Movie Night at the Rec Hall -- VHS2 Part2

-Contributed by Luke Merrill

V/H/S/2

We left off the other night reviewing the first half of the new release V/H/S/2. As you may recall V/H/S/2 is an anthology film loosely based around the premise of occult underground videocassettes. After viewing the first 2 of the 4 short films included in the  movie , I would say I’m certainly entertained  but there’s nothing spectacular that is driving me to come back and screen the film a second time.

Well forget all of that, because the third film, “Safe Haven “ will have me coming back for more time and time again. Not just because of its extraordinary violence (which it has in abundance, laugh), but just because of the intensity of its acting cast. The interplay between the characters, suggests an involved backstory, causing the viewer to care more for their plight, which make the storyline all the more tragic. Also the sheer intensity of actor Epy Kusnandar, who played the role of cult leader “Father” has made me re-evaluate how I should never take lightly the demands of a waifish 120lb man.

I would follow this man anywhere.

Set in the Orient possible the Philippians, or Laos, I can never be certain, “Safe Haven “ chronicles the attempts of a small reporting team who attempt to infiltrate a cultish religious sect. This is an extremely exciting and promising concept for me, one I haven’t seen executed well since Clive Barker’s Lords of Illusion. Cultists can be more scary then the paranormal because, if necessary, they can pass for normal humans until they are triggered, and when they do, oh how the insanity floodgates get blown wide open.

“Safe Haven “ is no exception, things were sufficiently ominous enough as it was, but when the call comes down that today, right now, is the date of the ascension, Hell quite literally breaks loose. Chock full of nothing, but disturbing image after disturbing image, “Safe Haven”  is the film that makes you think twice about turning off your lights at night. I'm going to say it is the best in the series of films, and I’m actually glad that it was placed 3^rd in the series, because after viewing it you need to calm down a little bit. All I could do after that rollercoaster ride of a finale was look over at my fellow moviegoers and say, “Well, that. sure escalated quickly.”

The 4^th Film in the Anthology, “Slumber Party” was a little slow on the start and featured  mischievous little scamps playing sibling pranks while their parents were away for the weekend. Just fine by me, I was enjoying a little light-hearted nature, coming fresh off the last film. But at the height of their Prank war, CRASH, BRONG, ZZZZZEEEEERRREEEETTTZZZ, the aliens have landed, and they want your children!

We've come for your Daughter.

Although creepy “Slumber Party” mostly just confused me, the lighting was limited and I found one minute they’re confined in some alien something or other, then in the lake, on the run, picked off one at a time, ad -nauseum. So it was difficult to get a feel for what was actually happening within the film. I was also surprised to find out the director was Jason Eisener of “Hobo with a Shotgun” fame. That movie was so over the top with violence and gore, it really shocked me that he directed this. But thank God for small favors, I really was not ready for an over prevalence of violence and gore when children are involved.

 The Aliens themselves were creepy enough, what you could see of them, but one has to question with such advanced technologies that allow you to span across the galaxy, why would you have so much trouble picking off a small troop of children? The aliens had to physically grab them and drag them away. No night vision goggles, heat sensing equipment, stunners, or  stasis fields. How about an old fashion net? The Gorillas from Planet of the Apes used nets all the time, and they evolved later than man, but were still smart enough to figure the net thing out. I would’ve settled for a net, there has to be a better way to abduct children, come on.

It’s as if these aliens were the same ones that came 10 years ago in M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs. You remember the ones, came to the planet, terrorized man, didn’t realize they were invading a planet composed of , what like 70 % WATER. THE MOST LETHAL SUBSTANCE KNOWN TO THEM.  Yeah those aliens, they packed up, went away for a while, figured out the waterproofing solution, but now, are having trouble with those rascally, slippery kids. I don’t care if it’s an invasion or abduction, whatever, aliens you need to get your ducks in a row. Come back when you have some kind of plan or strategy. I would be so embarrassed, if I were abducted by these jokers. It’s really comical, they’d be hacking off and replacing new limbs while anal probing me 24/7 and I’d have to think, in a way, I kinda deserve this. They just walked up and dragged me away, no cool stun rod or teleportation  ray, nope just ” Hey You! Get in my spaceship we have probing to do.”

So that about wraps up V/H/S/2, there is one last scare to tie up the introductory story, but it was kind of assuming and offered real little in terms of an explanation for the film itself. So I really don’t have too much to say about that segment. But on the whole I thoroughly enjoyed  V/H/S/2, and recommend at least one watchtrough on a dark and quiet night if you’re in the mood for the heebie jeebies. It presents a nice alternative to those who don’t particularly care enough about a particular horror genre. So you get a nice sampler of what the industry has to offer with the current technology. The weekend is still going strong with Halloween Horror, so check in tomorrow for another contemporary film review. Your Head Counselor signing off.

