‘V/H/S/2’ Review

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It’s a rare occurrence that filmmakers take to heart the criticisms of a first film and actively attempt to correct the issues in a sequel.  Fortunately, in the case of V/H/S/2. The producers not only fixed nearly all the problems with the first, but upped the ante to bring the year’s best, and most visceral, horror film.

V/H/S/2 is structured in similar fashion to the original, offering up four found footage short films, interlaced with another story which acts as a bookend. This through line proves to be more interesting and fleshed out than the one featured in the original, and effectively moves the overarching story along nicely.  The decision to go from five stories to four also proves to be beneficial, giving each director more time to work with, which results in more engaging and memorable segments.

These segments, as a whole, are also better than the original.  Adam Wingard is the only director returning from the original, with newcomers Simon Barrett (who wrote a segment in the first), Jason Eisener (Hobo with a Shotgun), Gareth Evans (The Raid), Gregg Hale and Eduardo Sanchez (The Blair Witch Project), and Timo Tjahjanto (Macabre).  While most anthology films suffer because of weak segments, V/H/S/2 provides a strong viewing experience from beginning to end. That being said, it’s impossible to watch a film like this and not find some better than others.

While every one of the shorts brought interesting concepts to the now tired found footage mechanic, the Gareth Evans and Timo Tjahjanto segment titled “Safe Haven” was the clear standout.  Evans proved himself as a great action director when The Raid came out last year, and now he’s proven that he can handle horror as well, by crafting one of the craziest and most shocking of the bunch.

This time around, the framing device is much better executed and entertaining than the first, with the story revolving around a detective couple investigating the disappearance of a young man.  Though the plot is still thin, and the characters make some illogical choices, it’s still more rewarding than that of the original.

One aspect of the first entry I liked quite a bit was the inventive use of found footage.  The filmmakers devised some very creative ways to account for the footage the viewer sees and the sequel is no exception.  The advent of the Go Pro definitely proved beneficial here, and gets used frequently from helmet cams, to dashboard cams, to dog-mounted cams.  Also of note, would be Adam Wingard’s segment “Clinical Trials” which starred Wingard himself sporting a synthetic eye.

Though the avid movie-watcher will still be able to nitpick about cuts and angles in the footage, the attention to detail is impressive.  In “Clinical Trials” since the camera is actually in someone’s eye, the frame will turn black every few seconds to indicate the character blinking.  Also, when he goes from a dark indoor setting into the daylight his vision blurs to adjust.  These little touches are apparent throughout all the segments and provide a nice technical flourish.

V/H/S/2 is a film that is clearly trying to raise the bar.  It’s faster, bloodier, and scarier than its predecessor, and it’s just one hell of a ride.  It’s a rare film that has learned from its mistakes and rather than sticking with what works, the filmmakers attempted to improve on a formula that they already knew would work.  This paid off big time, as V/H/S/2 not only trumps the original, but it also trumps any other horror movie to come out the last few years.