V/H/S 2

V/H/S 2 presents itself as a found footage horror film, combined from four different stories within an overarching story to create an anthology film, with each story exploring a subgenre within horror. The first concerns a wealthy individual whose eye has been surgically replaced with a robotic eye which causes him to view murderous ghosts for the first time. The second puts a twist on the zombie genre by allowing the story to play out from a zombie’s perspective from a recently deceased cyclist. The third story is a supernatural horror film that brings the viewer to the heart of a highly devout cult’s home base wherein all literal hell breaks loose. The final standalone story follows an alien abduction at a sleepover party, appropriately titled "Alien Abduction Slumber Party", and follows the children involved through their attempted escape from abduction.

As to the camera work, each separate short sported a very different technique. The first short, “Clinical Trials” was shot entirely from the perspective of the main character, as if you were viewing it from the camera in his eye. “A Ride in the Park”, the zombie short, utilized many different camera angles to their advantage, including shots from a camera installed on the main character’s bike helmet, and shots from home movies of other civilians. The cult short, “Save Haven”, was shot as if it were an actual camera crew doing interviews. “Alien Abduction Slumber Party” was made to look like a goofy home movie taped by the adolescents in the short.

Some of the shorts were more effective in their direction than others. The most solid of the shorts were “Safe Haven” and “Alien Abduction Slumber Party”. “Safe Haven” utilized the most cuts from different camera perspectives so it helped the audience become more immersed in every character’s story line instead of just one. “Alien Abduction Slumber Party” used the home movie effect to increase the heightened sense of danger. “Clinical Trails” seemed almost gimmick-y and had a lot of shaky camera shots that didn't seem as put together as the other shorts. “A Ride in the Park” gave us new insight into how zombies are portrayed in the first-person shots, which added to the comedy of the piece. As a whole however, the film creates its own significant place in the horror genre as showing what the found footage genre can become.