The found footage genre is currently the most fashionable format for horror films, thanks to the enormous success of movies like “Paranormal Activity.” However, keeping the genre fresh without being gimmicky is a huge challenge, especially when the idea of found footage is arguably a gimmick itself.
The much-anticipated “V/H/S” attempts to bring new life to an aging sub-genre by combining aspects of anthology filmmaking with the shaky-cam style. While “V/H/S” probably won’t be remembered as one of this generation’s greatest horror films, it is a bold attempt to revive the genre.
“V/H/S” is a collection of horror shorts strung together with an overarching narrative. The shorts are directed by some of the horror genre’s top directors, including Ti West, who directed the cult favorite “The House of the Devil.” The main story involves a group of delinquents who are hired to break into a rundown house to steal rare videotapes, each of which contains its own unique horror tale — an arc which fails to work on its own terms. However, on the whole, the movie delivers an innovative horror movie experience that will leave the audience
feeling uneasy.
The best and worst thing about “V/H/S” is that the shorts vary greatly in quality. The successful shorts, like “Amateur Night” and “10/31/98,” exhibit more ambitious filmmaking.“Amateur Night” is recorded through a pair of spyglasses, while “10/31/98” is recorded with a nanny-cam. It is refreshing to see found footage stories that do not rely on a character unrealistically holding a camera for the entire
running time.
While the less successful shorts are able to hide among the better ones, they still result in a movie that is unnecessarily long. All of the stories have at least one good scare or clever concept, but some end up being uninteresting and could easily have been cut out. The short titled “Second Honeymoon,” for example, is the only short to not involve any supernatural element. While this differentiation could have made “Honeymoon” stand out, it is simply not quite good enough to earn its exception.
“V/H/S” is able to bring life to a tired genre, even though much of the film is not as strong as it could be. Many are getting tired of found footage films, but by making an anthology of short films, the directors behind “V/H/S” are able to deliver quick, exciting bursts of horror and doing away with the stale filler scenes typical of modern horror films.
A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Oct. 2 print edition. Chris Saccaro is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].