Tags: Aliens, Cultists, Movie Night at the Rec Hall, VHS2, Horror Camp

Movie Night at the Rec Hall -- VHS2 Part 1

-Contributed by Luke Merrill

V/H/S/2

The first in a long Weekend of Horror Flicks viewed here at Horror Camp, V/H/S/2 was the first in the running. Following in the tradition of shaky hand-cam titles, such as the Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield, V/H/S/2 is a collection of films all told from first person point of view perspective in order to heighten the viewer’s sense of terror and reality.

V/H/S/2 is a film that realizes true terror is buried in the archaic remnants of poorly labeled difficult to obtain videocassettes, which actually makes very little sense on account just about every camcorder involved in filming the segments that comprise the movie were all digital. Apparently the dark lords of the netherworld need all their media dubbed to cassette to view their movies. But if Hell is truly as brutal and abysmal as the stories would have me believe, I could understand them only watching cathode ray televisions and videocassette players with poorly wired co-ax cable connecting them together. Most likely they only get basic cable in Hell, but I digress.

I swear I think it is watching me.

V/H/S/2 is based loosely around the premise of a private investigator and his assistant (girlfriend?) who search an abandoned house for a lost college student. Apparently this student had a per chant for collecting occult videocassettes, and in an effort to piece together what has happened they view 4 short films in order to piece together the puzzle. To start off, I have to say this opening story is really only included in the movie to set an ominous tone, and consequently to relate 4 completely differing horror stories together that in no way can be tied together at all. I myself would rather have the movie called, V/H/S/2 a collection of 4 short horror films, but it has become a Moviemaker trend to attempt to tie short films together in an effort to keep you watching till the very end. I‘ll tell you right now, absolutely not necessary, not even necessary to watch V/H/S the first film. You can just dive right in to any of the four shorts, and probably better for you to know this now, if you don’t like the direction of one film just go to the next one, it is absolutely irrelevant to plot progression.

The first short film was entitled, “Phase I Clinical Trials”. The film starts off with a man who just recovered from an experimental eye surgery. Having just recently lost an eye in a car accident he signs up for an experimental eye implant, which will allow him to see with a prosthetic digital camcorder eye. He is told to expect some “glitches” when looking through his new eye, and because the eye is in experimental status he will be recorded for the duration of the trials. Things escalate from there rather quickly, which is a common theme with this movie. He begins to see these “glitches” in terms of dead people roaming his home and scaring the bejesus out of him. First person POV absolutely capitalizes off of this, as our protagonist is forever looking away only to turn around and ‘gasp’ dead person! Still the story line was fairly enjoyable, but like most films in this series, it ends abruptly with the viewer asking him/herself well what just happened?

Truly disturbing imagery

The next short “A Ride in the Park” involves a young man web-casting his adventure trail bike ride, most likely for some video blog or podcast, when he encounters a screaming woman out in the woods crying for help. In an effort to try and console the woman, she cries out that her and her boyfriend had been attacked before she falls victim to violent retching convulsions. The man notices some ominous shambling, some yards away and sees some apparently sick and ‘not right ‘ people moving towards him.  Trying to get the woman to safety, she violently and unexpectedly attacks him, biting and tearing at him. If you haven’t guessed by now, I’ll come out and say it, we are now watching a zombie movie.

Things escalate quickly , and we now have a first person POV of our young protagonist as he is turned into one of the denizens of the undead at the onset of a zombie outbreak. Now I’m not averse to zombie movies, and I appreciate the fact that they stay true to some of the more traditional of the zombie precepts, but I didn’t much care for this film. First person attacks full of blood, vomit, and disemboweling just gets a little gross, and the first person POV almost humanizes the plight of this undead  moron. All this combined with the growing sense of vertigo from all the shaky hand camera work you have been subjected to up to this point  may have you reaching for your shaky hand vomit bucket.

But the troublesome reality of this film  is that zombies are so dumb. They are the dumbest thing we have roaming around our woods, and the fact this outbreak begins in the woods seems dumber still. If I’m approached by a zombie, I have ample time to climb a tree. They forget you are even there after five minutes. Zombies have the worst ADHD. What’s the max number of zombies in the woods at any given time? No scratch that what’s the max number of living human being in the woods at any given time? In 2013, like maybe 2? Zombies are only threatening in the city, because there are no trees to climb, no wide open spaces to run down, and no lakes you can get on. Zombies can’t climb, run or swim everyone wants to forget that. So the film didn’t really speak to me, but for those horror buffs who can’t get enough of zombies you may enjoy “A Ride in the Park”

V/H/S/2 has 2 other short films included in it, with the best still yet to come. Check back in tomorrow as we continue our weekend long review of Movie Night at the Rec Hall where we will finish V/H/S/2, and still lots more to come. Lock those shutters up and Good Night from you Head Counselor.

Tags: Ghost, Movie Night at the Rec Hall, Zombies, VHS2, Horror Camp