V/H/S (2012) - Energetic, periodically intensely creepy if flawed found footage horror anthology

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The inventively designed, sinister poster for Batt Bettinelli-Olpin, David Bruckner, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg, Chad Villella, Ti West and Adam Wingard's V/H/S

Some very simpleminded guys get a job of breaking into a house to locate a VHS-tape. In the house they find a dead man, - and a lot of scary tapes. - They nevertheless try their best to complete the job ...

This accounts for the framing story of anthology horror V/H/S. Both that and the first story within the story, (all coming from tapes found in the house), are about really awfully dumb people, who yell brainlessly and break stuff. This combined with the nausea-inducing shaky camera technique that is the modus operandi for much of V/H/S makes for an inauspicious beginning that might lead some audiences to simply leave or switch off the film. It is a general problem for V/H/S that its stories are inhabited by too many foolhardy loudmouths.
But it also offers some well-functioning and extremely creepy periods, - SPOILER especially the motel break-in story (Second Honeymoon), the Skype woman (The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger) and the concluding, wild 1998 Halloween haunted-house story (10/31/98). The video aesthetic lends an uncomfortable realism to the film's best sequences, although many of the glitches and shakings are a bit much.
Still, V/H/S is an energetic and inventive anthology, - obviously made by true horror-lovers. It is made by a very long row of people, so take a deep breath: Conceptualized by Brad Miska (co-founder and editor-in-chief of Bloody-Disgusting.com); Tape 56 (frame story) written by Simon Barrett (Blair Witch (2016)), directed by Adam Wingard (Blair Witch); Amateur Night written by Nicholas Tecosky (SiREN (2016, based on characters created by) and co-writer-director David Bruckner (Southbound (2015, writer-director); Second Honeymoon written and directed by Ti West (In a Valley of Violence (2016)); Tuesday the 17th written and directed by Glenn McQuaid (Chilling Visions: 5 States of Fear (2014), writer-director); The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger written by Barrett, directed by Joe Swanberg (Happy Christmas (2014) writer-director); 10/31/98 written and directed by Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez, Chad Villella (Devil's Due (2014), all)).

 

Here is an unrelated video of what is supposedly a real found-footage video found in Croatia of something very creepy ... Watch if you dare

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: In excess of 1.9 mil. $

= Unknown (likely a big flop)

[V/H/S premiered January 22 (Sundance) and runs 116 minutes. Filming took place in California. Magnolia Pictures purchased the distribution rights for around 1 mil. $ at Sundance, where it was reported that two movie patrons had to be seen to by paramedics, one of them collapsing after tumbling out during a screening of the film. Notoriously horror-bashing Roger Ebert gave the film a 1-star review. The film opened #52 in 16 theaters to a 36k $ first weekend in North America, where it peaked in 19 theaters but didn't go above #52 and grossed just 100k $ (5.3 % of the total gross). If projected at a very modest 1 mil. $ budget, the film remains a big flop theatrically, though it has likely made money through home-video and VoD. Besides normal home-video releases, V/H/S has also been released on VHS in 2013. It has spawned two sequels, V/H/S/2 (2013) and V/H/S: Viral (2014) and the Amateur Night spin-off SiREN (2016). V/H/S is rotten at 55 % with a 5.6 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of V/H/S?

Creepshow (1982) - Fun, campy horror anthology from King and Romero

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The morbidly festive poster for George A. Romero's Creepshow

QUICK REVIEW:

With a framing story about a voodoo-practicing boy, whose father throws his Creepshow comic out, 5 ghoulish stories are served: SPOILER About a living corpse, who wants his cake; a meteor, which transforms a fool into a Plant Man; a jealous millionaire, who favors monitored drowning; a monster from the North Pole in a crate; and finally one about a neurotic city magnate with a bug problem ...

- Particularly this last story is a true nightmare for all of us who can't stand tingling insects, (in this case cockroaches.) 
Creepshow is an anthology horror movie homage to 1950's horror comic, written by horror maestro Stephen King (Christine (1983)) and directed by master horror director George A. Romero (Dawn of the Dead (1978)). Its stories are deliberately corny and sensationalist with some holes here and there.
The film boasts several stars: Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild (2007)), Leslie Nielsen (The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)), Ted Danson (Cheers (1982-93)), King gives a highly physical performance as the fool, and E. G. Marshall (Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)) amuses as the unlucky magnate in the final story, which also showcases Romero's keen satirical talent.
The lighting throughout is refreshingly high-key Bavaesque, the animations are cool, and Tom Savini's (Martin (1976)) special effects are somewhat crude but effective. The film is a joy (especially for a horror-fan.)

Related reviews:

George A. Romero: Dawn of the Dead (1978) or, Mall of Death!

Watch the awesome original trailer here

Cost: 8 mil. $
Box office: 21 mil. $ (US only)
= Box office success
[The film is labeled a sleeper hit. Including other territories (which I can't find numbers for, except that nearly 350,000 people paid admission in Spain) and video, TV and merchandise, Creepshow must surely have been a great source of income for Warner Bros. It took First Blood's #1 spot at the US box office and was Warner's top horror film of the year. It got one official sequel in 1987 and a direct-to-DVD unrelated sequel in 2007.]

What do you think of Creepshow?
Other horror anthologies that you like or dislike?

Black Sabbath/I Tre Volti Della Paura (1963) - Bava and Karloff's great, gothic anthology

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Fascinating poster for Mario Bava's Black Sabbath

QUICK REVIEW:

Boris Karloff (Frankenstein (1931)) serves as a superiorly theatrical, terror-striking narrator in Mario Bava's (A Bay of Blood (1971)) horror anthology, Black Sabbath. He also plays the character Gorka, who becomes a blood-sucking 'Wurdulak' in the 3rd story in the film, which is based on a Tolstoy novella. (Note that if you see the apparently much different Italian version of the film, the Wurdulak story is the second story in the film. The Italian version has, it seems, more tongue-in-cheek Karloff as the narrator, a lesbian subplot in the telephone story, a different score and slightly more gore. This review is based on the American version, which is certainly also very good.)

A still from the Wurdulak-story in Mario Bava's Black Sabbath

The Wurdulak-story is Gothic and scary in the traditional Universal horror-type-style, (although Sabbath was an entirely European feat, English/Italian/French.) The other two stories are (1) about a woman, who steals a dead woman's ring and is then haunted by her, and (2) about a woman, who gets terrorized over the phone by a deceased ex-lover.
There is a moral resonance in all three stories. The two first are draped in an ultra-heavy, classicist decor and feature extremely vampy dames. It is all presented with cheesy dialog and a bit lax editing. The original, Italian title means 'The Three Faces of Fear'.
In case you are wondering, this film is the reason that Ozzy Osbourne's band called themselves Black Sabbath. It is a very cool film, and especially recommended for Karloff-fans.

Related reviews:

Mario Bava, cinematographer: Blood and Black Lace (1964) or, The Fashionista Killer!
Hercules Unchained (1959) - Spaghetti decadence never fades
Boris Karloff: The Ape (1940) or, The Costume-Crazed Doctor!
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - The magnificent and mysterious monster bride

Another wicked (Spanish) poster for the film - click to enlarge

Budget: Unkown
Box office: 103 mil. ITL (only Italy)
= Uncertainty

What do you think of Black Sabbath?
What other horror anthology movies would you recommend?