I watched this movie at the Lisbon Horror Movie Festival (MotelX); when I did, I hadn't watched any of the previous ones (now I have), so I did't really know what I was going to see, and I quite enjoyed the experience.
As its predecessors, V/H/S Viral is formed by three found-footage stories, tied together by yet a fourth frame story, also filmed in a found-footage fashion. (Apparently there was supposed to be one more segment, directed by Todd Lincoln, but it was never filmed or it didn't make the final cut).
The frame story, "Vicious Circles" by Marcel Sarmiento, is quite unsettling. It starts with a police car chase of an ice-cream van, and a young couple much in love who is split by the intrusion of pure horror in the form of viral videos that appear in their mobile phones. This story is split in four small segments, some very brief, others much longer, until the final scene which closes the circle, so to speak. It was in general quite enjoyable, with some concessions to gore, a few clichés flowing around and some very enjoyable scenes. The use of music in the very last segment (Beethoven's 9th symphony) was very clever, in my opinion. My score for this story, 7,5/10.
The second story (first of the viral videos), filmed by Gregg Bishop, is more a mockumentary than a found-footage, although it obviously includes many "interviews" and closed-circuit camera footage. It tells the story of "Dante the Great", who always dreamed of being a magician and got to do so when he discovered a mysterious cape: a cape that was so powerful that apparently it frightened Houdini himself. This story is the least gore of all the pack, and it is in a way quite predictable, but it is well executed. The main sin for me is that at one point the movie abandons the "found-footage" form and includes some scenes with a more traditional filming; and that is hard to accept in a movie that is precisely about videotapes being found. Score: 6/10.
"Parallel Monsters", by Nacho Vigalondo, is probably the best of them all. It is filmed in Spanish and has a slightly different look, more professional, more acted, less realistic in a way. It tells the story of a scientist who opens a gate to another parallel universe, only to find that in that universe there is another version of himself, who has built exactly the same machine. When they decide to exchange universes for 15 minutes, he will discover that there are in fact a few, ahem, minor differences between their universes. This segment is quite original, very funny, very cruel; it explores its premise with intelligence and leaves quite a few things unexplained (which is not a bad thing at all). The only thing that disappointed me a bit was that the development of the story turns to more conventional horror clichés. In any case, I am giving it a 9/10.
"Bonestorm", by Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, follows a group of teenage American skaters who decide to go to Tijuana to explore an abandoned skating park and film some videos. When they get there, they get haunted by a death-worshiping cult (or something similar) who used that skate park as their ceremonial ground. The premise is extremely simple, and apart from a few scares and gore scenes you won't get much out of it. The best part is the humor in the creation of the characters. Score: 7/10.
All in all, I enjoyed the experience. The segments are obviously uneven, but I guess that's inevitable in a collective movie. Nacho Vigalondo's segment is one level above the rest, followed by the frame story by Marcel Sarmiento. After watching the three films of the trilogy, I think it was a good idea to abandon the "damned videotape" idea and update it in a form of viral videos, which allows for a different kind of frame story.
Oh, and I think the movie is trying to tell us something about our urge to be famous at any cost and by any means, but quite sincerely, I don't think anyone who sees this movie will really care about that.
Overall score: 7/10
As its predecessors, V/H/S Viral is formed by three found-footage stories, tied together by yet a fourth frame story, also filmed in a found-footage fashion. (Apparently there was supposed to be one more segment, directed by Todd Lincoln, but it was never filmed or it didn't make the final cut).
The frame story, "Vicious Circles" by Marcel Sarmiento, is quite unsettling. It starts with a police car chase of an ice-cream van, and a young couple much in love who is split by the intrusion of pure horror in the form of viral videos that appear in their mobile phones. This story is split in four small segments, some very brief, others much longer, until the final scene which closes the circle, so to speak. It was in general quite enjoyable, with some concessions to gore, a few clichés flowing around and some very enjoyable scenes. The use of music in the very last segment (Beethoven's 9th symphony) was very clever, in my opinion. My score for this story, 7,5/10.
The second story (first of the viral videos), filmed by Gregg Bishop, is more a mockumentary than a found-footage, although it obviously includes many "interviews" and closed-circuit camera footage. It tells the story of "Dante the Great", who always dreamed of being a magician and got to do so when he discovered a mysterious cape: a cape that was so powerful that apparently it frightened Houdini himself. This story is the least gore of all the pack, and it is in a way quite predictable, but it is well executed. The main sin for me is that at one point the movie abandons the "found-footage" form and includes some scenes with a more traditional filming; and that is hard to accept in a movie that is precisely about videotapes being found. Score: 6/10.
"Parallel Monsters", by Nacho Vigalondo, is probably the best of them all. It is filmed in Spanish and has a slightly different look, more professional, more acted, less realistic in a way. It tells the story of a scientist who opens a gate to another parallel universe, only to find that in that universe there is another version of himself, who has built exactly the same machine. When they decide to exchange universes for 15 minutes, he will discover that there are in fact a few, ahem, minor differences between their universes. This segment is quite original, very funny, very cruel; it explores its premise with intelligence and leaves quite a few things unexplained (which is not a bad thing at all). The only thing that disappointed me a bit was that the development of the story turns to more conventional horror clichés. In any case, I am giving it a 9/10.
"Bonestorm", by Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, follows a group of teenage American skaters who decide to go to Tijuana to explore an abandoned skating park and film some videos. When they get there, they get haunted by a death-worshiping cult (or something similar) who used that skate park as their ceremonial ground. The premise is extremely simple, and apart from a few scares and gore scenes you won't get much out of it. The best part is the humor in the creation of the characters. Score: 7/10.
All in all, I enjoyed the experience. The segments are obviously uneven, but I guess that's inevitable in a collective movie. Nacho Vigalondo's segment is one level above the rest, followed by the frame story by Marcel Sarmiento. After watching the three films of the trilogy, I think it was a good idea to abandon the "damned videotape" idea and update it in a form of viral videos, which allows for a different kind of frame story.
Oh, and I think the movie is trying to tell us something about our urge to be famous at any cost and by any means, but quite sincerely, I don't think anyone who sees this movie will really care about that.
Overall score: 7/10