[Editorial] Slashers, Aliens and Sirens-Oh My! Revisiting the V/H/S Anthology

Nearly 10 years ago Brad Miska, the founder of Bloody Disgusting, released his debut feature V/H/S - a found footage horror anthology with writing, directing and acting contributions from now-familiar names in the genre such as Ti West (The House of the Devil, The Innkeepers), Adam Wingard (You’re Next, Blair Witch) and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez and Chad Villella known as Radio Silence (Southbound, Ready or Not) and more.

V/H/S follows a group of young men, often described as ‘misfits’ in the synopsis of the film as who endeavour to break into the house of a mysterious old man to retrieve an old VHS tape in exchange for money. In actual fact, they are complete arseholes who spend their days sexually assaulting innocent women and filming it.

As they explore the seemingly abandoned home, they stumble across not one, but a whole pile of old VHS tapes, and in an effort to find the correct one, begin to watch them only to find some seriously disturbing footage. 

Saving for a few creepy moments, the framing for the story is somewhat lacklustre,but the segments that account for the majority of the runtime are more than  enough to make up for it. 

Amateur Night

Dir: David Bruckner

Amateur night is the first of the footage to be discovered and watched by a member of the group. It sees two instantly unlikable guys coaxing their friend into wearing a pair of glasses fitted with a camera for their night out on the town. They’ve rented a motel room, and it’s clear their intentions are to meet, bring back women for sex – and to document it.

As they work their way through bars, they are obnoxious, rude and loud, but luckily for us, it’s clear that things aren’t going to go as planned. What is not clear, is exactly just how wrong things will pan out. The great thing about Amatuer Night is that the end is almost impossible to predict, and when it lands with a sickening blow, you cannot help but find at least a little joy in witnessing the men getting their comeuppance when they are at their most vulnerable.

Despite the strange and unexpected twist, the storyline and characters feel (unfortunately) authentic. There are also some really effective special effects and visuals used to drive home the horror.

Second Honeymoon

Dir: Ti West

Newly married couple, Sam and Stephanie, are travelling across Arizona for their honeymoon when they encounter a strange woman who asks them for a ride. Sam turns her away, and later that night someone sneaks into their room and films the pair sleeping before stealing money from Sam’s wallet. 

Second Honeymoon is chilling in its use of found footage, because nothing is more terrifying than the thought of a stranger in the room whilst you sleep and waking up the next morning none-the-wiser. 

Whilst not as unlikeable as the characters in Amateur Night, Sam is still  irritating in the way that he badgers Stephanie into taking her top off on camera, despite her insistence that she isn't comfortable doing so. There doesn’t appear to be any love lost between the couple, yet their relationship seems genuine and comfortable, perhaps just a little stale?

When Stephanie is advised by a fortune teller that she will soon be happily reunited with a loved one, and that she is also very trusting and is easily taken advantage of, things begin to grow eerie and tensions rapidly rise before we are faced with a gruesome conclusion.

Tuesday the 17th

Dir: Glenn McQuaid

When a group of friends are taken by the ‘new girl’ on her annual trip to a lake located in a nearby forest, they soon begin to question her motives when she reveals that several grisly murders took place there just the year before.

Perhaps the most generic ‘horror’ segment, Tuesday the 17th has all the tropes of a typical slasher film. The characters consist of all the clichés you’d expect - a nerd, a sexually promiscuous blonde, an obnoxious jock who is trying to sleep with her, and of course, our seemingly innocent leading lady. Then there is our killer who is unique but is introduced as a somewhat forgettable point in the film.

Cue some gory imagery and deaths, and the result  is something that isn’t the most memorable, but will certainly quench the undeniable thirst of slasher fans.

The Sick Thing That Happened To Emily When She Was Younger

Dir: Joe Swanberg

Before Unfriended and Host, there was The Sick Thing That Happened To Emily When She Was Younger. The scariest (and my personal favourite) segment of V/H/S hit particularly hard on a recent re-watch considering that we’re currently living in a time where all our relationships are being maintained via Zoom.

Emily and childhood friend James, an aspiring doctor, are maintaining their long-distance romance via video chats. Emily begins to worry about a strange lump she finds on her arm, and soon after is awoken by strange noises from inside her apartment. 

This segment uses technology to its advantage and gives us an authentic look at what it’s like to be threatened in your own home when the only person who can help you is thousands of miles away. Regardless of the short run time, you get all the information you need to start theorising organically through the characters’ interactions. 

The reason that The Sick Thing is my favourite is that, again, has all the great tropes of a horror movie – but this time it’s supernatural. Strange noises, ghostly apparitions, objects moving of their own accord, effective jump-scares and, of course, one lead character who refuses to turn any lights on and one who refuses to acknowledge what is right in front of his face – all make for a terrifying short. And, on top of all that, it has an ending that you will never see coming, which is much  scarier than any spectral figure or slamming door. 

10/31/98

Dir: Radio Silence

The directing collective  saved all the tricks up their sleeve to make the grand finale a literal fun-house of horrors. Kicking off on Halloween 1998, as the title suggests, we meet another group of guys ready for a night out. Our viewpoint here is provided by a member of the group dressed as a nanny-cam teddy bear. 

When the friends arrive at a house where they believe a party to be taking place, they find that it is completely empty.  However, after hearing noises from upstairs, they decide to make their way through the house hoping to reach the jovial crowd and join in with the festivities. If you have seen the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Halloween episode entitled ‘Fear Itself’, or if you have watched any seemingly-abandoned house horror film in your life, you will have probably surmised that what they find is not a party.

10/31/98 contains some brilliant horror imagery and finally male characters doing the right thing. If you like your horror action-packed, being kept  on the edge of your seat whilst screaming “Run!!” at the TV, then this one is for you.

The V/H/S anthology really has something to satisfy every horror fans’ tastes because, although the whole film can fit snugly into the found footage genre, there are elements of so many different horror subgenres throughout – slashers and aliens and sirens, oh my!

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