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Directors: David Bruckner, Scott
Derrickson, Natasha Kermani, Mike P. Nelson, Gigi Saul Guerrero
Writers: C. Robert Cargill, Zoe Cooper,
Scott Derrickson, Evan Dickson, Mike P. Nelson, Gigi Saul Guerrero
Actors: Freddy Rodríguez, Kelli
Garner, James Ransone, Jordan Belfi, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Dani Deetté, Mark
Sipka, Andrew Ghai, Anna Sundberg, Shelby Steel, Chelsey Grant, Tyler Noble,
Gabriela Roel, Chivonne Michelle, Justen Jones, Florencia Ríos, Dashiell Derrickson,
Toussaint Morrison, Marcio Moreno, Alex Galick, Ari Gallegos, Eric Pierson,
Gerardo Oñate, Forrest Hartl, Dana DeRuyck, Evie Bair, Duffy McManus, Felipe de
Lara, Tom Reed, Brent Picha, Renee Werbowski, José María Higareda, Bryan
McDonald, Christopher Gasser, Murray Nelson, Anna Hashizume, Nicholas Krekeler
IMDb Blurb: Unveiled through a
made-for-TV documentary, five tales of found footage horror emerge to take
viewers on a terrifying journey into the grim underbelly of the 1980s.
Cat’s Point of View:
While I haven’t always jived with every segment featured in
the anthology franchise, the V/H/S (2012) movies have been a fun
experience, over all. It’s like unpacking a “blind box” of film shorts.
Sometimes there are things in the box that you don’t necessarily care for, but
the rest is an enjoyable surprise. V/H/S/85 was the latest installment
in this cinematic series, and I was enthusiastic to open up this mystery
bundle.
I have mentioned before (and probably will again) that I
absolutely love to watch productions set in the 1980s. I’m an 80s baby and so
the decade is full of warm fuzzy nostalgia. Of course, we’re talking about a
horror anthology here with V/H/S/85 so there really isn’t anything ‘warm
and fuzzy’ about it. The little details that placed it within the 80s, however,
not only helped me immerse myself within the collected found footage features,
but it also gave me a little comfort touchstone – like wrapping up in a blanket
while watching the scary movie.
Speaking of scary, I can’t say that I was chilled to the
bone by any of these stories, but they were all interesting and well executed
for the most part.
Gigi Saul Guerrero’s (Mistress of Bones, Bingo Hell,
Satanic Hispanics) "God of Death" segment felt right at home as
footage from a TV studio in the 80s and it captured the essence of the real
event it was loosely framed around… with a twist. Scott Derrickson’s (Sinister,
Doctor Strange, The Black Phone) "Dreamkill" segment was one of
my favorites. Not only did this short distill the essence of the 80s well, it
was also disturbing beyond the blood and gore. Natasha Kermani (The
Samaritan, Imitation Girl, Lucky) "TKNOGD" segment gave all the
right early computer graphics feels while incorporating a horror element into
performance art. Mike P. Nelson’s (The Domestics, Studio Luma, Wrong Turn)
"No Wake" & "Ambrosia" segments probably were the
‘winners’ for me. These 2 segments resonated in a different way than the others
and held more subtle horror in addition to the overt elements involved.
I don’t know that the over-arching story the individual
short films were sprinkled throughout connected as well to the segments as in
some prior V/H/S offerings. I understood what David Bruckner’s (Southbound,
The Night House, Hellraiser) "Total Copy" segment was going for,
but couldn’t help have a bit of a disconnect with it. It was perhaps a
combination of my own internal question of ‘but why, though?’ in regards to
each of these ‘discovered’ home-videos watched within that narrative and some
of the visual choices that just didn’t resonate with me. It wasn’t “bad,” per
se… it just wasn’t as effective over-all for me.
That being said, V/H/S/85 was still absolutely worth
the watch. This was, in fact, my second time watching this anthology as I’d
tuned in as soon as it had released on Shudder last year. If you like horror
anthologies, this franchise still remains a decided go-to.
B-movies can be divisive. Due to how low their budgets are
the graphics sometimes wind up questionable, less experienced actors are hired,
and other cost-cutting measures are taken. They’re rarely shown in theaters, few
people are putting money on them, but they can be a bit of a time-risk. No one
wants to spend hours of their time watching something that isn’t all that
great. They’d rather put their hard-won free time toward something better. For movie fans that do enjoy B-movies, there’s almost a
cult-like feel to their enthusiasm. I’m not gonna lie, I’m a part of that side
of the argument. There are B-movies that I quote more than any other movie I’ve
seen. In fact, as I mentioned in my original personal cinematic landscape
article, my friends and I religiously quote The Gamers: Dorkness Rising
(2008). Why do movies like that stick with us? It’s my belief that because the makers of B-movie don’t need
to answer to multi-billion-dollar corporations, they don’t wind up having to
speak for people who have nothing in common with their demographic. The geeks
that created The Gamers: Dorkness Rising spoke directly to other geeks
without having to sacrifice anything because some billionaires thought they
needed to speak to a wider audience. I was talking to a friend about horror movies last night.
