V/H/S 2

What ultimately saves the movie is the fact that there are scenes that are rough, surprising, and fearless. It's not too explicit when it comes to nudity, although it's true that the individual stories didn't really call for it and it would have been unnecessary. The gore here is sometimes absolutely great, but I wasn't particularly blown away by the actual films themselves. At times, I felt like the script wasn't really a priority. Even the overarching story doesn't deviate much in that regard. (13.02.2015)

Unlike almost all the reviews from film festivals so far, I don’t think V/H/S/2 is such a great step forward in terms of quality compared to V/H/S. Perhaps my expectations were too high and I was hoping for an absolute. The resulting impression is just as positive as the first part, although this time the anthology doesn’t feel as balanced. Those who weren’t happy with the first one, likely won’t be too keen on this one, either. And whereas the previous one ended with the best story, this one ends with the weakest. Otherwise, a few words about each segment: Tape 49, the story that frames all the rest, is about two detectives looking for a missing student. In most anthologies, the framing story is a necessary evil, and this one is no exception – unremarkable, but does the job. 60 %. Phase I Clinical Trials is not even found-footage, but a look through the eyes of the protagonist (a robotic eye, actually), who is haunted by ghosts. Decent pace, a couple of very scary scenes, but also rather unconvincing when it comes to the acting. 80%. A Ride in the Park is a fairly original and entertaining zombie story from the point of view of one of the infected. It wouldn’t work as a feature film, but as a 20-minute short it’s fine. 80%. Safe Heaven is hands down the best of the lot. Tjahjanto and Evans pull all the stops and unleash a demonic sectarian hell that at times made my jaw hit the floor. Pity that final shot, it feels laughable more than anything, which isn’t an ideal way to finish an otherwise perfect horror short. 90%. Slumber Party Alien Abduction is about a group of teenagers at home who are attacked by a group of aliens. The interesting premise and the decently scary scenes are ruined by the fact that you can’t see anything, mainly because everything takes place in the dark and most of the time a dog is carrying the camera (!!!). 60% (08.06.2013)