V/H/S 2

Director: Simon Barrett, Jason Eisener et al (2013)

Starring: Lawrence Michael Levine, Adam Wingard, Jay Saunders

Find it: IMDB

Don't worry - I'm not about to make that stupid "shouldn't they have called it Betamax or DVD?" joke (although I sort of already did, in saying that I wasn't going to). The videos return in V/H/S 2,  a sequel to the popular, not-shit found footage portmanteau horror film. The deal is roughly the same, although it's less misogynistic, and the bookend story has changed. In search of a missing girl, two private detectives binge-watch the video cassettes found at the suspected kidnapper's house. Freaky shit ensues. And also, the most snot I've seen in a horror film since The Blair Witch Project.

Where the original V/H/S had a cool concept but flawed execution (only one or two of the stories were actually any good) all involved seem to have brought their A-game for this sequel. There are six short tales, including the main story, and most of them are incredibly impressive. It gets the weakest out of the way first, with Phase I Clinical Trials being a fun, jump-scare inducing wee ditty about a fellow who gets a video camera implanted into his dodgy eyeball. It's not long before the camera starts picking up a little more than the minutiae of daily life. It's a shorter, louder version of The Eye, with a random bit of sex in the middle. From there, the film picks up pace, and never stops to look back. A Ride in the Park is a fun twist on the usual zombie shenanigans, Slumber Party Alien Abduction is a loud, upsetting oddity (the camera on the dog's head is a clever idea) while Safe Haven might just make the most intense use of found footage I've seen since [REC]. Everything else is very good, but I could quite happily have watched a feature length version of Gareth Evans and Timo Tjahanto's segment.

V/H/S 2 is a vastly improved sequel to a film that wasn't too shabby in the first place. Gory, fast paced and genuinely disturbing in places, it's inventive, exciting and gratifyingly nasty. Where the original movie was a likeable oddity, this follow-up makes me think that there might be real life in the format.    

The Dyatlov Pass Incident

Director: Renny Harlin (2013)
Starring: Holly Goss, Matt Stokoe, Gemma Atkinson
Find it: IMDB

Another found footage horror film claiming to be based on a true story. Except this one actually is, a little! In 1959, nine ski hikers mysteriously died in Russia's great Ural mountains, leaving a heap of questions and conspiracy theories surrounding their icy corpses. And a disembodied tongue. Renny Harlin (he of one-of-the-greatest-action-films-of-all-time fame*) tackles the mystery in The Dyatlov Pass Incident, a surprisingly decent variation on The Blair Witch Project, set on the side of a mountain.  

I've made no secret of my contempt for found footage horror features, but, given the right material and setting, I can be swayed by individual pieces. [REC] for example, sits in my Blu-ray collection as one of the finest zombie films of all time. And I do love me a Cannibal Holocaust or two, too. The snowy mountains of The Dyatlov Pass Incident are certainly interesting enough for the gimmick to work, even if our team of intrepid young filmmakers do seem more interested in filming each other than the mountains or the Northern Lights.

Making a documentary about the Dyatlov group and the circumstances surrounding their deaths, the kids retrace the hikers' steps, uncovering more than a few ominous signs as they go. Who killed Dyatlov and his friends? The Russian military? Aliens? An avalanche? A Yeti? Whatever the answer, it's bound to be concealed in that sinister-looking metal door buried in the side of the mountain. Either that, or a bearded Scotsman pining for his true love while rocking out to Mama Cass. Despite some stupid decisions from the kids (avalanche? Sure, let's follow that up by screaming ourselves hoarse) and logical inconsistencies (sleeping naked on the top of a freezing cold mountain, with only a tent and a sleeping bag for protection) The Dyatlov Pass Incident is watchable enough. The snowy mountain setting is a great location - even if it does leave me hankering for a Mountains of Madness adaptation - and the shift to the underground bunker is interesting if a little uninspired. A few neat twists and turns towards the end will keep audiences guessing, while the acting is of a generally decent quality. Apparently, though, Matt Stokoe is in Misfits, which I watch every week. I had no idea that this was the same person. Might want to work on that screen presence, pal.

The Dyatlov Pass Incident does a thing I haven't experienced from a found footage film in a very long time - it holds my attention.

(*Cliffhanger, of course)