Midnight Section : V/H/S/2

INDONESIA, USA, CANADA | NY Premiere | 2012 | 95 min

DIRECTORS Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Eduardo Sάnchez, Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Evans, Jason Eisener

SCREENWRITERS Simon Barrett, Jamie Nash, Timo Tjahtanto, Gareth Evans, Jason Eisener, John Davies

PRODUCERS Gary Binkow, Brad Miska, Roxanne Benjamin

CINEMATOGRAPHERS Tarin Anderson, Seamus Tierny, Jeff Wheaton, Stephen Scott, Adbul Dermawan Habir

WITH Adam Wingard, Lawrence Levine, L.C. Holt, Kelsy Abbott, Hannah Hughes

This screening was the most fun and the most energetic I experienced at the festival.Holy crap I was on the edge on my seat laughing, moving around like a mad woman because I just loved how much blood, tension and fun was in this film, which is the anticipated sequel to last year’s V/H/S. It is a wonderfully structured and creative collaboration from the minds of the new wave of indie horror filmmakers and enthusiasts. It's pretty enchanting to watch these contemporary genre go-getters work together and create something I find refreshing and entertaining as fuck.

A missing young man and his mother is worried that something nasty has happened to him, so these two young investigators enter his apartment to check out if everything is okay and so they can get paid. This boy-girl duo find all these screens randomly set up and some VHS tapes scattered about, they obviously split up, one to explore and clear the house while the other documents and duplicates whatever they might find relevant. The lady starts watching the tapes, including a quick introduction from the missing boy himself, a spooky documentation about his relationship with all the tapes. Simon Barrett controls the structure perfectly with this wraparound segment, he ties everything together for us and it’s nice and smooth.

The audience is taken on a whizzing emotional Mario Kart tournament like-style experience, as we are driven through four horror themed adventures. Blair Witch innovators Eduardo Sάnchez and Gregg Hale weave us through a droll first person view of the gluttonous undead. Adam Wingard steers the audience into a ghoul flooded million dollar haunted mansion fable, all while merging our perspective with the one belonging to our hero’s new shiny cybernetic eye. Timo Tjahjanto and Gareth Evans thrust us into the most gruesome and beautiful mockumentary style expedition that is fueled by some pretty fucked up powerful satanic shit. Eisener brings to life a fast paced adolescent adventure filled with witty humor, quick tricks, pranks and powerful sound design centered on a rousing alien happenstance. 

This particularly distinct collection of collaborators should be toasted during your next round of beers at the pub because they have accomplished a lot while continuously paving the way for future genre filmmakers and future horror enthusiasts; they are not afraid of taking un-restrained risks or afraid to bring their unique point of views to life. Cheers to you, cheers to genre and to horror and finally, cheers to being fervently rocked during V/H/S/2.

Click here for more coverage of the Tribeca Film Festival

Andrea Boulet
@AndreaMtl