Good morning, House of Madness residents:
I'm a sucker for anthologies, always have been, and always will be. Why settle for one tale of darkness when you can feast on three, four, or even five stories in the same time frame? Sure, with that many stories there's bound to be a dud buried in the mix, but I'd say three out of four or thereabouts ain't bad, especially when they all tie together and form a much larger story as a whole. I've been watching these V/H/S films since their inception, and while a couple of installments left me disappointed, I often walk away satisfied, having my anthology bone tickled to the fullest, and this latest installment was no exception.
There are five tales in all in "V/H/S/85", and each tale is uniquely different from the last, yet ties in nicely by the time the credits roll. There is a tale about snipers hunting swimmers in a forbidden lake that prevents those that enter from dying, a story of an ungodly horrific discovery after an earthquake in Mexico, a new wave of virtual reality that gets a little too real, a family harboring a deadly secret that is finally exposed while all Hell is breaking loose, and finally a story of nightmares coming to fruition days before the deeds are physically done.
If the sound of those stories doesn't excite you, then I suggest you check your pulse, and take a look in the mirror to ensure you're in fact not a zombie. While I certainly had a favourite episode, all five were done extremely well, and held my attention throughout the almost two hour runtime. If you enjoy anthologies, look no further, but if you normally pass on such story telling, I recommend you give this one your full attention; just stay out of the water.....
Madness Meter: 6.6/10
NB
