V/H/S | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by |
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Written by |
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Produced by |
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Starring | see below |
Cinematography |
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Edited by |
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Music by | Lucas Clyde |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Magnet Releasing |
Release dates |
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Running time | 116 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1.9 million [2] |
V/H/S is a 2012 American found footage horror anthology film and the first installment in the V/H/S franchise created by Brad Miska [3] and Bloody Disgusting, and produced by Miska and Roxanne Benjamin. [4] It features a series of found footage shorts written and directed by Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg, and the filmmaking collective Radio Silence. [5]
The film debuted at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in January 2012, [6] and was released on demand on August 31, 2012. The film made its limited theatrical premiere in the United States on October 5, 2012, and in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2013.
The film has spawned six sequels, V/H/S/2 , V/H/S: Viral , V/H/S/94, V/H/S/99 , V/H/S/85 and V/H/S/Beyond , and two spin-offs, Siren and Kids vs. Aliens , as well as a miniseries V/H/S: Video Horror Shorts on Snapchat's Snap Originals platform. [7]
In an interview with IndieWire, [3] producer Brad Miska revealed the process in which they developed V/H/S, which included a "trust-fall" style of filmmaking. All of the relationships came through the long history of Bloody Disgusting.
For "V/H/S", we went to people that I have a relationship with via Bloody Disgusting — a group of trusted filmmakers who we thought would want to take part in this. They pitched us their ideas, then came to us with treatments and scripts. It was like, "If you like this, go do your thing." In terms of the movie itself getting green lit — the storyline that runs through the whole movie was something that we had originally discussed. So we just went with the decided upon streamlined story and just let the filmmakers go do their thing. Which is kind of a reverse of how you're supposed to do a movie like this. You're supposed to do that last. It became a 'fill-in-the-hole' type project. What can we put here? What can we put there? You know, what would amp it up here? So it was a living project. A living film if you will.
The film is presented as an anthology of short horror films, built into a frame narrative which acts as its own short horror film. Each short film is linked together with the concept of found footage (each segment is from the VHS tapes found in the room).
The frame narrative focuses on a criminal gang who film their crimes, which range from vandalism to sexually assaulting women. An anonymous source hires them to break into a house and steal a VHS videotape. The gang accepts, eager to expand their criminal enterprises.
In the house, the criminals find an old man's corpse sitting in front of several televisions. While the others roam the house, Brad stays behind with the corpse to watch a tape left in the VCR.
Shane, Patrick, and Clint rent a motel room, intending to bring women there for sex. Clint is wearing glasses that have been outfitted with a hidden camera and microphone that will allow them to turn their planned encounter into an amateur porn video. While the three men are bar-hopping, Clint encounters Lily, a mysterious young woman who appears unusually shy and says little other than "I like you."
In addition to Lily, the men also convince another young woman, Lisa, to go to their room. Lisa passes out as Shane attempts to initiate sex, while Patrick discourages him. Lily awkwardly seduces Clint, but Shane comes on to her instead. Clint notices Lily's clawed and scaly feet as she is undressed, but Shane and Patrick are oblivious. Lily pushes Shane onto his back and begins to undress Clint, seemingly initiating a threesome. Overwhelmed, Clint goes to the bathroom. Patrick attempts to take Clint's place, but Lily makes it clear that she dislikes Patrick.
Moments later, Patrick bursts into the bathroom with a large cut on his hand, claiming Lily bit him. When they approach Shane, Lily suddenly sprouts fangs, then attacks and kills Shane. Clint hides in the bathroom while Patrick, armed with a shower curtain rod, returns to the bedroom.
While Clint tries to wake Lisa, Patrick confronts Lily, but she easily subdues him, drinks his blood and rips off his genitals. Clint runs out, but falls down a staircase and breaks his wrist. Lily, her face bearing a hideous split down its middle, catches up to Clint. Instead of attacking him, she attempts to perform fellatio. As Clint is unresponsive, Lily starts to cry, and then begins growling angrily.
