Film Review: V/H/S: VIRAL (2014)

Anthology films have never been as popular as they are now and V/H/S: Viral (2014) is the third in the franchise in as many years.  The concept of “found” V/H/S tapes as a framing device for the previous films was a unique concept but this film has decided to change the framing device to be an actual segment of the film.  The Los Angeles police are in the middle of a high speed car chase following an ice cream truck when a young man with dreams of being famous starts to film the chase but becomes personally involved when his girlfriend is abducted. 

This film has only three stories in it.  One involves a magician’s cape which seems to possess actual magical powers as long as it is kept feed on a constant basis, the second story involves an inventor who creates a machine to open a doorway to a parallel dimension where his doppelganger lives and exploring that parallel world is more dangerous than he realizes, and the third story is about a group of punk skateboarders who find the perfect place to ride that also just so happens to be a place for the undead.

I wish I could say that I enjoyed this film like I did the previous two (the second one being the overall best) but this latest film lacks the creativity and drive of the previous films and spends so much more time on the framing story (which also is not nearly as interesting) was a bad choice, in my opinion.  Nacho Vigalondo’s segment about the inventor who ventures into a parallel world is the most interesting.  Both of the other two segments have interesting concepts but the characters are not interesting nor the horrors they find themselves in. 

Unfortunately, with anthology films you kind of expect there to be a higher ratio of mediocre segments to good ones but usually there is at least one that anchors the film as a whole.  Unfortunately, that is what is missing from this film.

"Rants & Ravings About Horror" - Week 16: “Giving a Little Love to the Anthology Film”

Week 16: “Giving a Little Love to the Anthology Film”

Like many horror fans we all have a love-hate relationship with the anthology film.  Films which are made up of shorter films which are sometimes interconnected but for the most part are unrelated and can stand on their own.  Since I generally like the genre I wanted to take a few moments to speak about them especially since they’ve come back in style with the popularity of the V/H/S and ABCs of Death franchises.

A lot of the times anthology films are a showcase for several directors to tackle short material as is the case with Tales From the Darkside: The Movie (1990), Two Evil Eyes (1991), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) and more recently V/H/S 2 (2013).  I love the idea of letting directors of all walks of life contribute to a disturbing vision of horror.  Three…Extremes (2004) had three directors from all over the world contribute or the massive undertaking of The ABCs of Death (2013) which is probably the largest collaboration of directors from all over the world assembled with 26 in all.  It was not always like this though.

Anthology films were originally a way for established directors to be able to tell multiple stories like George A. Romero’s collaboration with Stephen King in Creepshow (1982).  The name Stephen King is also associated with the anthology Cat’s Eye (1985) and Creepshow 2 (1987) and even Quicksilver Highway (1997), which included a short story from Clive Barker.  Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath (1963) is a gothic classic that showcases some of the director’s best work as is Freddie Francis’ Tales from the Crypt (1972) and Roy Ward Baker’s Vault of Horror (1973).

Many times you just can’t beat a good anthology film that just wants to have fun like Grindhouse (2007),  Nightmares (1983)and 4bia (2008).  I love a great fun anthology which is why I’m a huge fan on Dan Curtis’ Trilogy of Terror (1975) and its sequel Trilogy of Terror II (1996) which were both made for TV films but transcended its meager TV trappings.  The same can be said for John Carpenter’s Body Bags (1993) and Terror Tract (2000).  These may not have been given the luxury of being able to go to the extremes (a hindrance of broadcast cable standards) but they make up for it with strong storytelling and great performances.

Sequels also play a hand with anthology films.  It’s a rare occurrence when an anthology gets a sequel but it does happen.  Creepshow 3 (2006) is an in name only infamous sequel to the popular King-Romero collaborations but there is also 3 Extremes II (2002), ABCs of Death 2 (2014), and V/H/S: Viral (2014) in addition to the ones previously mentioned.