He’s not the biggest fan of newer polished, over-done, films. The old-school 80’s
cult horror flicks speak to him more. The face peeling of Poltergeist (1982),
the stop motion gore of The Evil Dead (1981), the high-pitched
soundtrack of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). All those films can be
found on the National Film Registry protected by the Library of Congress, but
if they were made today, big-budget companies would strangle the charm out of
them. The charm in that low-budget creativity leads much easier to
a cult following, which is why so many cult films are B-movies. Hell, my favorite comedy flick, Clerks (1994) – which
is on my list as part of the comedy genre – was funded completely by the
director maxing out his credit cards. The constraint of less money leaves room
for more creativity. The best example of a low-budget B-movie that got even more
creative due to lack of funds is Deadstream (2022).
Deadstream is one of the newest movies going on my
cinematic landscape. It came out just last year and I had no expectations for
it. I’m not a huge fan of found footage. In fact, I dislike the sub-genre so
much that I don’t even go over it as part of this article series at all.
Falling in love with Deadstream was something no one could have expected
of me. The main character of the film is about as obnoxious as he
can get. He’s a narcissistic streamer working to get past a bunch of scandals
while trying to survive a night in a haunted house. As someone who loves to
watch YouTubers/streamers it was easy to figure out where a lot of the
inspiration for the character came from. They had plenty of material to draw on
from bad apology videos and dumb mistakes others have made. A big production
company might have forced them to tone that down. It's a small thing, but something that added to the depth
and reality of the character. People outside of online culture might watch and
think it was a little far-fetched, but those of us who have followed ukelele
apologies and seen people arrested for dumb pranks used for clout – we know
better. It’s more realistic than we wish it was. Aside from that, the entire movie took the found footage
sub-genre and elevated it. The video is steadier because of the web-cam
component, which allows people like my co-author, Cat, to watch it despite the
vertigo she deals with. Going back and forth between the cameras allows for
less graphic needs while the practical effects are much sleeker than anything
CGI would have created at their budget. Deadstream was a welcome change of pace by both
critics and audiences, and I can only hope that other found footage creators
learn from its successes. In 10 years, I hope I’ll be able to see it up for its
own spot on the National Film Registry listing. I want it to alter the way
others make movies the same way it’s altered the way I view them. There’s another side to the B-movie genre: movies that
aren’t made to be good. They’re made to mock the industry or just as a fun
parody of movies in general. No big-budget company is going to pick up the kind
of movies that aren’t made to speak to anyone, really. They’re just made for
the fun of it. Not all of them turn into anything watchable, but when they do…
they become so bad, they’re good. The most recent flick I’ve added to that part of my
landscape is the one that will probably become the first film I think of when
anyone says “it’s so bad, it’s good.” That film is VelociPastor (2018).
When people think of B-movies, VelociPastor is what
they’re thinking of. The costumes are ridiculously unreal, there’s not a single
actor taking things seriously, and the graphics are… unbelievable at best. Yet,
I cannot properly express how much fun I had watching it. There were ninjas and dinosaurs, there was parody and humor.
The creators of VelociPastor knew what they had. They leaned as far into
the silliness as possible. One of the very first scenes exhibits a take on
low-budget CGI that I’ve never seen utilized. It caught me so off guard that I
had to pause the film until I was done laughing. It doesn’t matter how bad a film is, if it makes you laugh
so hard that you actively need to catch your breath, it’s good. VelociPastor is never the type of film that I’d go
around recommending to people looking for a real movie. That said, at a friend
gathering with a bunch of people looking to laugh and drink while watching
something to giggle at, it’d be the first thing I pull up. I’ll always have a deep love for low-budget films. I grew up
watching marathons of them on Halloween, and they are probably some of the
first movies to ever affect the way I watched other films.
I’ve always found anthologies to be divisive among movie fans.
There are a lot of people that just don’t concern themselves with the genre at
all. The only anthology flicks most people tend to gravitate toward would be along
the lines of Love Actually (2003). It’s a film that flows like the recipe
of a typical rom-com. The framing device is something that is only really seen
for three minutes split between the beginning and the end, the rest of the film
plays out as if there’s no real anthology aspect to it. Most anthologies don’t tend to play to a wider theatrical
audience the way Love Actually does. They often have a different writer/director
for every segment. Sometimes each entry is even filmed in a different style. As
a result, a lot of people tend to steer clear. I tend to prefer anthologies that present themselves as they
are. I like a strong framing device that’s seen several times throughout the
flick, and stories that revolve around a main theme but are otherwise
completely different. Anthologies give a short look into the work of various
artists which helps me decide if they’re people I want to see more of. An
unfamiliar name in an anthology can introduce you to a whole new filmography of
work. A good anthology can even lead to several introductions. In my original personal cinematic landscape, I covered
anthologies of both styles. I wrote about New York, I Love You (2008)
and If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000) – both anthologies that exhibit
the Love Actually style. I also discussed The Animatrix (2003)
and The ABCs of Death (2012) which are more like the latter description. There are two anthologies I’ve seen since the last look into
my cinematic landscape that deserve to be added in. Both for the exact same
reason: V/H/S/94 (2021) and The Mortuary Collection (2019).