Clint flees, begging bystanders for help, but he is lifted into the sky by Lily, who has transformed into a winged creature. Lily is revealed to be a succubus on the hunt for a mate. The glasses fall off Clint's face and hit the ground before the footage ends.
Back in the frame story, Rox discovers that Brad is missing. The others find hundreds of unmarked VHS tapes in the basement and collect them all to make sure they get the right one. One catches a glimpse of a strange figure wandering off. Rox puts another tape in the VCR and watches it.
Married couple Sam and Stephanie travel along Route 66 for their honeymoon in Arizona, a trip documented by Stephanie. That night, they visit a Wild West-themed attraction known as "Wild West Junction", where Stephanie receives a prediction from a mechanical fortune teller. The prediction claims she will be happily reunited with a loved one, and that she is very trusting and is easily taken advantage of. Sometime later, a strange woman comes to Sam and Stephanie's motel room and awkwardly tries to convince Sam (off camera) to give her a ride the next day.
In the middle of the night, while the couple are asleep, a mysterious figure breaks into the room, turns on the camcorder, and films itself stroking Stephanie's buttocks with a switchblade. The intruder also steals $100 from Sam's wallet and dips his toothbrush in the toilet. The next day, on their way to visit the Grand Canyon, Sam notices the missing money and accuses Stephanie of taking it, but she assures him that she did not. That night, the stranger enters the room again and repeatedly stabs Sam in the neck with the switchblade, filming him as he chokes to death. The camera then shows the killer, the woman from earlier wearing a porcelain mask. She is revealed to be Stephanie's lover. The recording cuts to the two driving away, with Stephanie asking if the footage was erased.
Confused by what he has witnessed, Rox fails to notice the corpse's disappearance. In the basement, the others consider making copies of the special tape so they can make extra money.
Joey, Spider, and Samantha accompany their new friend Wendy on her annual trip to a lake in a nearby forest. Wendy leads the way, mentioning "accidents" that took her friends's lives. When Joey's digital camera pans certain empty areas, glitched images of mutilated bodies appear in the captured footage. After they discover a mutilated pig, Wendy declares everyone will die. Smoking weed by the lake, Wendy explains that this is where a murderer killed many people, but the group laughs it off as a joke.
Spider and Samantha leave for a bathroom break. Samantha is killed by a knife thrown at her face. Spider attempts to run, but is fatally stabbed. The culprit is a figure with its head obscured by tracking errors (identified in the credits as "The Glitch") Back at the lake, Wendy reveals to Joey that she is the only survivor after all her friends were killed at the lake. Wendy reveals that she is using them to bait and kill the murderer. As the two talk, the Glitch walks up behind Joey and slits his throat.
Wendy lures the Glitch into a pit trap, then a bear trap, which briefly halts it. She films the Glitch up close, but it slashes her hand. Wendy flees while recording a warning to stay away from the area. After she finds a dying Joey, the Glitch confronts her before another booby trap impales it. Wendy gloats and walks away, but when she looks back it is gone. It ambushes Wendy, beats her to death with the camera, and disembowels her. Wendy's corpse twitches and shudders violently as the camera glitches out, implying she is turning into a Glitch.
In the frame story, the corpse has returned to the room, but Rox is nowhere to be seen. The remaining criminals, Zak and Gary, are confused as to where the others have gone. Gary tells Zak to look through the tapes, to which Zak complies.
Emily tells her boyfriend James, an aspiring doctor, via video chat about a strange bump on her arm and how it reminds her of an accident she had when she was younger. After showing James around her new apartment, Emily hears noises outside her door. A ghostly, childlike entity rushes into her room and slams the door shut, leading her to believe her apartment is haunted.
After another encounter with the entity, Emily questions her landlord. He claims no children have ever lived in the apartment complex, nor have any people ever died there. During her next chat with James, Emily attempts to cut into the bump on her to find out what it is. James frantically urges her to stop to avoid an infection and promises to check on it when he arrives in a week.
