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V/H/S/94 Capsule Review — What’s Streaming?

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By Casey Campbell

I jinxed it. Or I went in with sky high expectations.

Or, it just wasn’t very good.

V/H/S/94 just came out on Shudder and it’s the fourth entry in the series. My reviews of the first two are on the site, and I won’t be reviewing V/H/S Viral.

Hell, I won’t even be reviewing this movie too much due to the mediocre final product of it all. And that’s really disappointing. From the wrap around story to each individual short, the whole production seems either rushed or severely hindered by COVID-19 restrictions or budget. I’m leaning on the former, as the prior films weren’t exactly big budget spectacles.

The first and second stories in the anthology, “Storm Drain” and “The Empty Wake” respectively, are the two that seemed to keep me energized and enthusiastic.

“Storm Drain” shows uncut footage from a broadcast journalist and her cameraman attempting to create a package for air. The journalist wants the piece to be about the disenfranchised living within the storm drain, rather than the proposed story of the notorious “Rat Man.” The journalist character was well intentioned but headache inducingly stupid. The short is filled with choking atmosphere and ends in an extremely entertaining way.

“The Empty Wake” sees Simon Barrett returning to the franchise. It had a questionable introduction, showing a new employee at a funeral home tasked with being the sole employee in charge of a night wake (at least it seemed like it was at night? Which doesn’t really happen, at least not one that runs all night…). The atmosphere really shines in this one, as the scares are from the things that go bump in the night, or should I say the casket.

It’s decently well paced but some of the motivations for staying in the funeral home are hackneyed and forced. The end makes up for any of the qualms, and the effects actually looked quite good.

Otherwise, Timo Tjahjanto’s short was overly reliant on CG effects (and a point) and the final short just seemed to meander in no real direction.

The V/H/S series is still fun, and it’s absolutely nothing to be taken seriously. Whether due to the obvious problems with putting together consistent quality short films into a greater whole during a pandemic, or budgetary constraints, V/H/S/94 never seems to land every attempt they make.

Friday the 13th Part 3 — What’s Playing?

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By Casey Campbell

The third film, and arguably the third most self aware of the series, was released in 3D in the late summer of 1982.

When I say “self aware” I’m referring to the fact that it doesn’t exactly take itself seriously, and the constant barrage of 3D gimmicks lends to the audience recognizing how much fun the filmmakers were having with the concept.

If you own the recent Scream Factory release of the Friday films you’ll still find this title in 3D, but only if you have a 3D TV (which I can’t imagine is very common). If you own the Paramount 8 film set, you’ll be able to watch in 3D with the help of those old fashioned red and blue lensed glasses. I own both but always opt for the 3D version with the glasses for the added silly fun of it all.

On the latest rewatch, I noticed just how engaging 3D can be. It creates a neat depth effect that honestly adds to the film more than any of the gimmicks. Whether it’s with the old crazy guy (a stand in for Crazy Ralph from the first and second films) that scares the central group of teens with an eye ball pushed toward the screen, or some idiot playing with a yo-yo, the 3D basically never feels earned and almost always makes me laugh.

In this one, a group of kids head out to the Crystal Lake area. Once there, they start dying in creative ways. Despite the generally unoriginal nature of the basic plot, this entry is interesting for how it creates memorable and unique characters out of a group of youths. And even the characters that aren’t in the central group are quirky and strange in the best way possible.

Take quirky asshole Shelly, for example, whose main goal is to piss off everyone in the group with his juvenile antics and pranks. Not only do you relish the idea of his character being taken out by Jason, you get a few dumb red herrings out of him.

Then there’s the pregnant woman, Debbie, who says out loud that she’s pregnant once and it’s never brought up again.

Or the bikers who antagonize the group of kids, only to be brutalized in a barn. Or the store owner at the beginning with a penchant for self-theft by eating his own goods.

This entry gave every character a little something and that’s why I find it so engaging and fun (along with the silly effects). Moreover, Jason gets his famous mask and cemented his place in the cultural zeitgeist. It’s a blast.

Friday the 13th Part 2 — What’s Playing?

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By Casey Campbell

Almost exactly a year after Friday the 13th made audiences afraid to go out in the woods to drink, do drugs, and have sex, Part 2 emerged with a new killer and a fresh legacy to explore.

It’s almost impossible to deal in absolutes when discussing the Friday the 13th series. While each entry contains the same very basic elements and, to some lesser extent, the same atmosphere, everyone is particularly partial to certain entries (hence the deluge of rankings online). What I’ve gathered from the Friday community online is that Part 2, 4, and 6 are some of the very best, and I think I mostly agree.

Part 2 opens with Friday the 13th final girl Alice (Adrienne King) attempting to live her life following the events on Crystal Lake. The cold open hints at a lurking presence, dutifully recreating the same kind of scene from the first film, only with a character you not only know and like, but rooted for. And, like the previous entry, the stalking figure kills the young character. In true sequel fashion, however, the kill is preempted and even punctuated by the reveal of Mrs. Voorhees decaying head in Alice’s fridge. Why is it there? Why would the killer—eh, it’s Jason, obviously—take the head with him and put it in her fridge? Who cares! It’s a great image, and leaves a lasting impression and mood for the rest of the movie.

After the explosive opening credits, we’re introduced to the new campers. It’s been five years since the Crystal Lake murders, Alice has been found dead, and the whole thing seems to be more of a ghost story than a local tragedy.

I don’t want to say that the sequels do things better than the first installment, but they take the initial idea and explore certain ideas in more engaging ways, with a huge caveat. Mrs. Voorhees makes much more sense than Jason. Sure, the idea of Jason witnessing his mothers death thus sending him into a confused rage with little understanding of his actions is actually interesting. But it’s not actually canonical to the series, and I hate that I just typed that nerd shit out but it’s true. After hearing a story about Jason at the campfire, fated final girl Ginny (one of, if not my favorite final girl of the series, played by Amy Steel) is the one that uses her background studying child psychiatry to assume Jason’s motives. If he was real, that is. Because at that point in the story, they don’t think the little drowned boy was even alive, let alone watching as his mother got decapitated.

It’s one of those things that I want to say “Oh well!” too, like the head in the fridge, but the head fridge isn’t a constant throughout 10 more films. But, I digress. Jason isn’t a part of this movie to complain about. In fact, he’s at his scariest.

It’s shown that Jason had a facial disfigurement in the flashback sequence from the previous film. You know what’s expensive? Make up. You know what isn’t? A sack. And yet the sack is so much more effective.

Jason wears a sack on his head in Part 2, and acquires the famous hockey mask in Part 3. The sack is a great look for Jason. It’s creepy, with only one eye hole, and he’s dressed a bit like a disgruntled farmer in a dirty flannel and overalls. He’s even shown to be residing in a dilapidated shanty out in the middle of the Crystal Lake woods.

Part 2 is an awesome entry in the early days of the fledgling series. It employs a crop of fun and naive youths to be dispatched by a fresh new villain in the form of Jason Voorhees and does so with aplomb.

Poor plagiarism and even worse editing, House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

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Sid Haig as Captain Spaulding. Photo Credit: drafthouse.com/show/house-of-1000-corpses

By Casey Campbell

Zombie’s directorial debut left me sick, though not for the reasons he would have wanted. The story plodded on with no real characters or motivations. The editing was inconsistent and frustrating. The acting was forced and poor. Save an interesting third act, the film lacks heart and quite liberally takes from other, better, horror films before it. I was sick of watching it by the middle of it’s runtime.

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