The V/H/S series is pretty well known. Most of the
movies in it, however, aren’t all that memorable. Even those that have decent
reviews tend to get lost to history. Still, the found footage VHS tape framing
device – especially for the horror genre – is a stroke of genius. I think that’s
the reason the series has had so much staying power over the years. V/H/S/2 (2013) was the first of the series that I
greatly enjoyed, but it wasn’t until V/H/S/94 that it had any effect on
the way I perceived anthologies. Each of the various stories in V/H/S/94 kept me glued
to the screen. Even if they hadn’t, though, the framing device had its own interesting
story with its very own twist. It was so interesting that it held up to the short
stories being told throughout the rest of the flick.
In The Mortuary Collection that twist in the framing
device is more pronounced. In fact, I’d say the framing device is the best
story told in the entire film. It’s so memorable that I can replay it in my
head scene for scene even though I’ve only seen it once, several years ago. (I
looked it up to see if it really was something I remembered scene for scene –
and it is. So, I’ve seen it twice now.) The framing device being its very own story in an anthology
is something I believe could heighten the popularity of the genre. It feels
less like someone sitting there telling tales than other anthologies with the
same style tend to. It becomes almost like a game to try and figure out how
each short ties together – on their own and within the frame. It’s even better when the framing device has that ending
twist that turns everything on its head. It elevates even a mediocre anthology into
something worth watching – and recommending. I hope to see a great deal more of
that in the future.
Streaming Service: Shudder Movie Name/Year: V/H/S/99 (2022) Genre: Horror, Anthology Length: 1h 49min Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Shudder, Studio 71, Red Arrow Studios, Bloody
Disgusting, Soapbox Films, CinePocalypse Directors: Flying Lotus, Maggie Levin, Tyler
MacIntyre, Johannes Roberts, Joseph Winter, Vanessa Winter Writers: Zoe Cooper, Flying Lotus, Chris
Lee Hill, Maggie Levin, Tyler MacIntyre, Johannes Roberts, Joseph Winter,
Vanessa Winter Actors: Various IMDb Blurb: Witness a hellish vision of 1999,
as social isolation, analog technology and disturbing home videos fuse into a
nightmare of found footage savagery.
Cat’s Point of View: We’re halfway through our Ominous October lineup, and I was
excited to explore Shudder’s new V/H/S
anthology offering for this midway milestone. Both Selina and I loved the last
installment helmed by the horror streamer – albeit, some of the earlier sequels
not so much. For that reason, I had V/H/S/99
listed as my #10 entry on my personal Top 20 List for October, while Selina had this as her #6
pick. While I’m a bit of an eternal optimist, this is at least the
5th movie in the franchise. I felt at this point that I should be
realistic with my expectations. It’s been clear in the past that these can
really be hit or miss. The hits land really hard, however, and I was sincerely
hoping that V/H/S/99 would follow in
the successful footsteps of V/H/S/94
(2021). I have mixed emotions about V/H/S/99.
One thing that this new installment got right was the
general grungy punk feel of the ‘90s. I was instantly transported back to the
peak of the Blockbuster Video era and mix-tape cassettes on the shelf alongside
CD collections. 1999 was a good year for me. I was off on my own doing the adulting
thing, and I got married that year. The majority of V/H/S/99 fit right in with the vibe of that time period. As another positive, I was glad that the shaky cam wasn’t
too horrendous for an anthology of found-footage shorts. Sometimes these
segments can get really out of hand with whipping the camera around as hapless
victims panic and scramble from the villain du jour. Beyond that, this latest incarnation of the V/H/S (2012) franchise fell a bit into
the hit-or-miss category.
Overall, I enjoyed the experience. It just lacked the
cohesiveness that V/H/S/94 gave us.
The transition sequences did offer a little levity while underscoring the
overall horror, but they were only loosely connected to the individual segments.
When I say it connected at all, I’m being generous, to be honest. I have my own
theory about what it represented and how it all tied together. It was something
you could have expected from a lost and found VHS tape that had been recorded-over multiple times, in theory. The individual entries in the anthology were decent. One
shouldn’t expect anything flashy in these, since they’re meant to represent
amateur home videos. The production value was great for all of its low-budget
glory. I got some decent and satisfying spooks out of the experience, though I
don’t know that there was anything truly terrifying among the offerings. If the
over-arching transitions between each of them had tied them together somehow
aside from fitting in the general timeline, it would have elevated everything
just that much more.
I was also a little disappointed that they didn’t lean
harder into the Y2K paranoia that gripped the world in ’99. So many thought it
was practically going to be a doomsday with planes falling out of the sky and
grids shutting down. I remember watching a live telecast of the transition to
January 1, 2000, as the date crossed the globe. I had a knot in my stomach,
worrying that lunatics were going to cause a self-fulfilling prophecy of
anarchy whether computers went wonky or not. I think this particular anthology
entry would have benefited from more of that than a single mention off-hand in
one of the segments. When stacked up to the prior V/H/S installments, V/H/S/99
wasn’t the worst, by far. It wasn’t, however, the best, either. I still have
hope for this franchise, though. Perhaps they were a bit too fast to rush to
production after the success of V/H/S/94.
Hopefully, they won’t repeat these mistakes with the next announced installment
of V/H/S/85, which is due out in 2023
sometime. You can catch V/H/S/99
on Shudder starting Thursday, October 20th.
