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V/H/S

V/H/S (2012)

tomatometer

50

Average Rating: 5.4/10
Reviews Counted: 72
Fresh: 36 | Rotten: 36

An uneven collection of found-footage horror films, V/H/S has some inventive scares but its execution is hit-and-miss.

45

Average Rating: 5/10
Critic Reviews: 20
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 11

An uneven collection of found-footage horror films, V/H/S has some inventive scares but its execution is hit-and-miss.

audience

49

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 7,728

My Rating

Movie Info

When a group of petty criminals is hired by a mysterious party to retrieve a rare piece of found footage from a rundown house in the middle of nowhere, they soon realize that the job isn't going to be as easy as they thought. In the living room, a lifeless body holds court before a hub of old television sets, surrounded by stacks upon stacks of VHS tapes. As they search for the right one, they are treated to a seemingly endless number of horrifying videos, each stranger than the last. -- (C)

R, 1 hr. 55 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Horror

,

Simon Barrett, Glenn McQuaid, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez

Dec 4, 2012

$99.8k

Magnolia Pictures

V/H/S Trailer & Photos

More Photos (6)
More Trailers and Videos (3)

Cast

Critic Reviews for V/H/S

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All Critics (72) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (37) | Rotten (36) | DVD (2)

The mostly played-out found footage aesthetic has its limitations, and V/H/S doesn't escape all of them. But the collected directors do manage to make many of those limitations into the films' strengths.

October 9, 2012 Full Review Source: The Atlantic | Comment
Ian Buckwalter
The Atlantic
Top Critic IconTop Critic

I came, I saw, I hunkered.

October 5, 2012 Full Review Source: The Atlantic | Comment
Christopher Orr
The Atlantic
Top Critic IconTop Critic

"V/H/S" probably sounded great in the pitch meeting, but it loses all luster through some shoddy execution.

October 5, 2012 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Sean O'Connell
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Two hours of nausea-inducing shaky cam footage that fails to tell a coherent or engrossing central story.

October 5, 2012 Full Review Source: ReelViews | Comments (3)
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The film also plays to the strengths of the found-footage format, proving that sometimes the scariest things are the ones you can barely see.

October 5, 2012 Full Review Source: Miami Herald | Comment
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald
Top Critic IconTop Critic

"V/H/S" puts the majority of today's mainstream "scary" movies to shame; perhaps the solution is to cut them all down to about 15 minutes, and fund them on a shoestring.

October 5, 2012 Full Review Source: New York Post | Comment
Sara Stewart
New York Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Screechy, surprising and, in places, proper scary, this glitchy genre mixtape puts invention ahead of attention span, representing a 4/6 victory for killer over filler.

December 17, 2012 Full Review Source: Total Film | Comment
Matt Glasby
Total Film

V/H/S is a collection of tales of gender warfare that are scattershot, tasteless, and occasionally quite frightening.

December 15, 2012 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Chuck Bowen
Slant Magazine

The six segments vary in quality from awful to just bad, and at two hours the film is too long and too uneven to be a worthwhile watch.

December 8, 2012 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Tiresome turkey seldom provokes anything but weary derision.

November 29, 2012 Full Review Source: East Bay Express | Comment
Kelly Vance
East Bay Express

I don't care for this kind of horror film and I found it hard to watch. This film really creeped me out, and I guess that is what this kind of film is supposed to do.

November 27, 2012 Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | Comment
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

With some work on the script and some polish, this could have been an interesting film. Instead, it's just an experiment with mixed results.

November 21, 2012 Full Review Source: Movie Chambers | Comment
Paul Chambers
Movie Chambers

Much more stylish and novel, at this point, than the 'Paranormal' sequels and other studio-embraced found-footage shockers, the movie makes a virtue of the distressed yet esthetically pleasing look of old VHS tape, as well as Skype and other technologies.

November 16, 2012 Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | Comment
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Six short scary tales, heavy on the gore and often light on creativity.

October 26, 2012 Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | Comment
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

Perhaps it's time to put the "POV, found footage" horror subgenre out to pasture, the way the western faded into obscurity.

October 14, 2012 Full Review Source: KC Active | Comment
Dan Lybarger
KC Active

The Filmmakers should've consulted one another re: their content-one more segment with a group of A-HOLES carrying on like the cast of JACKASS and my head may have exploded.

October 14, 2012 Full Review Source: Kinetofilm | Comment
Brian Holcomb
Kinetofilm

Pretty uneven, but it has a fresh spirit and it feels like these filmmakers want the final word on the found-footage horror craze. After six shorts full of shaky cam and thin plot lines, you might be ready to let them put it to rest.

October 13, 2012 Full Review Source: Scene-Stealers.com | Comment
Eric Melin
Scene-Stealers.com

If I owned this movie on a real VHS tape, I'd record over it.

October 6, 2012 Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | Comment (1)
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

It's not a bad concept, but the execution is predictably hit-and-miss.

October 5, 2012 Full Review Source: Cinemalogue.com | Comment
Todd Jorgenson
Cinemalogue.com

Watching douche bags get their comeuppance loses its charms the fourth or fifth time through.

October 5, 2012 Full Review Source: Mania.com | Comment
Rob Vaux
Mania.com

Unpleasant to watch and unoriginal evocation of "The Blair Witch Project" and J-Horror.

October 5, 2012 Full Review Source: Boston Herald | Comment
James Verniere
Boston Herald

The quality is consistent... and all six segments come up with some genuinely spooky ideas.

October 5, 2012 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Common Sense Media

Audience Reviews for V/H/S

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The thing with Found Footage films is that there's really nothing new to the genre to make it worth seeing. This film is pretty good considering all the films that have been released in the genre over the years. If you love the genre and horror in general, this is worth a watch. This film offers a new twist on traditional found footage films as this is an anthology of different horror stories, but all are presented as found footage, and it works well enough to entertain and thrill. Each story is eerie and manages to be thrilling. Acting wise, there's really nothing that stands out, and this is standard low-budget fair. The film does have its flaws, but it's definitely much more entertaining than many other films in this horror genre. If you were disappointed by films like Chernobyl Diaries and Apollo 18, then this film may surprise you. I enjoyed both Apollo 18 and Chernobyl Diaries, but I'd have to say that this film is much better for many reasons, the main one being incorporating the anthology element in the genre, which adds so much more to the film's enjoyment. V/H/S is a good horror flick and one of the most original and fun Found Footage films since Trollhunter. Every story has its imperfections, but they nonetheless deliver some solid and enjoyable entertainment that is a must see film for horror fans. There's plenty to enjoy here, and this film exceeded my expectations, and I didn't expect to like it the way I did. There's plenty of bloody and bone chilling moments to be had here, and every director does a good enough job with each story that makes up this new breed of horror anthology.
October 5, 2012
TheDudeLebowski65
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

Really on the fence about my liking of this film. The reason I'm in the middle is because it was good in the sense that it constantly had me feeling eerie (which horror films have been failing to do lately), but it was bad in the sense that the plot was sort of weak. Internally there is no connection or consistency with each character or VHS tape that's viewed. It's a descent movie at best, worth watching, but don't expect much from it.
October 4, 2012
Eric Alvarez
Eric Alvarez

Super Reviewer

V/H/S Quotes

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    1. Stephanie ('Second Honeymoon'): Did you erase it?
    – Submitted by Brian T (5 days ago)

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