V/H/S: Viral Review

Much like its predecessors in the franchise, V/H/S: Viral left me with an internally nagging feeling that can be perfectly represented by the question "What in the hell did I just watch?". Unfortunately, whereas that question leaned on more of an excitement-filled curiosity towards experimental horror cinema with V/H/S 1 and 2, this statement in regards to Viral edges on something more negative. Not only does this sequel almost completely fails to live up to the overall quality and experience expectations that the previous movies set the stage for, but it also fails horribly at standing out as a great entry within the now crowded found footage horror market.

In the past V/H/S titles, I have always left the film thinking on at least two or three of the shorts that positively caught me off guard by its boldness to go beyond the border of traditional mainstream horror cinema to deliver something engaging and profound. However, this new installment in the series ended up only leaving me with really only one saving grace from the entire film. Although, it is a pretty good one admittedly, 1 out of 4 good segments isn't exactly a glowing endorsement for an anthology property. Also, I do have to address that the final tape listed in the film entitled "Gorgeous Vortex" by Todd Lincoln is only shown on the Blu-Ray edition, so unfortunately I wasn't able to see it prior to this review. So, with that said, I'll try my best to dive into each tape individually as they do offer up completely different reactions.

1. Vicious Circles - 3/10

The overarching "story" of V/H/S: Viral is an awfully executed short that feels as though it is desperately trying to yank a reaction out of the viewer as opposed to delivering something genuinely engaging and well structured. The only thing that legitimately caught my attention was the few quick "blink and you'll miss it" cameos of the Succubus character from the first movie's popular short entitled Amateur Night and footage of the "Safe Haven" short from V/H/S 2. It's a very brief image of the creature's face showing up randomly on a cellphone screen which immediately brings in-universe logic into question but the longer appearances of these clips are then explained as the tapes being uploaded to the world. 

I suppose if there is any upside to be found in this short, is that I was left thinking about the anthology narrative framework (though not for very long). There is absolutely nothing being offered here in terms of entertainment value and unique storytelling. However, at this point in the franchise, I won't completely bash it for feeling incomprehensible or unnecessary since the overarching stories of the two other films were also pretty weak.

It's now become an unintentional tradition for these films to find new awful ways of tying their collection of shorts together which is pretty unfortunate. Now if we're talking positives here, and this is me really scraping the bottom of the barrel here, aside from that quick visual easter egg surprise referencing the first film, there is one notably effective use of the camera POV format. There's a scene involving a guy being dragged behind the back of a van with his feet scraping on the streets. What made this particular moment stand out was the fact that it was all being filmed from his painfully torturing perspective resulting in an engaging enough experience. But I have to emphasize that this is just one bit in a longer tape that acts as our vehicle for anthology storytelling, and in that regard, Vicious Circles is definitely one of the weaker segments in the franchise.

2. Dante the Great - 4/10

Dante the Great centers on a criminal magician who is "still on the loose" that utilized a supposed magical cloak to kill his victims. Now just reading that premise alone, knowing what this franchise and sub genre of horror is capable of doing, you can already imagine the amazing potential that can come out of such a wild concept. Adding on to the alluring possibilities of this idea is the fact that this cloak is rumored to have been used by the legendary Houdini himself but was later shelved due to the magician's questionable fear of using it. The icing on the cake comes with our titular magician, Dante the Great, having magical abilities as a result of this mysterious cloak which allows us to step into some conceptually enticing supernatural horror. So, with such a fascinating premise involving interesting world building and horror possibilities to create a new villain worthy of celebrating, let's see how the execution follows. 

Utilizing the found footage style, what we end up seeing in this tape is a police interview of one of the magician's female assistants discussing her experiences with the magician. There are many other tapes being spliced in showcasing the magician's perspective as he himself would record everything that he did utilizing the bizarre features of the cloak. Now speaking  from a visual standpoint, there are a few interesting moments surrounding these supernatural abilities emerging from the cloak. 

However, instead of keeping things eerie and effectively minimal to immerse the audience in a somewhat plausible world, the filmmakers decide to ramp things up to a much higher, over the top, and unnecessary level when it comes to a certain "fight scene" that takes place. Yes, there is an actual magician fight scene between him and his assistant after the revelation that he's been murdering people to "feed the cloak". 

