V/H/S/2 is a 2013 American anthology horror film and a sequel to the film V/H/S. It features a series of four supposed found-footage shorts.
The film was rushed into production in late 2012, and debuted as part of Sundance Film Festival 2013, much like its predecessor. The sequel involves a largely different group of directors: Jason Eisener, Gareth Evans, Timo Tjahjanto, Eduardo Sánchez and Gregg Hale, plus returnees Simon Barrett and Adam Wingard.
Phase I Clinical Trials: A man receives an ocular implant (an eye with a camera) only to become terrorized by ghosts that only he can see with said implant.
A Ride in the Park: A man riding a bike on the trail through a park stumbles upon what he thinks is someone hurt, only to realize it is actually a zombie.
Safe Haven: A documentary crew are attempt to gain access to Paradise Gates, an Indonesian safe house that is more akin to a polygamist colony. After pulling some strings and getting an exclusive interview with the “Father,” all hell breaks loose.
Slumber Party Alien Abduction: A group of teenagers decide to throw a party, only to have it crashed by an alien invasion.
Review:
While certainly, a step up from its predecessor, V/H/S 2 is almost entirely disposable. And although based around found-footage, there’s actually no need for most of the film to be shot that way – the Evans / Timo Tjahjanto segment in particular really struggles to justify this, with several cameras and edits used and the whole camcorder aspect rather fudged.
David Flint, MOVIES & MANIA
Other reviews:
“Gareth Huw Evans (famed for The Raid) co-creates ‘Safe Haven’, about some journalists’ investigation of a creepy cult. The horribly violent finale basically makes this Jonestown 2.0. There are some dull stretches here, but also some grisly instant hits: nasty, deplorable, vulgar and sometimes brilliant.” The Guardian
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“V/H/S/2 is looking to be the horror film to beat at this year’s festival, and doing so will be no easy task. A special hats off should go to the great conglomeration of directors who bring on the kind of mayhem that will not only keep the audience glued to the screen for 95 minutes but also have them applauding between each segment.” Dread Central
” … boasts one masterpiece of over-the-top horror in Safe Haven and a pretty decent short in Phase I Clinical Trials. I usually hate advising viewers to lower their expectations to increase enjoyment of a film, but that may be the key to enjoying the current wave of horror anthologies.” Obsessive Movie Nerd
“Patchy was the best word to describe found footage horror portmanteau V/H/S. Rubbish is the one that best suits the sequel. The only entry that instils any kind of shiver is co-directed by Gareth Huw Evans (who made The Raid).” London Evening Standard
“On the whole, V/H/S/2 is an improvement on its predecessor in just about every way possible: the directing talent is much better; the visual composition and effects are too; the reconfigured structure of the anthology (a “quality over quantity” approach this time) is more streamlined and efficient; and the implementation of the found-footage format is more logical and effective.” Screen Rant
” …if you liked last year’s horror collection called V/H/S then there’s virtually no chance that you’ll dislike the sequel; it’s quicker, slicker, and perhaps even sicker than the first entry, but it’s also another shining example of how well horror cinema can work in bite-sized portions.” FEARnet
“V/H/S/2 is a sequel that actually succeeds in improving on the original, delivering a tighter anthology that’s more diverse, has greater scale, and is more entertaining from start-to-finish. The filmmakers are clearly getting better at this….” IGN
Film Facts:
The film’s working title was S-VHS.
V/H/S horror timeline:
