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Here's the proper poster: and here's the better in every way Sundance poster (signed by the directors).  No I have not tried to play the tape: I'm going to cut right to the chase: V/H/S is one of the best horror movies I've ever seen and the best found footage movie I've ever seen (and I love me some found footage). I know alot of people are sick of this genre but I can't get enough of it and if anything this movie makes more excited about the movie than ever. V/H/S is a horror compilation. It's broken up into five short films all done by different directors that are all tied together with a sixth that's done by yet another director. The way the movie is framed is as follows: there is a group of guys that like to commit crimes, film them and upload them to the web. This gains them the attention of an unknown man who wants them to break into a guy’s house and steal a VHS tape. He tells them they’ll know which one. They search the house and find a guy dead in front of a setup of multiple TVs tuned to nothing but static. They continue to search the house for the tape they need and while everyone else is distracted, one of the guys decides to eject the VCR connected to the TVs and finds a tape. He plays it and we see the strangeness contained within. The movie continues like this, showing us multiple strange found footage tales as the situation in the house itself gets creepier and creepier. Here are some brief summaries of five films. I'll try to keep them as spoiler free as possible but I'll put spoiler tags on them anyways. NOTE: The order you see these in may vary. Both times I saw the film they were in the same order but some reviews have them in a different order and I have no way of knowing what the final release will be like: Amateur Night by by David Bruckner (The Signal): Some men try to go out to get some action and hope to record it on a camera hidden in within a pair of glasses. Things seem to be going well until they meet a beautiful girl who seems kind of…off. Second Honeymoon by Ti West (House of the Devil, The Innkeepers): A couple with a semi-rocky relationship records their road trip across the country. Tuesday the 17th by Glenn McQuaid (I Sell the Dead): A girl takes some college friends to a spot in the woods where apparently a string of mysterious murders took place years ago. The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger by Joe Swanberg: A guy talks his long distance girlfriend over Skype about how she believes her apartment might be haunted. 10/31/98 by Radio Silence: A group of friends go out to a Halloween party and arrive at the wrong house. The wraparound segment I already described is called Tape Fifty-Six and is by Adam Wingard One of the things that is fantastic about these film is that they're all pretty much completely different. Sure They’re all horror but they're all different genres of horror. Without saying which is which, here we have a haunted house movie, a creature feature, a j-horror creepy child thing, a straight up slasher film, a breaking and entering film and a straight up found footage style film. That’s the other thing, none of these really follow the traditional found footage format except for the framing story. None of them solely rely on the limited use of the camera for scares, nor it’s feeling of putting us in the shoes of the cameraman. Those aspects are present in all the film (they are staples of the genre) but they manage to do so much more. They all manage to bring something new (or at least rarely done) to the genre. They all do something that I have not seen in other found footage before. They are all unique films that manage to push the genre forward. These films also manage to avoid a major shortcoming of the genre in that non of them make you question why the characters are filming. Part of this probably has to do with how the films end before the question can really come up but the way all the stories are structured makes it so this question never comes up, nor does it even need to be addressed. There are a lot of themes that come out through the whole thing. The voyeuristic nature of the genre leads to lots of girls being pressured into appearing nude before the camera. The male gaze of most the people controlling the cameras is prominently on display and has an almost predatory nature that isn't even always the focus of the film. Despite the exploitation of women in the films, the women refreshingly are never really "punished" for it. While most horror films would punish the women for being “sluts”, this film severely punishes those that want to exploit the women. In general people tend to get the horror comeuppance without the usual backwards horror movie morality. This isn’t universal though. In one of the shorts the main characters are nice people that just want to do what’s best and they too end up getting severely punished for it. Still, even that film doesn’t fall into the easy patterns of the genre. I mean, don’t get me wrong, these are very much genre films, but they also don’t just go through the motions. These films do their own thing not just for found footage films, but as horror films in general. The technical artistry one display on here is also stunning. I’m not going to say these are pretty films. I mean they’re found footage films that are presented on VHS level fidelity. However they amount of creative techniques that are used is pretty impressive. No two films have the same type of camera being used to frame things. Another thing is while it’s really quite violent, it never seems excessive. The violence is an extension of the story. Never did something really horrific happen and I thought they were doing it because they were trying to shock me. It’s where the story was going. Now I’m not saying it’s not violent (holy poo poo is it violent) but the violence never felt exploitative; it never seemed to exist for it’s own sake. So if I haven't made it clear, I really think you should see this movie. If you like horror at all, you need to see this. If you like found footage at all, you need to see this. Even if you don’t like either of those, you still need to see this. If you have any question, I will do my best to answer them. The movie will be available on demand on August 31th. It will be in theaters on October 5th. Here's the trailer but I'll warn you it's pretty spoilery. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv6S3RGMGw8
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| # ? Jun 19, 2012 17:23 |
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| # ? May 24, 2013 14:17 |
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I adore found footage and the trailer has me set for this. This is opening night watch for me. I was only really worried about the gore factor, I can't really handle that much gore, but if it's an extension of the film and not just thrown in to gross me out I'll be fine. The ghost story has me most excited.
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| # ? Jun 19, 2012 18:43 |
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I had no idea that one of the directors from The Signal was involved in this, that gets me pretty interested, I loved that movie.
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| # ? Jun 19, 2012 18:48 |
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OldTennisCourt posted:I adore found footage and the trailer has me set for this. This is opening night watch for me. I was only really worried about the gore factor, I can't really handle that much gore, but if it's an extension of the film and not just thrown in to gross me out I'll be fine. The ghost story has me most excited. Just a warning that it really is quite gory. The gore fits the stories but that doesn't stop it from being really gory. I mean there's a scene where someone gets their intestines pulled out.. It's gory. Some people at Sundance apparently fainted.
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| # ? Jun 19, 2012 19:01 |
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Watched the trailer aaaaaaaand it looks awesome. I'm totally sick of found-footage movies but this looks like it plays with that format in some really interesting ways.
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| # ? Jun 19, 2012 19:02 |
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I'm actually mad this isn't out til October.
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| # ? Jun 19, 2012 19:15 |
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:I'm actually mad this isn't out til October. I'm mad that it'll probably be in theaters for like two weeks max because a large part of it's main audience will have pirated it by then. I don't know why they're giving on demand a month head start.
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| # ? Jun 19, 2012 19:20 |
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Saw this film getting mentioned in the general chat thread, and the trailer pumped me up. I like found footage when it's used well, and I love the conceit of a horror anthology film. The fact that Ti West is directing a segment is icing on the cake, since I LOVED House of the Devil and Innkeepers. Color me interested (and my pants brown with fear).
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| # ? Jun 19, 2012 20:01 |
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axleblaze posted:I'm mad that it'll probably be in theaters for like two weeks max because a large part of it's main audience will have pirated it by then. I don't know why they're giving on demand a month head start. Didn't they do this with House of the Devil and Hobo with a Shotgun? Weird release gaps, included.
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| # ? Jun 19, 2012 20:31 |
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I wasn't all that convinced until around the end of the trailer when stuff starts to get seriously freaky. I like that in a horror movie. Judging by the trailer it will be the freakiest movie involving found footage and VHS since Trash Humpers. Also there better be a special edition on VHS.
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| # ? Jun 19, 2012 21:22 |
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The trailer looks awesome... looks like a new direction in found footage and Im stoked. Im a sucker for that sub-genre.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 00:10 |
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Take my money, Magnet Films. All of it.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 00:33 |
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Parachute posted:Didn't they do this with House of the Devil and Hobo with a Shotgun? Weird release gaps, included. It's funny, Ti West was asked about digital distribution at the Q+A and he was clearly ambivalent about it at best. Ah well, I guess he's stuck doing it again.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 00:42 |
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That original poster really is pretty awesome.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 00:50 |
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axleblaze posted:It's funny, Ti West was asked about digital distribution at the Q+A and he was clearly ambivalent about it at best. Ah well, I guess he's stuck doing it again. They did it with The Innkeepers too. The digital release was shortly after Christmas, and the theatrical release was in February.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 02:00 |
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Oh good, new Ti West equals I Am Pumped. I legitimately love everything the man does.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 02:45 |
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That trailer was amazing I cant wait.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 08:30 |
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I saw this at SIFF and loving loved it. Apparently the directors didn't discuss themes or anything beforehand, which seems insane considering every segment has some element of sexual violence and comeuppance of misogyny. Some of them zero in on this theme, others hint at it, but it really ties the movie together. All of the segments really hit it out of the loving park, too, which was a welcome surprise since it would be easy to make a Poughkeepsie Tapes or August Underground sort of thing anthology-style, you know, straight-up snuff or murder set pieces. There are a few moments that didn't really get to me in the theatre that in hindsight have become really loving creepy and unsettling. I watch a lot of horror movies, and almost none have that kind of effect. High praise. The original duct-tape and sharpie poster really, really fits the mood of the film, and it loving rules.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 12:55 |
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Speaking of Poughkeepsie Tapes, whatever happened to that movie? I remember it had a ton or viral stuff behind it, it premiered to boos at some film festival and then I haven't heard about it for about 3 years.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 14:15 |
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Any suggestions on where to start with Wingard? I'm not really familiar with him at all other than hearing about "You're Next" a while back, but never following up.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 14:31 |