The next night, Emily carries her laptop to have James look out for the entity. Two "ghosts" appear and knock her unconscious as James enters the apartment. The "ghosts," who are actually aliens, watch as James surgically removes a fetus from Emily's torso. They have been using Emily as an incubator for alien/human hybrids. James asks the aliens how much longer they plan to do this to Emily, remarking she may not survive much more of it, and she has noticed the tracking device in her arm. The aliens erase Emily's memory, while James breaks her bones to make it look like an accident.
In their next chat, a badly injured Emily believes that she sustained her injuries after wandering into traffic in a fugue state. She says the doctor James recommended has diagnosed her as schizoaffective and tearfully says that James deserves a better, more normal girlfriend. James assures Emily she is the only person he wants to be with. After their call ends, James begins a new call with a different woman, who also has a bump on her arm and believes he is her boyfriend.
Both Zak and the corpse are gone. Gary, the only one left, searches upstairs. He finds the decapitated remains of Zak and is attacked by the zombified old man. Fleeing downstairs, he falls and twists his ankle, and is killed by the zombie. In the TV room, the VCR starts the last tape by itself.
On Halloween night 1998, friends Tyler, Chad, Matt, and Paul head out to a Halloween party, but go to the wrong address. Believing they are the first to arrive, the quartet sneaks inside. They begin to experience paranormal phenomena, but believes them to be a haunted house attraction and have fun with them.
In the attic, they find several men gathered around a woman suspended from the rafters, apparently reenacting an exorcism. The boys join the men's chanting, which alerts the men to their presence. The men shout angrily before physically assaulting the woman, and some of them are pulled into the darkness by an unseen force. As more violent paranormal phenomena occur, the boys initially flee but go back to try to rescue the woman, whom they untie and lead to safety. The house comes to life with poltergeist phenomena, with ghostly arms rising to claim the lives of the woman's captors.
The guys get into their car with the woman and drive away. Their car abruptly stops and the woman disappears, reappearing in the street before them and walking away amid a flock of birds. They then realize that the car has stopped on train tracks and that the woman they rescued is actually a witch. They try to get out of the car as a train approaches, but are unable to start the engine or unlock the doors. The train smashes into the car, killing all inside.
During the end credits, clips from Tape 56 are shown.
A joke ending was shot in one take by Radio Silence, in which the doors are unlocked and the boys get out just before the train smashes into their car. The boys walk away and talk about how much fun they had, and what a crazy night it was. Meanwhile, the train hits the car and it explodes behind them. [8]
"Tape 56"
| "Amateur Night"
| "Second Honeymoon"
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"Tuesday the 17th"
| "The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger"
| "10/31/98"
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Trevor Groth, a programmer of midnight movies at the Sundance Film Festival, said, "I give this all the credit in the world because conceptually it shouldn't have worked for me. Personally, I'm bored by found-footage horror films, which this is. And omnibus attempts rarely work. But this one does. It's terrifying, and very well executed." [5] Horror-Movies.ca reported that two people fainted during the premiere at Sundance. [9]
At the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Magnolia Pictures purchased the North American rights to the film for slightly over $1 million. [10] The first theatrical release began in Russia on September 7, 2012. [11] Limited theatrical release began October 5, 2012, in the United States. The film was released onto DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download on December 4, 2012. It was released on the titular format of VHS on February 5, 2013.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 56% of 108 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.6/10.The website's consensus reads: "An uneven collection of found-footage horror films, V/H/S has some inventive scares but its execution is hit-and-miss." [12] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 54 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [13]
Most reviewers said that they felt the film was too long. Variety noted that "the segments vary in quality and the whole overstays its welcome at nearly two hours. Some trimming (perhaps relegating a weaker episode to a DVD extra) would increase theatrical chances." [14]
Empire gave the film four stars out of five, saying that "the biggest twist is its consistently high quality ... anything goes, and all of it works". [15] The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a mildly positive review, stating "Refreshingly, V/H/S promises no more than it delivers, always a plus with genre fare." [10] Fangoria praised the film while remarking that "the mystery of why/how some of this stuff is even on VHS tapes to begin with" was a bit of a leap. [16]
Sean O'Connell of The Washington Post gave the film a scathing review, saying that although "on paper, it's a clever concept" and "probably sounded great in the pitch meeting", it "loses all luster through some shoddy execution". He went on to criticise the "unwatchable shaky-cam technique" and "rough and amateurish" acting, though he did identify Swanberg's segment as the best. [17] Likewise, Roger Ebert was among the critics who felt the film was overlong, giving the film one star out of four and saying that "None of the segments is particularly compelling. Strung together, it's way too much of a muchness." [18]
A sequel, titled V/H/S/2 , was debuted at January 19 as part of Sundance 2013. The film was released via VOD on June 6, and theatrically on July 12. A third entry in the series, titled V/H/S: Viral , was released on Video on Demand on October 23, 2014, and in theatres on November 21 of the same year.