Streaming Service: Shudder Movie Name/Year: Deadstream (2022) Genre: Horror, Comedy Length: 1h 27min Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Winterspectre Entertainment, Jared R Cook
Productions, Stonehaven Entertainment, Blue Finch Films Releasing, Koch Films,
Mis. Label, VOD Factory, Velvet Spoon, YES TV, Première TV Distribution,
Shudder Director: Vanessa Winter, Joseph Winter Writers: Vanessa Winter, Joseph Winter Actors: Ariel Lee, Cylia Austin-Lacayo,
Hayden Gariety, Jason K. Wixom, Jaxon Harker, Joseph Winter, Marty Collins,
Melanie Stone, Pat Barnett, Perla Lacayo
IMDb Blurb: A disgraced internet personality
attempts to win back his followers by livestreaming one night alone in a
haunted house. But when he accidentally pisses off a vengeful spirit, his big
comeback event becomes a real-time fight for his life.
Cat’s Point of View: When we watched the trailers for movies coming out this
October, Deadstream caught my
attention. I enjoy watching paranormal investigation shows now and
again so the premise of Deadstream
was right up my alley – and great for the beginning of the spooky season. In addition to TV and streaming service paranormal content,
I have been known to watch a few YouTube streamers’ videos now and again. I
get a kick out of urban exploration videos sometimes.
My point
is that Deadstream latched on to
this particular corner of paranormal “entertainment” that has a somewhat blurry
line with “social influencer” and brought a fresh spin to the haunted house
genre. Let me tell you, this was a wild ride.
I got exactly what I expected from Deadstream, and then some. I laughed, rolled my eyes, and then even
covered my eyes in a few places. There were good thrills and face-palm moments. What else would
you expect when sending a cowardly guy into a legitimately haunted house alone?
I believed everything they were selling me, and it was fabulous. Deadstream got a phenomenal
amount of mileage out of the practical effects and skillful editing. There were
very few moments where CGI effects were necessary – and that’s a feat when you’re
dealing with ghosts. I’d say a good 90% of the practical effects
looked pretty good.
With a lower-end budget, Deadstream exceeded my expectations. I caught an interview with the writing/directing team, and they revealed that a good number of the ‘creatures’ (or ghosts, as the
case may be) were developed and created in the garage of the effects artist
during the Covid-19 lockdown. I was impressed.
It was no surprise when the dynamic writing/directing couple
of Vanessa Winter (Devil's Got My Back,
Studio C, V/H/S/99: To Hell and Back) and Joseph Winter (Abandoned in Space, It Came From the Lab,
V/H/S/99: To Hell and Back) explained in the same interview that Deadstream was essentially a
love letter to the creature features of the 80s, but with a modern streamer
spin. I was really feeling the Evil Dead
(1981) or Army of Darkness (1992)
vibes. I can’t wait to see their segment in the anthology releasing later this
month. Joseph Winter also gets big kudos from me for taking on the
lead role. He went all-in with his portrayal of the embattled streamer, Shawn.
I appreciated the depth that they gave to the character beyond the activity
shown in the haunted house framework. Melanie Stone (Chasing Shadows, We're Alive: Frontier, Cupid for Christmas) was
also a fun addition to the small cast. I won’t give away spoilers, but I nearly
jumped out of my skin a few times she appeared on the screen.
There were a lot of jump-scares. For this sort of
production, I pretty much went in expecting to be startled every few minutes,
so it wasn’t shocking or annoying. It’s just something to keep in mind while
watching. I also have to hand it to this production team – for a “found footage”
genre movie, Deadstream has steadier
camera work than I was expecting…especially when the primary camera was
attached to a moving person. A little
shaky-cam was unavoidable in this format, but it really wasn’t as bad as I was
worried that it could be. I love a good horror comedy, and Deadstream was an absolute delight to kick off Ominous October. Join us this month for our spooky selections! You can catch Deadstream
premiering as a Shudder original starting Thursday, October 6th.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score – 92% Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – 66% Metacritic
User Score – None IMDB
Score – 7.2/10 Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4.5/5 Trust
the Dice: Parental Advisory Rating – R
Streaming Service: Shudder Movie Name/Year: V/H/S/94 (2021) Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller Length: 100 minutes Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Bloody Disgusting, Cinepocalypse
Productions, Raven Banner Entertainment, Studio71, Shudder Director: Simon Barrett, Chloe Okuno, Ryan Prows, Jennifer Reeder, Timo
Tjahjanto Writer: Simon Barrett, David Bruckner, Chloe Okuno, Ryan Prows, Jennifer
Reeder, Timo Tjahjanto Actors: Anna Hopkins, Steven McCarthy, Sean Patrick Dolan, Tim Campbell,
Dru Viergever, Dax Ravina, Kimmy Choi, Christian Lloyd, Conor Sweeney, Slavic
Rogozine, Thiago Dos Santos, Kevin P. Gabel, Daniel Williston Blurb from IMDb: A police S.W.A.T. team
investigates about a mysterious VHS tape and discovers a sinister cult that has
pre-recorded material which uncovers a nightmarish conspiracy.
