Inside the home of a missing college student lies a group of active televisions and a mass pile of VHS tapes. As the white noise crackles amid the screens, a pair of private investigators, hired by the student's mother, decide to watch the tapes and search for clues. What they don't realize is that the tapes don't merely contain strings of magnetic tape but rather the pure soul of evil.
Marked as the sequel to last year's Sundance hit V/H/S, S-VHS brings together a stellar group of indie horror veterans, allowing them immense creative freedom as each crafts a short film that appears to have no connection to the others. But as the film wages on and details begin to work their way to the surface, it quickly becomes apparent that each segment plays a large part in the overall plot, working our way to a finale that you will never see coming.
Cut into four unequal segments, each handled by a different group of filmmakers, S-VHS is a bigger, badder, and all around better version of its predecessor. Given a healthier budget and featuring a more concise plotline, the film is simple and easy, which makes it all the more terrifying.
Each segment featured on one of the showcased tapes pulls from a different niche of the horror genre. From a fresh and unique ghost thriller to a biking zombie encounter that involves a child's birthday party, there isn't much missing from this horror fans' wet dream of a film. I honestly got anxious every time we returned to the dark and seemingly cold room full of televisions, nervous (though ready) for what lay on the next tape.
As we seamlessly venture back and forth between live footage and present day, it's hard to see just how S-VHS will come to a close. Then, within the last ten minutes, everything begins to come into focus. The way it is all wrapped up is quite impressive, and the final five minutes will have you regrouping your thoughts as you attempt to catalog everything that you have just seen, which is an impressive feat for any genre.