A spin-off based on the segment Amateur Night, entitled Siren released theatrically on December 2, 2016.
A 4-episode miniseries V/H/S: Video Horror Shorts was released on Snap Originals on October 28, 2018. [19]
A reboot titled V/H/S/94 was released exclusively on Shudder on October 6, 2021. [20]
The sequel V/H/S/99 debuted in the Midnight Madness stream at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival [21] and was released on Shudder October 20, 2022. [22]
A second spin-off film Kids vs. Aliens , a feature-length adaptation of "Slumber Party Alien Abduction", from Jason Eisener's segment from V/H/S/2 premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2022 and released in January 20, 2023 by RLJE Films and Shudder.
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin is an American director, writer, actor, and musician. He is a founding member of the punk band Link 80 and co-creator of the filmmaking collectives Chad, Matt & Rob and Radio Silence. He is best known for his work in horror films, including V/H/S, Southbound, Ready or Not, Scream, Scream VI and Abigail.
Michael Costanza is an American filmmaker and award winning Palme d'Or nominated writer/director. He began his career in the Art Department on feature films at Paramount. He then went on to direct short films and music videos. His short Mama Said screened at Sundance and in the Official Selection of films in Competition at The Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d'Or award. Mama Said is a critique of Race relations and pop culture of 60’s America. Mama Said also screened on The Sundance Channel.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes is a 2007 American pseudo-documentary horror film written, directed, edited, and co-developed by John Erick Dowdle. It is about the murders of a serial killer in Poughkeepsie, New York, told through interviews and footage from a cache of the killer's snuff films.
Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. The company expanded into other media including advertising, podcast networking, film, television, streaming media, and management.
Noroi: The Curse is a 2005 Japanese horror film directed and co-written by Kōji Shiraishi. It stars Jin Muraki as Masafumi Kobayashi, a paranormal researcher investigating a series of mysterious events for a documentary. The film employs a pseudo-documentary style of storytelling and utilizes found footage conventions, with the majority of the narrative being presented as if it were Kobayashi's documentary, made up of footage recorded by Kobayashi's cameraman. The film's cast also includes actress Marika Matsumoto, who plays a fictionalized version of herself, as well as Rio Kanno, Tomono Kuga, and Satoru Jitsunashi.
Brad Miska is an American film producer and founder of Bloody Disgusting, a horror genre website known for covering horror films, video games, comics, and music. His films include the V/H/S franchise, Under the Bed, A Horrible Way to Die and Southbound.
Found footage is a cinematic technique in which all or a substantial part of the work is presented as if it were film or video recordings recorded by characters in the story, and later "found" and presented to the audience. The events on screen are typically seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved, often accompanied by their real-time, off-camera commentary. For added realism, the cinematography may be done by the actors themselves as they perform, and shaky camera work and naturalistic acting are routinely employed. The footage may be presented as if it were "raw" and complete or as if it had been edited into a narrative by those who "found" it.
Radio Silence Productions is an American film and television production company, founded in 2011 by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez and Chad Villella. The group is known for the horror films Ready or Not, Scream and Scream VI, as well as their previous work together as Chad, Matt & Rob.
Chad Villella is an American producer, writer, director and actor. He is co-creator of Chad, Matt & Rob and Radio Silence. His films include V/H/S, Devil's Due, Southbound, Ready or Not, Scream, Scream VI and Abigail.