Selina’s Point of View: Welcome to our
Ominous October! Every year we do
a whole month of nothing but horror films for October, and this year is no
different. You may remember us calling it our Shudder Spree, but we’ve opted to
branch out to various sources for our spooks, hence the name change. Never-the-less, we
had to start off the month with our favorite horror streaming platform. Although you can
find horror flicks on all the streaming services, there’s no digging through
other genres to get there if you’re using Shudder. With it, you can streamline
your journey to finding the terror you’re looking for to complete your day – especially
during the Halloween season. If you’re a horror lover like we are, it just
makes sense to go for the subscription, especially since it’s one of the
cheapest there is out there. With that out of
the way, let’s talk about V/H/S/94. I’ll admit that I
don’t remember a whole lot about the framing devices used in the first 3. I do
think I’ll remember this one, though. The extra-staticky
feel of it threw me off at first. It’s found footage, so I expected shaky-cam. The
worn-out, snowy, VHS quality of the framing device still caught me off guard
because it added a whole other layer to the period immersion. It was a bit distracting
at first – but I really liked it by the end. It fit the over-arching theme and
the final twist was completely unexpected. There was a secondary
theme seen throughout the segments in V/H/S/94. That was: supernatural
creatures.
Revealing any of
the actual creatures would be considered spoilers. Some of the segments really
rely on that unknown/surprise factor. I expected the trailer to give away some
of those surprises, but that never happened. I did have a
least, and most, favorite of the parts. I’d say the
second segment really didn’t thrill me. A lot of it was about the main
character sitting around in near-silence with the occasional loud sound meant
to shock. Now, I don’t mind jump scares. I’ve loved some films that relied solely
on them. In this case, I just don’t think it worked. It was a short film, under
20-minutes long, and most of it was silence. The same 15-minutes in a
basic-length film would have been fine. Here, I wanted more. My favorite
segment was the one right after that. It started with a
Frankenstein (as in the plot of the book) meets The Human Centipede
(2009) feel. Some risks were taken in that segment that could have failed
spectacularly. Instead, I was truly invested. If anything, I want that whole
thing in a video game. Someone get on that. I’d pay $60 for a full-length
shooter based around the characters and plot involved in that 3rd chapter. In the end, V/H/S/94
was the best of the series. I didn’t feel the runtime, but I did feel the fear
here and there. It’s suitable creepy for a Halloween mood. If you want to
see this one for yourself, V/H/S/94 will be available on Shudder this Wednesday,
October 6.
Cat’s Point of View:
What better way to kick off an Ominous October, than to
revisit a well-known horror franchise by way of its latest installment. V/H/S/94 brings us back to the
found-footage horror anthology, and I’ve been anticipating it with both dread
and excitement since we first learned of this new installment. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember a whole lot about the first
few V/H/S (2012) films. I do,
however, recall that they were sufficiently creepy and hit-or-miss on quality.
That’s generally what you expect from a collection of projects such as this,
however. Each writer/director team is going to give a different feel to their
work. Some things play out better than others. V/H/S/94 is definitely ahead of the pack, as the most successful so
far. The S.W.A.T. raid framework tied everything together nicely without
having to stretch our suspension of disbelief beyond what we were experiencing
with each of the short film segments. The exploration of the crazy compound
they find themselves in adds to the overall unease of the collective
experience. I’m not the biggest fan of found-footage – mostly because of
its inherent shaky-cam. I don’t get motion sickness as a rule, but good grief
there have been some jolting productions out there that have made me
disoriented and queasy. I’m happy to say that V/H/S/94 wasn’t one of those. You can’t avoid some bobbing and
weaving with this sort of project, but this was just enough without
going nuts with it.
The grainy and streaky look of a well-watched VHS tape was only mildly irritating at the beginning. It was easy to get past and ultimately brought a slight sense of nostalgia for me. There’s definitely quite a bit of homage to the antiquated titular video medium laced within the segments. Those that lived through the era of ‘be kind and rewind’ may get a little kick out of it. V/H/S/94 is unapologetically grisly and brutal throughout all of its segments. Audiences should certainly brace themselves for violence and gore. The chaos in the trailer really only scratches the surface. Each short plays to a different set of fears – from the subterranean unknown to mad science and from the unease of a dark and stormy night alone in a funeral home to militia extremists. These short films bridge the gap from unnatural and supernatural to some very real causes of concern. V/H/S/94 is certainly a spectacular way to kick off the spooky season. I dare say it’s worth the subscription cost for Shudder if you don’t already have the streaming service.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 100% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – None Metacritic User Score – None IMDB Score – 8.1/10 Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4.5/5 Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4/5 Trust-the-Dice’s
Parental Advisory Rating:
R P.S. We’re not sponsored by Shudder, we’re
just big fans. Movie Trailer:
Production Companies:
The Collective Studios, Bloody Disgusting, 8383 Productions, Crafty Apes,
Bishop Studios LLC, Sayaka Producciones Audiovisuales, AM Films, Studio71
Producer: Roxanne
Benjamin, Justin Benson, Gary Binkow, Gregg Bishop, Theo Brooks, Dan Caudill,
Vince Cupone, Beck Engle, Adam Hendricks, Nahikari Ipina, John H. Lang, David
Lawson Jr., Brad Miska, Aaron Moorhead, Nils Onsager, Tom Owen, Morgan
Patterson, Andrew Reyes, Sten Saluveer, Marcel Sarmiento, Manuel Sanchez,
Christopher White, Zak Zeman, Matt Daneri
Writer: T.J. Cimfel,
David White, Marcel Sarmiento, Gregg Bishop, Nacho Vigalondo, Justin Benson,
Brad Miska, Todd Lincoln, Aaron Moorhead, Ed Dougherty
Actors: Patrick
Lawrie, Emilia Ares Zoryan, Stephanie Silver, Val Vega, Angela Garcia, Chad
Guerrero, Jorge Marquez, Steve Robles, Gary Sugarman, Noelle Ann Mabry, Justin
Welborn, Emmy Argo, Dan Caudill, Michael Aaron Milligan, John Curran, Susan
Williams, Randy McDowell, Carrie Keegan, Cory Rouse, Marian Alvarez, Gustavo
Salmeron, Nick Blanco, Chase Newton, Shane Brady, Peter Villalba, Jessica
Landon, Kelly Misek Jr.
