testing. Being able to escape, the brothers and sister run for their lives, but the grey men are close on their tails and let out a loud scream whenever they are close enough to capture the humans. Finding refuge in a barn, the group think that they will be safe, but the aliens have a plan up their sleeves. Not knowing what is really happening between the tapes and his girlfriend’s death, Larry finishes the tape and reviews the final moments of the video left on the laptop, only to find that there is something much more powerful at play and he can forget about getting paid.

Much like its predecessor, V/H/S/2 is a group of horror stories that have been compiled into a larger story. Still covering a vast array of horror genres, it is hard to look away as you wait to see what the next story will bring. With more zombies and undead than you can shake a stick at, you are left wondering what the power of these tapes really is and if something like this really did come out, would you be able to survive watching it?  I think this is better than the first for one reason, there is someone trying to explain what the power of the tapes entails, although I still don’t see why anyone would be trying to put new footage on old technology. Stay Scared.

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​John's Review
Ah, the sequel. We love them, no bones about it. Especially horror sequels. But despite our love of seeing the story continue, it's often a mixed bag. The story can certainly let us down, or it ends up being just 'okay'.  But thankfully, there is a gold standard when it comes to sequels that is sometimes achieved where the second film in a series is far superior to the first. Dawn of the Dead, ALIENS and The Dark Knight are all fine examples of this, but today we will take a little time to discuss one sequel that quite frankly, blew me away by easily surpassing the first one...V/H/S/2.

A young college student has gone missing and his worried mother has called in a pair of private investigators to discover her son's whereabouts. When the P.I.'s arrive at his last known location they discover a strange television setup and VHS cassettes that bear brutal and disturbing imagery. While they work the case, little do they know that watching these tapes will unleash total terror upon them and it just so happens that all of this, is part of a grand plan. 

When I heard that V/H/S/2 was coming out, I was admittedly excited. The first one was a breath of fresh air and new stories could only enhance this franchise further. But what I did not expect, was a stellar sequel that left the first film as nothing more than a distant memory in my mind. It isn't the production values that do it, simply because with a low budget flick like this you get what you get, oh no...it was all about the stories and the middle of the film is simply spectacular.

There are four stories this time around, with the first and last paling in comparison to the middle two. While ghosts and aliens are scary, the first story that completely captivated me was 'A Ride in the Park'. For one, it features zombies, which is awesome any time they show up, but the story is told from a point of view perspective courtesy of a Go Pro camera, and it makes for stunning storytelling. How it does that I won't say much more because I flat out don't want to spoil it. But the gem of this film is 'Safe Haven' which takes place in a cult compound reminiscent of the Branch Davidian compound, and wow. This one left me uncomfortable. With multiple themes that are extremely taboo present, even for horror, this one is a scary freaking story. I was literally on the edge of my seat as this one played out and I cringed at the gore and the surprises that awaited me.  

Flat out, this is a great horror flick. You need to watch it, and as quickly as possible. Only because of the fact that the two stories that I just highlighted, really push the envelope in the right kind of way. Plus, it's great to be able to sit down and enjoy a far superior sequel, and my only hope when it comes to the third entry in this trilogy, is that it manages to top this one.   

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