Now after saying all of that, does the concept still sound interesting? If your answer is yes, then I can honestly understand as this would make for a great supernatural horror film/crime thriller of sorts under the hands of a better suited director and production team. But guys, not only are the performances some of the worst that I've seen so far in the series, but the found footage element of the film itself gets completely butchered by actual background music being inserted. I could've sworn that these were all supposed to be "found footage" tapes like the past films, so where is this background music with a cinematic edge to the visuals coming from? However, that's the least of this segment's problems as "Dante the Great" results in a horror movie short that left me thinking through countless of alterations that would've made it significantly better.

3. Parallel Monsters - 9/10

Earlier in the review, I mentioned that V/H/S Viral only had one saving grace out of its entire collection of anthology shorts. So without further delay, I give you Parallel Monsters which represents Viral's one entry in the franchise's track record for presenting at least one short that stayed with me either due to its uniqueness or shock value. In the case of this segment, it's a bit of both as the tape explores the idea of entering a parallel universe in a supposedly comforting yet obviously foreign and bizarre setting. 

This is a tape that truly takes full advantage of its concept (and budget) as I've never experienced the type of imagery showcased here in any other horror or science-fiction film. We see our main character, Alfonso, revealing with his camera that he has created some sort of a dimensional traveling machine that can enter a universe parallel to our own. As he activates it, he (as well as the audience watching of course) sees a mirror image of himself and his room with his parallel counterpart actually existing as a separate being.

This set up already captivated me as I've never really seen the idea of mirror universes truly exploited in a live action film setting (especially within the prism of horror cinema). After the two characters nervously interact with each other, the mirror version of Alfonso decides to step into our world cautiously and comes up with the experimental plan of switching places for 15 minutes. Now at this point, not only am I sold by the concept and potential of this tape, but the performances were refreshingly decent making me feel pretty optimistic for what's to come. 

The way that the two interacted with each other felt surprisingly genuine to some degree especially when the mirror version of himself constantly emphasized on the idea of them sharing the same thoughts without having to say anything. Once our Alfonso agrees to the plan, we begin what I can only describe as being an intense roller coaster ride of suspense and nail biting anticipation.

First off, we see the two slowly inspecting the other's seemingly identical hallway and stairway until they individually encounter different paintings on the wall. The nightmare fuel horror-adventure aspect already starts to tease its way in when our Alfonso sees what looks like an evil ritual-like image on the wall versus the normal couple painting in his house. What effectively adds to the creep factor of this scene in particular however isn't just the bizarre imagery in the other dimension but the confused and almost ridiculing reaction from the mirror Alfonso as he sees the normal marriage picture. 

There's something unnerving about the fact that he begins to laugh saying "What kind of people is this?" coupled with the creepy image in the mirror universe that starts to gradually paint something deeply sinister about the world that we're traveling in. It's a truly brilliant use of dialogue and imagery using very little to convey a heightened sense of awareness, speculation, and danger all in one scene.

Perhaps, marriage is nonexistent in their world making it either taboo or ridiculous which I found very interesting as it laid out some eerie religious undertones surrounding the culture of this dimension. As the two continued on with their venture, this was where things start to dive into the completely strange and uncomfortable area of horror where V/H/S seems to enjoy dwelling in. The parallel version of Alfonso's wife begins to suggest a strange sexual ritual with the company of two other men alongside Alfonso. 

If that wasn't off-kilter enough, we get this creepy looking room set up involving a sack of what seems to be blood hanging from a knotted rope in the center like some living room attraction. Much like our protagonist Alfonso, I find myself drawn to the unknown and the biggest highlights of V/H/S overall is that it completely drives upon the strange and unexpected, so I was actually able to relate to the explorative yet nerve wrecking nature of this whole scene.

As the three (the wife and the two random guys) casually sit down by the sofa, the audience can only imagine what is going through Alfonso's mind in this moment. He's silent, but the off the wall freakish imagery taking place before him suggests that his silence comes from his heightened fear and lack of understanding which again brilliantly conveys a lot without doing much. This tape truly takes advantage of the atmosphere and scenario quite effectively which is why I ranked it as arguably the best that the franchise has ever delivered so far. It is classic horror filmmaking at its finest fueling the audience's imagination and utilizing it as a tool to create genuinely terrified reactions.

In between this event, we get cuts of the mirror Alfonso creepily taking snapshots of Alfonso's wife as she sleeps innocently in bed. Again, the brilliance here is in the atmosphere and situation as not only are we petrified with this alternate universe of insanity, but we're genuinely cautious about what a man from that universe would do in our very own reality (especially with Alfonso's wife). As we get back to the parallel universe, the wife states "my husband likes to go first, is that fine?" asking the two men to be patient with Alfonso which adds even more tension to the situation. 