Blurb from Netflix:
During a police chase, amateurs rush to shoot videos they hope will go viral,
unwittingly casting themselves as victims in cyber story.
Selina’s Point of View:
I still hate shaky-cam. It’s always been necessary for the V/H/S series, though. Up until now, that
hatred didn’t boil over onto the series.
The problem is that the V/H/S
series greatly relies on the framing device to tie its stories together and,
because of that framing device, the found footage aspect is necessary. It
becomes an actual part of the stories and elevates them to new heights.
This film was different.
It’s like the creators of V/H/S: Viral completely forgot about a framing device and just
stitches something together at the last minute to throw in-between the
segments. I’m sorry, but that’s not how something like that works; especially
if you’re trying to tie together stories in an anthology. There needs to be
that definite, solid story that makes the rest of it fall into place like
puzzle pieces.
This was just a hot mess.
Even the theme got muddled. There was a supernatural aspect,
but then it was about social media, but then it was supposed to be a punishment
kind of thing… really? Make up your damn mind. It’s like they took all the
stories that weren’t good enough for the first two and said, “eh, this works.
Print it.”
It pains me to say how lazy and awful this film was because
I rather enjoyed the first two.
This is just another case of people going too far with
sequels and fucking up the whole brand.
Cat’s Point of View:
I was fervently hoping that this third movie would improve
on the series and would avoid some of the pitfalls that the prior V/H/S movies fell into. Alas, I do not
have good news to report here.
I enjoyed this the least out of the three. However, even
with that said, there were two segments that I found tolerable and
semi-interesting – ‘Dante the Great’ and ‘Parallel Monsters.’
Nacho Vigalondo (Timecrimes,
Extraterrestrial, Open Windows), director of the ‘Parallel Monsters’
segment, is no stranger to anthologies. He was the director of the ‘A is for
Apocalypse’ segment of The ABCs of Death
(2012). If you’ve followed our blog for a while, you might recall that I
absolutely loathed that film experience. As a strange yin to that yang, though,
he is also the writer and director for the recently released Colossal (2016), which is a movie I
really want to watch.
The story that tied all the anthology shorts together was
disappointing. There was too much craziness with showing the compromised video
effects, the shaky cam was bananas, and it didn’t even make sense. I got the
general gist of it but it just wasn’t clear how the different segments tied
into that story.
I sincerely hope they don’t make another of these. I’d feel
compelled to watch it in spite of the fact I hold little hope for improvement.
As it stands, I have no intention of watching this one again.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 39%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 14%
Selina’s Rating – 1/5
Cat’s Rating – 1.5/5
Trust-the-Dice’s
Parental Advisory Rating:
P.S. During part
of the credits the movie plays in rewind behind the colors.
Production Companies:
The Collective Studios, Bloody Disgusting, 8383 Productions, Snoot Entertainment,
Haxan Films, Yer Dead Productions
Producer: Various
Director: Simon
Barrett, Jason Eisener, Gareth Evans, Gregg Hale, Eduardo Sanchez, Timo
Tjahjanto, Adam Wingard
Writer: Simon
Barrett, Jamie Nash, Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Evans, Jason Eisener, John Davies,
Brad Miska
Actors: Various
Blurb from Netflix:
Two private eyes investigating the disappearance of a student discover horrific
content on a collection of evil VHS tapes in his home.
Selina’s Point of View:
So, we revisited the world of V/H/S (2012) tonight. It’s a world of found footage, first person
perspective, and some serious horror.
I’ve made myself pretty clear about how I feel about shaky
cam. I do not have a “love-hate” relationship with it, I have a “hate-hate”
relationship with it. I hate that it exists and I hate when I have to sit
through it. It makes me queasy and gives me a migraine. That being said, I’ll
still sit through it for the blog.
The V/H/S series
does make me think less about the shaky cam aspect and more about the story,
which is a huge feat. I didn’t just sit through V/H/S/2, I actively enjoyed it. I still have a migraine, but it was
worth it… for the most part.
I was amused to see that several of the people involved in
this film also worked on one of the ABCs
of Death (2012, 2014) movies. Mainly, I was amused because I believe that V/H/S and V/H/S/2 are what the ABCs of
Death should have been. They’re creative, terrifying, and they push
boundaries without crossing over to the “disgusting for disgusting sake” category.
