film

V/H/S: Viral (2014)

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The third installment in the V/H/S anthology series leaves us with an all too familiar feeling…creepy and effective ideas followed up with laughably poor execution.

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Note:  Grayed-out sections of text represent possible spoilers.  If you see an interruption of text that looks like the following, (this represents possible spoiler text that will appear grayed out until the cursor is placed over it) then this means a potential spoiler is hidden underneath.  To view the text, simply hover over the area.  Try it now with the preceding area. I’ve done my best to hide major spoilers, but I make no guarantees. If you’re really worried about discovering possible plot points and twists, you may want to come back to this article after having seen the film.

I don’t keep up with horror as well as I used to (or as well as I’d like to), but I try to keep my ear to the ground when it comes to films that make a splash on internet. V/H/S was one such film and long story short, I watched it, though I found myself having to dose up on Dramamine before I could sit through it. A couple of the stories were just plain crap, but a couple also had potential…unrealized potential I might add. There were some neat ideas thrown around, but it never felt like they were handled the way that they should’ve been. Furthermore, there was the annoying “VHS aesthetic.” I appreciate the attempt to live up to the name, but the endless video artifacts were insanely distracting.

Then came V/H/S/2, with more of the same tracking errors and similar nonsense. This time around though, the stories were told much better and more suited to the series’ anthology format. There were some great moments – I loved the Malaysian cult story, even if it was supremely irritating to not hear it English. The frame story was weak (so was the first one), but in general, I think the filmmakers (compilers?) had a more coherent vision.

Enter V/H/S: Viral. This third installment takes on a bit of a different form, and to my dismay, does away with a lot of the genuinely creepy moments from the first 2 films. However, it does make up for it somewhat with less reliance on the “VHS aesthetic” and far less shaky-cam.

Circles (Frame Story)

Like the previous 2, “Circles” is the weakest piece of the puzzle. It involves two happenings: a car/ambulance/police chase going around in a circles, and a circulating video that makes whoever watches it go insane. I still don’t understand how the two were connected, and the story is shot in a very disjointed and incoherent manner from multiple sources. I had a very difficult time gleaning anything of value, even after watching it twice. It also does absolutely nothing to connect the other stories; in the previous films, the frame narrative featured people in houses going through collections of videos, but I really don’t know how or if the remaining stories relate back to “Circles.”

Dante the Great

This story presents itself like a documentary. An amateur magician, Dante, comes across a cloak that lets him perform actual magic, though he soon learns that in order to keep the cloak functional, he must feed it…living people! I found the story rather trite and boring; I don’t even think the premise has much potential beyond an average horror film. We’ve pretty much seen this story done time and time again: a magical being or object gives its beholder anything it wants, only it comes at a steep price, usually the happiness or lives of those around him. Yawn. Next.

Parallel Monsters

Here we have an amazing concept that plays off the ideas of parallel universes. For some ungodly reason, Spanish is spoken throughout, so the subtitles are a must. I found this extremely irritating, and I really don’t understand the point of all these foreign language clips popping up in horror anthologies.

Anyway, we meet an inventor who opens a door to a parallel universe where he meets himself. They agree to explore each other’s world’s for 15 minutes. At first everything seems the same, until a very unnerving moment on the stairs. “Normal Alfonso” sees a picture of some kind of ritual – a circle of candles and a bloody bag, while “Other Alfonso” sees a picture of his wedding to “his” wife, starts laughing a little too hard, and muses about what kind of world this is.

The adventure of “Normal Alfonso” gets even weirder. He discovers a set up in is living room similar to the ritual in the photograph. Two men are hanging around for unknown reasons, and little details illustrate the bizarreness of the situation: a star chart is projected onto the ceiling, while a movie is playing in the background where sex sounds are accompanying what looks to be a human being burnt alive on an “X” shaped stake. Then a mechanical whirring is heard, and outside appears a blimp with an inverted neon cross, with loud speakers booming something in an ancient sounding language.

At this point, I suppose that we as the viewer are supposed to gather that this alternate universe is dominated by a different religion – presumably something like the opposite of Christianity, if not outright Satanism. The weird differences were a treat at this point, but everything quickly devolves. The males in the “Other Universe” have giant penises with mouths and teeth, and in lieu of a vagina, women have a Face Hugger-esque receptacle on their groin and lower abdomen. Oh yeah, and everyone turns all demonic with glowing faces, like a jack-o-lantern. What? No.

About the time we start seeing what a strange place this is, similar events transpire in the “Normal Universe” with “Other Alfonso” taking on an antagonistic role. Pretty soon, both are scrambling to escape back to their own worlds. They do so successfully, but in a weird twist of fate, each must pay for the seemingly bizarre behavior of the other.

“Parallel Monsters” got off to an awesome start. The subtle hints were great. But when outlandish developments like EVIL DEMON DICK began appearing, it turned to shlock. This story would’ve been better served as a serious piece, a kind of “what if?” when it comes to some aspects of our society that we take for granted. I would’ve loved to have seen these parallel universes explore differing dominant religions, but much of that is negated since the people in the “Other Universe” don’t even seem to be human. Oh well; it scores points for trying.

Bonestorm

I kind of liked this one too, even though it does play out a bit generically. It’s simple really – a group of skateboarders venture down to Tiajauna to film themselves doing tricks and whatnot, until they’re greeted by a creepy cult. Although they manage to kill several of them with items at hand, it doesn’t stop the main event. Apparently, just a few feet way in an underground tunnel, something has been summoned and it’s really pissed.

Pretty soon, the dead cult members start coming back as zombies, leaving the skaters to deal with them once again. I assume they got away, but the story never really ends, it just stops. The creature gets out, but we never even get a proper look. Bummer.

Conclusion

Included on the DVD is apparently a final segment after the credits, known as “Gorgeous Vortex;” however, those of us streaming the film (like myself) are unable to see it.  Oh well.  Seems a shame to have a director’s hard work go to waste in such a way, but c’est la vie.  

At the end of it all, V/H/S: Viral is worth streaming or maybe a rental if you love horror, especially anthology horror, but I would hesitate to recommend a purchase unless you really loved the first 2. It’s a nice improvement in quality and consistency, but it doesn’t quite hit the creepy and foreboding notes of its predecessors.

Have you seen VHS: Viral?  Which story is your favorite?  Let us know below!

Written by The Cubist