Not only is he in a tension racking and awkward position, but the audience has to live through this experience along with him. It's the perfect mix of mystery and anticipation that really brings everything together in an amazingly presented package. The fear of the unknown and the challenge that would come if one were to be positioned in the middle of it is perfectly conveyed here. 

Now without getting into the tape in its entirety, I'll just point out some of the key moments that I really admired. The moments where our Alfonso hear these random abnormal sounds coming from outside of the living room window was some of the most amazing use of sound design that I've seen thus far in a horror film. We see our Alfonso constantly looking out of the window every time these loud sirens and spotlights would fill the air adding to the eeriness of the world building slowly unraveling itself. There's a really clever piece of direction shown here which is the reaction on the parallel wife's face not comprehending why Alfonso is freaking out from these foreign sounds and lights. Not to sound like a broken tape recorder or anything, but I do have to highlight yet again the conveyance of a lot with a little (in this case a performance choice).

All of this effective build up leads to the big reveal of what these "people" really are which was honestly worth the price of admission in my opinion. Without going into too much details, I was quite pleased that they didn't went too crazy with these parallel characters with that profound revelation and instead managed to still keep a sense of mystery. The imagery behind their true forms is unsettling to say the least and it just accentuates just how horrifying this whole situation is while simultaneously solidifying the classic theme of consequential experimentation. 

Overall, this is one of the best segments in the series thus far in terms of concept, visuals, acting, and execution and a standard setting example of what this franchise can be is given to the right filmmakers and creative minds. Unfortunately, the tragic side to that celebratory praise comes with irony that "Parallel Monsters" is also part of the worst film installment in the franchise making it difficult to watch the full experience that it's connected to.

4. Bonestorm - 4/10

Right out of the gate, one of the glaring issues that I had with Bonestorm is just how random the whole thing feels (which says a lot coming from a fan of the series' unexpected direction). I feel like the filmmakers behind this one focused more on shock value and entertainment more than anything else which can be fine considering the brand, but the execution just didn't do it for me. There are moments of potential sprinkled throughout such as the mysterious ritual taking place in the central setting as well as this hidden beast lurking behind drain pipes under a bridge. The elements of horror-mystery were actually pretty decent overall, but the actual shock value being heavily focused on was the least of my interests. I felt those types of moments worked a lot better in the "Safe Haven" tape shown in V/H/S 2 which this tape seems to have taken a little inspiration from.

The random bizarre ritual, hidden giant demonic beast revealing itself at the end, and tons of bloody gore filling the screen felt right at home for anyone who may have fell in love with the "Safe Haven" segment. Speaking as someone who actually did like that movie, I felt as though the filmmakers here attempted to mirror that experience but ultimately failed in the end. There simply wasn't enough of a compelling set up even with some of the promising visual elements being laid out for the audience. The setting is a fun, bold choice, but the characters themselves are poorly written for the situation being presented. Bonestorm comes down to being just another potential filled project thrown down the same sewer pipes with whatever its featured creature is supposed to be hiding in. 

5. Gorgeous Vortex - 3/10

10 years later and I was finally able to catch the Blu-Ray exclusive final tape entitled "Gorgeous Vortex" and...it's utterly terrible. I can see now why this would've been a bad idea to add into this already difficult to watch collection. Gorgeous Vortex is the first V/H/S entry that goes against the found footage format to a large degree cinematically speaking in favor of presenting itself to look like what I can only describe as some twisted ad for an expensive cologne/perfume, jewelry company, or fashion company. Anything that uses extensive slow-motion shots of a supermodel posing with dazzling visuals surrounding her. Only here, it's being coupled by terrible creature design and themes revolving around controversial objectification of women, conspiracy, and likely other messages that I won't bother try to analyze and dive into.

Honestly, the whole thing was a chore to get through despite some of the visuals being indeed dazzling from a surface-level point of view. But by dazzling, I don't necessarily mean interesting in its visual direction to inspire strong engagement but merely that it's certainly shot well enough (like a high production cologne ad only stretched out way longer than you're used to). But decent production aside, although I could follow enough of what was taking place and was never putting down the short due to confusion by any means even with the ambiguities of its narrative, I just simply didn't feel compelled to want more. Instead, I checked out about halfway through with the whole experience and was patiently waiting for the credits to appear.

Rating: 4/10