A horror subgenre I tend to gravitate towards is found footage. What sets this genre apart from others is the only criteria the film needs to meet is the appearance that the entirety of the project is filmed by a character in the movie. This explanation is one giant excuse for me to recommend an underrated series of my favorite found footage horror films.
I am talking about the V/H/S series. Other than V/H/S: Viral, all the installments follow a basic formula. A group of people stumble upon multiple tapes containing horrific footage. Each tape is a segment in the film created by multiple directors. Being exposed to so many directors and writers at once is exciting since you get to see the style of multiple filmmakers in the time of one feature length film. This series of movies, composed of multiple different storylines has helped me seek out the filmmakers behind each tape.
Ti West, currently known for directing Pearl and X, has also directed a segment in the first V/H/S movie.
Adam Wingard also did a segment for the first film in the series prior to directing You’re Next and The Blair Witch remake.
What I’m saying is, despite the budget and “quality” of this series of films, you’re opened up to discovering the ideas of these filmmakers, which is really what matters. You’re able to see these artists further develop these ideas as they start to gain access to a wider audience, and a bigger budget, raising the “quality”. It really pays off seeing your favorite “smaller” directors start getting the recognition they deserve.
My favorite segments from each installment in the series, in order of release, include:
“Amateur Night” (V/H/S)
“Safe Haven” (V/H/S 2)
“Dreamkill” (V/H/S/85)
“Storm Drain” (V/H/S/94)
And none from either V/H/S: Viral or V/H/S 99 sadly.
I also love watching first-person horror movies!! I would love to watch some of the V/H/S films (haven't got to it yet), but my current favorite is the "Paranormal Activity" movie series.
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to sense a theme here. Correct me if I'm wrong but you really enjoy horror movies, right?
ReplyDeleteI like that your appreciation for the art of film goes beyond "that was a great movie because it looked cool." You seem to really find the beauty of this genre specifically, and once again give me more to add to my list.
I've heard of this series before. Most reviews are hit or miss, but I'll be giving at least the first one a try soon.
Hello Izzie, you’ve informed me so much about horror, I love that you are so knowledgeable about it. I’ve never watched a V/H/S film, but after reading this blog post, you’ve convinced me! :) Thank you for putting me on.
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