Cat’s Point of View:
I’ve heard good things about this sequel. I had high hopes
for V/H/S/2; though, after the last
movie’s disappointment, I have to admit that I wasn’t holding my breath.
I’m glad I didn’t. I needed it to help me hold down dinner.
That might’ve sounded ominous, but I actually liked the
movie a lot.
My issue was with the shaky cam and the swift swiveling
camera motions at some points. I’m generally not squeamish, so the gore itself
didn’t weird me out… but some of the scenarios where the gore came into play
just made me squirm on principle.
There are just some things where having a first-person
perspective ala GoPro gives intensity a new meaning.
The first V/H/S
(2012) was a bit more blatant as an anthology. The connecting narrative wasn’t
on its A-game. This sequel stepped it up a notch. I found the reason behind the found footage
was more well-crafted.
If not for one segment in particular, I actually could draw
some lines to compose my own fan theory that the pieces were all part of a
bigger puzzle. I found that fun to contemplate as I was watching; also in my
lingering uncomfortable feeling that has followed since finishing the movie
last night.
Though, at the end of a rather exhausting day, I probably
shouldn’t have followed it up by falling asleep while watching Poltergeist (2015) on cable. My dreams
were not exactly pleasant, to say the least.
Actors: Jeremy
Irvine, Helen McCrory, Phoebe Fox, Adrian Rawlins
Genre: Horror
Rated: PG-13
I find there are very few movies coming out in January that
I legitimately want to see. If I wanted to, I could have easily made this a Top
Eight post without so much as a second thought. I like the round number though.
I’ve never seen the first Woman in Black, but I wanted to. I still intend to.
This sequel does look exceptionally creepy, but I don’t
really have the desire to lay down my money for the privilege of watching it.
Maybe if I’d seen the first one, I’d feel different. Still, the trailer didn’t
make me want to throw my remote at the screen so… there’s that.
9 – [REC]4
Apocalypse (Jan 2)
Director: Jaume
Balaguero
Writer: Jaume
Balaguero, Manu Diez
Actors: Manuela
Velasco, Javier Botet, Paco Manzanedo, Hector Colome
Genre: Horror
Rated: R
This is another sequel that I probably would have more
interest in if I had seen the others in the franchise. As far as I know,
though, there’s a lot of “found footage” (better known as “shaky cam”) in the
rest of the series.
I. Hate. Shaky cam. I just do.
I avoid it as much as possible and the other movies in the [REC] series just don’t seem worth the possibility
that I’d be dealing with vertigo at the end of the film.
[REC]4, however,
doesn’t seem to have much shaking. I could be wrong, but I don’t really see any
in the trailer so it does pique my curiosity a little.
Not enough to subject myself to the other three films
though.
8 – Let’s Kill
Ward’s Wife (Jan 9)
Director: Scott
Foley
Writer: Scott
Foley
Actors: Scott
Foley, Patrick Wilson, Amy Acker, Donald Faison, Greg Grunberg
Genre: Comedy
Rated: Not Rated
This is the first movie on the list that I’m genuinely
interested in.
First of all, look at that cast. Scott Foley (Scandal, True Blood, Grey’s Anatomy),
Patrick Wilson (Stretch, The Conjuring,
Insidious), Amy Acker (Angel, Cabin
in the Woods, Person of Interest) and Donald Faison (Scrubs, The Exes, Kick Ass 2) working off each other sounds
hilarious, even without watching the trailer first.
Once I actually watched the trailer, I just became more
interested. I enjoy the mixing of genres, which this movie clearly does.
Whenever murder and laughter is combined (except in movies where the laughter
comes from a place of insanity), there’s usually a meshing of genres.
I think Let’s Kill
Ward’s Wife is going to be hilarious. I hope it’s as good as it could be. This
is Foley’s first attempt at directing a full length feature film, so I guess we’ll
see.
7 – Mortdecai
(Jan 23)
Director: David
Koepp
Writer: Eric
Aronson, Kyril Bonfiglioli
Actors: Johnny
Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn, Jeff Goldblum, Paul Bettany
Genre: Action
Rated: Not Rated
I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that Johnny
Depp (Into the Woods, Tusk, Alice in
Wonderland) is one of the greatest actors of our time. He’s a complete chameleon
or, as my best friend likes to say, “he’s a freaking cartoon character!”
What my darling friend is saying there, is that Johnny Depp
can change who he is on screen with seemingly no effort. The way bugs bunny
might pop into his hole for a moment and come out dressed as something else.
For that reason, I find it very rewarding to watch his
movies. It’s exceptionally easy to understand his character’s motivations and to
get into any story that he’s a part of. Regardless of how good the script or
other actors are, Depp usually makes the film worth seeing. I haven’t seen all
of them, but I have yet to see one that I dislike.
It doesn’t hurt that the trailer looks really amusing.
6 – Suburban
Gothic (Jan 30)
Director: Richard
Bates Jr.
Writer: Richard
Bates Jr., Mark Bruner
Actors: Matthew
Gray Gubler, Kat Dennings, Ray Wise, Barbara Niven
Genre: Horror/Comedy
Rated: R
More genre mixing! Horror/Comedy is especially a love of
mine. Actually, I’m going to go ahead and say it’s that mixed genre that holds
my heart. It’s my favorite.