For the independent filmmakers there are the two George A. Romero presents Deadtime Stories films (part 1 in 2009 and part 2 in 2011) in addition to Hi-8 (Horror Independent 8) (2013), in addition to a plethora more.  I love the spirit of the independent film maker and there are a lot of short film collections out there that help get the word out on rising talents (so be on the lookout for them).

I have a lot of guilty pleasure anthology films that not only include Grindhouse and V/H/S 2 but also Tales from the Hood (1995), Torture Garden (1967), Grim Prairie Tales (1990) and The Offspring (1987).  There are also those films I think are classics like Dead of Night (1945), Kwaidan (1964) and most recently the surprise hit Trick ‘r Treat (2008).

Anthology horror films are not an easy thing to succeed at.  There are more unsuccessful films then there are successful ones and unfortunately there are more that succeed on a small level  (meaning that maybe one out of all the other stories are any good) than on the whole.  We should not forget the contributions that this genre has in the horror genre and that without it we may not have had those few amazing displays of genius.  I’ve mentioned a lot of different films and hopefully there are a few that will have you searching them out.

Film Review: SUMMER SCHOOL (2006)

Anthology films are very hit or miss, but more often than not they are miss.  The same can be said for the film Summer School (2006) which suffers from being an anthology with a unique premise that is destroyed by subpar acting and production values and weak and uninspired direction (from all the directors).

It’s the first day of summer school and Charles (Simon Wallace) just wants to get through the day without any problems because he just spent last night watching a lot of B-level horror films.  Today will be anything but normal as Charles soon discovers that he is living a nightmare within a nightmare of different style horror films.  The only way of escape is when he dies at the end of the nightmare and wakes up but what is a nightmare and what is the real world?

The film has a great concept behind it as the short films contained within are from different genres from a vampire film to a mutant infestation film to a hillbilly “Wrong Turn” like film to more.  This is an excellent idea for a horror film but the overall film is hampered by a weak lead in with Wallace who cannot carry the film and seems out of place in many of the shorts (his performance is very inconsistent).  His co-stars all seem to be having more fun as each short has the same actors portraying different characters from one story to the next.

Most of the direction is pedestrian and lacks imagination and causes the film to drag especially when you’re stuck in scenes with just Wallace.  The low budget (or no budget as it looks) aesthetics of the film hamper it at every turn leaving nothing in the film to actually enjoy.  This is a shame since the film’s concept is its driving force and allure.  This is one of those independent films that could do with a remake that had a budget to do the story justice.

Film Review: GRIM PRAIRIE TALES (1990)

Anthology films are a hard nut to crack and often times they are mixed results but Grim Prairie Tales (1990) represents one of the best of the genre.  It is the old west and two travelers’ paths cross on the desolate landscape of the American west.  Farley (Brad Dourif) is a clerk on his way to reunite with his wife and James Earl Jones is Morrison, a bounty hunter with his latest catch.  These two can’t trust each other but they find a common ground in the fact that they both like to tell stories and herein start the strange competition between the two to tell the best story. 

I won’t go into detail about the stories only that some hit the mark while others take a detour but all are interesting in their own right and show a side of the storyteller in the types of stories they like to tell.  Morrison is more interested in the horrifying story and telling a good fright whereas Farley is more interested in the deep psychological horror that stays with you.

One of the most interesting aspects of the execution of the film is the fact that the wrap around segments with Farley and Morrison are actually more interesting than the stories they tell each other as their love for storytelling and telling scary stories allows great interaction between the two characters as well as provide interesting character development not normally associated with the anthology format.  Dourif and Jones are magical together and gel this film when any other two actors could’ve made a mess of the whole thing.

Being a western also brings something else to the dynamic of the film as it gives the stories atmosphere and depth that most anthologies set in modern times do not have.  This is a timely anthology that still manages to impress and pack a punch over twenty years later on a film I recommend to fans of the anthology format.