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Amazing trailer but itll be too much since im a babby when it comes to horror. Really wish I could find a decent spoiler synopsis on the segments but apparently no one wants to spoil it on the internet
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 14:47 |
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People in Toronto can go watch it in July at the Bloor, the After Dark Film Festival is starting a mini summer event.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 15:23 |
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OldTennisCourt posted:Speaking of Poughkeepsie Tapes, whatever happened to that movie? I remember it had a ton or viral stuff behind it, it premiered to boos at some film festival and then I haven't heard about it for about 3 years. It got exactly one home media release and it may have been on VHS. That's it.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 15:38 |
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That trailer actually looks really good, I love the editing they did on it. Did they say whether or not it was actually filmed with those cameras? That's pretty interesting in itself.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 16:54 |
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.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 19:49 |
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:I'm actually mad this isn't out til October. So am I, which is funny because I can't handle horror films at all. I'm fine watching them but then I go home and can't sleep (Cabin In The Woods kept me awake more nights than I'd care to admit). The trailer is amazing and my butt's in the seat opening day but I know I'm going to go home afterwards and cry until the sun comes up.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 20:42 |
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the_american_dream posted:Amazing trailer but itll be too much since im a babby when it comes to horror. Really wish I could find a decent spoiler synopsis on the segments but apparently no one wants to spoil it on the internet I've seen it twice. What do you want to know? 
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 20:45 |
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It's as if The Ring and Silent Hill had a baby and it was delivered by Saw.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 20:56 |
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Is there a reason it's V/H/S instead of VHS?
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 22:25 |
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I'm a total sucker for found-footage movies so I'm definitely going to be looking forward to this. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, I doubt I'd have even heard of it otherwise! 
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 22:34 |
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NeuroticErotica posted:Is there a reason it's V/H/S instead of VHS? I honestly have no idea. It seemed like too stupid of a question to ask at the Q+A.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 22:44 |
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Hollis posted:That trailer actually looks really good, I love the editing they did on it. Did they say whether or not it was actually filmed with those cameras? That's pretty interesting in itself. By far the HD'est segment is Ti West's, which was filmed on a sort-of high-end camcorder. The other segments are clearly consumer-level stuff, with one being filmed via Skype for chrissakes. The wraparound story is absolutely filmed on VHS.
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| # ? Jun 20, 2012 22:48 |
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Movie is amazing. The segments work so well with one another. It's a bit reminiscent of Trick 'r Treat on a shoe string budget.
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| # ? Aug 6, 2012 16:44 |
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NeuroticErotica posted:Is there a reason it's V/H/S instead of VHS? Because the movie's divided up into multiple segments would be my guess.
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| # ? Aug 6, 2012 17:03 |
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Parachute posted:Any suggestions on where to start with Wingard? I'm not really familiar with him at all other than hearing about "You're Next" a while back, but never following up. This was a month or so back, but can anybody help me out here?
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| # ? Aug 6, 2012 17:40 |
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Parachute posted:This was a month or so back, but can anybody help me out here? You're Next hasn't been released yet. It's pretty much A Horrible Way To Die (I hate Pop Skull)
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| # ? Aug 6, 2012 22:02 |
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I just saw this and god drat was it great. I'm a sucker for found footage movies so this was a must see already but I wasn't expecting on what a ride it would take me. After I saw the first segment The Succubus and the beginning of the second and how different they were I was in love with this movie. It is gory as gently caress (but never for just to be gory) and I love how it plays with expectations and the visuals. The segment with all the visual distortions was amazing and the attack came out of nowhere and I loved loved loved the trap she set. I really can't decide which segment I like the most. Probably The first one with the succubus. I loved how it started to get really creepy in the club with the "I like you. I like you. I like you". But then the first night in the motel was creepy as gently caress too. Argh, I like them all!
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| # ? Aug 7, 2012 00:40 |
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Jesus this was fantastic. I spent most of it with my jaw litterally dropped.
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| # ? Aug 7, 2012 03:27 |
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gently caress this thread and October being so far away.
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| # ? Aug 7, 2012 05:13 |
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| # ? May 24, 2013 14:17 |
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mexicanmonkey posted:gently caress this thread and October being so far away. It comes out on demand at the end of the month if that's an option for you and you can't wait.
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| # ? Aug 7, 2012 05:15 |
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