V/H/S (2012)

NIGHT 13

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

       "He said I'd know which tape it was..."

V/H/S (2012) is the first in a new series of anthology horror film made up of five found footage stories all from different up and coming horror directors.

The framing story involves some very shady teens who are sneaking into a house to try and find a specific VHS tape, when they get inside what they find is a corpse and a whole collection of weird VHS tapes.

Over all I liked each of the stories in V/H/S, though they're filled with what I affectionately call "logic holes," they're all very enjoyable, and clever in their own right.

The bad thing about this film is most of the stories are trying so hard to be clever that they don't make sense if you step back and think about the story. This ties into the problem I have with most found footage films, that they don't make a lot of logical sense as far as why someone would record each instance. I think the second story "Second Honey" is a perfect example of this, there's no reason the girl would record any of the events of the story especially since (SPOILER FOLLOWS) she's the one doing all the weird stuff. And they try to make up for it with one line at the end, "did you erase the tape?" but that doesn't explain why she would record it in the first place. This is a fine example of what most of these stories do is put the clever twist above the actual story in the films.


And I really dislike the framing story, its simple sure but it's poorly shot (on purpose) it makes the mistakes mentioned above (suddenly switching to multiple camera's with no explanation?), it's uncomfortable (the amateur porn angle) and it's just kind of bland and super horror movie-esque, it's not creepy and it's not new or interesting. So it basically steps in all of the wholes the film was trying to avoid.

I absolutely love the first short. I'm sad it's the first one, cause then everything else seems downhill from there, but at least the whole thing starts with a bang. It's a new spin on horror, something you don't see hardly ever and it's sexy, it's scary and it's just really cool too!

Also throughout this whole film the effects are great, it's mostly old school (practical/don't show too much) with only the slightest amount of CG for little things and touch-ups.

V/H/S (2012), is a return to the anthology horror format. I like how it's success suddenly has more people talking about the older films, and while I don't exactly love this one, its really not bad at all!


3.5/5 Stars.

 Happy watching!




This is the last review of my 2014 run of 13 Nights of Macabre Movies! Be safe out there tonight, and see you next year!

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The Borderlands (2013)

NIGHT 20

     "Don't believe everything you see."

The Borderlands (2013) is a brand new British independent horror film and the first feature of writer director Elliot Goldner.

The film follows a group of Vatican investigators whose job it is to investigate and record miracles and acts of God and weed out fraudulent cases.

I really like the premise of this film. It's super simple and clever that I really found myself in awe of this indie horror flick right off the bat.

I'm really not a fan of handheld "shakey-cam" found footage films like this but I gotta say, I think this was very watchable. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that the cameras they used were attached to headsets, and since we naturally keep our head upright when walking, I'm thinking this may have helped the watchability of this film quite a bit.

And I must admit I was pleased with the ending. I of course won't ruin it here, but I think it's very original and unlike anything I've seen before in these types of films. Whether or not it pays off for the film is debatable, but it was highly original.

This is already considered one of the most accurate found footage films ever made. And while that is true for the most part (they set up every single camera and use them all), it still makes the mistakes that a lot of these films make, in that they set up unnecessary cameras that would be uncalled for by these characters. Primarily I'm speaking of the CCTV cameras that they set up inside the place they're staying, this is something you just wouldn't film, there'd be no need to do this, from the character's mindset. I think the director wanted it just to give a wider range of shots, which I understand and appreciate but I think he needed to find a better reason to do so story-wise.

The most enjoyable thing about this film are the characters. All of the characters are very interesting on their own and work even better with the characters they interact with. These are very believable and likeable characters that really make the film enjoyable to watch. I found the first act really slow in this film (necessary to seem like every other found footage film, and really pay off in the end) but it was the really interesting characters and some great writing that really makes the first part of this film watchable. There's something really great about these characters and their faith and what they don't believe that they get into a bit also. I love how the most religious people in this film are also the most skeptical and first to dismiss something as a fake.

That being said I think the actors themselves have a lot to do with the believability of these characters as well. All of the actors really do an amazing job in this film and really help to make everything else in this film work as well as it does. Hard to come by in a low budget indie film.

The Borderlands also is just a really good mystery. It builds beautifully with lots of unexpected character turns and keeps building toward a beautifully original pay off in a way that just captivates you, and will have you really on edge and waiting to see what comes next, through the entire film.

The Borderlands (2013) is one of the best recent horror films in years, and in a style I don't even care much for too, so that's saying something!

4.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!




Tomorrow on the 31 Nights of Macabre Movies we continue with a much older British horror film ;)

Be sure to check out Daimeon's review of this film too!

This film doesn't have an American distributor yet, so I can't share a link with you. But when it does come out, I highly recommend you check it out.

Apollo 18 (2011)

DAY 20

"Tracks... they aren't ours."

No Apollo 18 (2011) thankfully is not a sequel to Ron Howard's Apollo 13 (1995). Apollo 18 is a found footage, sci-fi horror film telling the "true" events of why we do not return to the moon.

I actually liked the story and idea behind this movie, but it's a good idea with not enough real content to back it up.

Biggest problem with this film is how hollow and undeveloped the characters are. The film is like watching cardboard cutouts of characters for the first half and in a film like this with not a whole lot going on in the first half... this makes it REALLY freaking boring! This films writer and director could have learned a lesson from Alien (1979), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) or even Moon (2009) on this.

This is a 90 minute film that felt like 3 hours because of the lack of character and content. Things would happen that weren't interesting at all and the characters would react like it was... and I had to fight the urge to turn it off a couple times in the first half.

Also this film really felt too current. Things kept happening where I'd be like, "OH yeah! This is supposed to be 1974!" I feel like the writer wasn't conscious for most of the seventies and didn't do the proper research as how people in the seventies talked because this kept taking me out of the film.

Fortunately there's very few CG effects in this film because they're pretty bad when they do appear. They overdo the "aging" of this film... to the point where it gets very distracting in some parts.

After all that this film had some really great moments that I really enjoyed. SPOILERS: When they find the tracks, cosmonaut ship and when NASA refuses to rescue them. These are all cool moments but they're so few and far between, it takes a long time to get there.

Oh and the sets were really convincing, shows how easy it is to fake a moon video I guess haha.

Apollo 18 (2011) is a good idea with out much substance to back it up. But if you enjoy sci-fi horror, I felt this movie was satisfying enough to warrant a watch. 2.5/5 stars.

Happy watching!







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