V/H/S/2 is a 2013 American found footage horror anthology film produced by Bloody Disgusting and Roxanne Benjamin. The second installment in the V/H/S franchise, it comprises four found footage segments linked together by a fifth frame narrative. V/H/S/2 features a largely different group of directors: Jason Eisener, Gareth Evans, Timo Tjahjanto, Eduardo Sánchez, and Gregg Hale, and franchise returnees Simon Barrett and Adam Wingard.
All Hallows' Eve is a 2013 American horror anthology film written, directed and edited by Damien Leone, in his feature film directorial debut. The film is presented as a series of shorts that two children and their babysitter discover on an unmarked videotape on Halloween night, all of which feature a homicidal clown named Art the Clown. The film stars Katie Maguire, Catherine Callahan, Marie Maser, and Kayla Lian, with Mike Giannelli as Art the Clown. It incorporates footage from the 2008 short film The 9th Circle, as well as the 2011 short film Terrifier, both of which were also directed by Leone and featured Art the Clown.
Where the Dead Go to Die is a 2012 American animated anthology horror film written, directed, composed, edited, and animated by James "Jimmy ScreamerClauz" Creamer. This film is noted as an example of extreme cinema because of its graphic depictions of violence.
Justin Martinez is an American film director, cinematographer, visual effects artist, writer and producer. He is a co-creator of Radio Silence, known for their work on the films V/H/S, Devil's Due, and Southbound.
Siren is a 2016 American horror film directed by Gregg Bishop and written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski. It is the first spin-off film in the V/H/S franchise and feature-length adaptation of "Amateur Night", David Bruckner's segment from the 2012 anthology horror film V/H/S. The film focuses on Jonah and his groomsmen the day before his wedding, as they embark on a wild night of partying and debauchery. The party, however, becomes a savage fight for survival when they unwittingly unleash a fabled predator upon the festivities.
ABC's of Death 2½ is a 2016 American comedy horror anthology film produced by Ant Timpson, Ted Geoghegan and Tim League. It contains shorts, each by different directors. It is the third and final installment overall in the titular film series, a follow-up film and spin-off to the first and second films.
V/H/S/94 is a 2021 American found footage horror anthology film, and the fourth installment in the V/H/S franchise. The film originates from a screenplay written by David Bruckner, and Brad Miska, with segments directed by franchise returnees Simon Barrett and Timo Tjahjanto, in addition to newcomers Jennifer Reeder, Ryan Prows and Chloe Okuno. The overarching plot follows a police SWAT team who stumbles upon a sinister cult compound and its collection of VHS tapes.
V/H/S is an American horror anthology franchise that includes seven found footage films, two spin-off films, and one miniseries. Created from an original story idea by Brad Miska, the plot centers around a number of disturbing VHS tapes that are discovered by innocent viewers and the possessive influence of the videos over those who see them. Realized by a collaboration of various filmmakers and different casts, the installments are mostly standalone in nature; though recurring elements indicate the same fictional villain as the source for all of its videos.
V/H/S/99 is a 2022 American found footage horror anthology film, and the fifth installment in the V/H/S franchise. The film features segments from Johannes Roberts, Vanessa & Joseph Winter, Maggie Levin, Tyler MacIntyre and Flying Lotus. It premiered on September 16, 2022 in the Midnight Madness category of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. It was released as a Shudder Original Film on October 20, 2022. Upon its release, the film broke streaming records on Shudder and became the platform's most-viewed premiere, a title which was held by the earlier entry, V/H/S/94. The film grossed $377,457 in home sales.
Kids vs. Aliens is a 2022 American science fiction horror film directed by Jason Eisener and written by John Davies and Eisener. It is the second spin-off film in the V/H/S franchise and a feature-length adaptation of "Slumber Party Alien Abduction", the filmmaker's segment from the 2013 anthology horror film V/H/S/2.
V/H/S/85 is a 2023 found footage horror anthology film, and the sixth installment in the V/H/S franchise. The film features segments from David Bruckner, Scott Derrickson, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Natasha Kermani and Mike P. Nelson.
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