In the interest of full disclosure, there’s some discrepancy
about when this move came/is coming out. I have seen a lot of information that
says it’s coming out in January 2015 and a lot of other information telling me
it came out in July 2014. I can’t find anything definitive, but I’m assuming
that it debuted at a film festival or something and is hitting theaters at the
end of January.
With that out of the way, Suburban Gothic looks amazing. Matthew Gray Gubler (Beautiful Girl, Life After Beth, RV) is phenomenal
in Criminal Minds and the banter
between him and Kat Dennings (2 Broke
Girls, Thor, ER) in the trailer is the whole reason I want to see the film.
5 –
Predestination (Jan 9)
Director: Michael
Spierig
Writer: Michael
Spierig, Peter Spierig, Robert A. Heinlein
Actors: Ethan
Hawke, Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor, Christopher Kirby, Cate Wolfe
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rated: R
Time traveling agents.
As a fan of Doctor Who,
I find myself enamored with stories of time travel. I also find myself
comparing and contrasting those stories to the show. I expect this time will be
the same.
I look forward to it.
4 – Wild Card (Jan
30)
Director: Simon
West
Writer: William
Goldman
Actors: Jason
Statham, Anne Heche, Sofia Vergara, Michael Angarano, Milo Ventimiglia, Stanley
Tucci, Jason Alexander
Genre: Action
Rated: R
Jason Statham (Homefront,
Parker, The Expendables) is my preferred action hero.
The entire cast in this film is actually relatively amazing.
If I didn’t know the title or the premise of the movie and just heard that
Jason Statham, Milo Ventimiglia (Tell,
Heroes, Pathology) and Sofia Vergara (Modern
Family, Machete Kills, Chef) were going to be acting together, I’d buy the
ticket anyway.
That’d be hard without knowing the title wouldn’t it? Moving
on…
Wild Card seems
like it is going to be a strong action film. I would expect nothing less from
Statham.
The Wedding Ringer
looks like it’s going to be ridiculous and stupid and funny as all hell.
This seems like it’s going to be the kind of movie I want watch
after I’ve had a rough day, a couple of rejection letters and a fight with my
mom. It seems like the kind of film you can turn your brain off for and just
laugh.
Nothing wrong with that.
2 – Blackhat (Jan
16)
Director: Michael
Mann
Writer: Morgan
David Foehl, Michael Mann
Actors: Chris
Hemsworth, Viola Davis, Holt McCallany, Tang Wei
Genre: Action
Rated: R
Blackhat seems to
examine the weight of the digital world in our lives and how vulnerable we are
because of it. It’s a terrifying perspective and that makes for a great movie.
Any film that can tear open my being and frighten me at the
heart, is one I want to watch.
I will be vastly disappointed if this movie doesn’t meet my
expectations.
1 – Punk’s Dead (Jan
25)
Director: James
Merendino
Writer: James
Merendino
Actors: Devon
Sawa, Ben Schnetzer, Hannah Marks, Sarah Clarke, James Duval, Adam Pascal,
Michael A. Goorjian, Machine Gun Kelly
Genre: Comedy
Rated: Not Rated
I have been waiting for this movie. I donated money to this
movie on Indiegogo.
SLC Punk! is one
of my all time favorite films. I can recite it from memory. I fell in love with
Matthew Lillard (The Bridge, Return to
Nim’s Island, Fat Kid Rules the World) as Stevo and Michael A. Goorjian (My Eleventh, Around June, Party of Five)
as Heroin Bob.
When the first movie came out I was 16 and just starting to
learn about what punk was. I met my “punk dealer,” my Heroin Bob (if you will),
in an alternative school that I started in after I’d gotten kicked out of
several other more mainstream high schools.
I might have been a touch rebellious back then.
Anyway, my Heroin Bob was named Frank and he introduced me
to my very first punk band, Bad Religion. From there it was a slippery slope.
It led to bands like NoFX, Black Flag, The Casualties, The Descendants and,
obviously, The Ramones and Sex Pistols. From the music of the scene it led to
appreciation of the ideals, to put it nicely.
SLC Punk! spoke to
me back then. It still speaks to me.
So when I heard that writer/director James Merendino (Death Club, Trespassing, Magicians) was
making a sequel I jumped on it.
I’m disappointed that Lillard was unavailable and that Jason
Segel (How I Met Your Mother, Sex Tape,
Bad Teacher) decided not to reprise his role as Mike, but there are plenty
of actors from the first movie that will be appearing.
I can’t wait to see how Sean, played by Devon Sawa (Nikita, The Philly Kid, Final Destination),
has changed or what John the Mod, played by James Duval (Donnie Darko, Hackers, Hercules Reborn), will be like. Will Eddie,
played by Adam Pascal (Rent, School of
Rock, Goyband), still be a “ladies man?” Of course, there’s Goorjian who
will be returning as Heroin Bob. And there are rumors that we’ll even get to
see Til Schweiger (Tatort, Muppets Most
Wanted, Charlie Countryman) returning as Mark, though I haven’t been able
to confirm them.
I could talk about these two movies for days, so I’ll just
end this here and say, “I can’t fucking wait.”
