Gabe’s Haunted Double-Features: October 10th
V/H/S (2012)
This is a brilliant mash-up of the ‘found footage’ and anthology formats. The central story is about a group of thieves who raid a semi-abandoned home looking for a particular VHS cassette tape that is supposed to have some sort of value. Instead, they find stacks of tapes, all unlabeled, throughout various rooms. Each thief takes turns popping in cassettes and we get to watch the film contained on that tape as a short film.
The stories are pretty original and shot well. There are a few twists and good jump scares. This is definitely one to watch with the lights off, if you are brave enough. It might be my second favorite anthology film, aside from the next offering below…
Spoopy Fact: The 2016 film ‘Siren’ is a spiritual successor to one of the short films contained in this collection.
Tales From The Hood (1995)
This is a CLASSIC. An anthology horror film with an urban twist that is smart, well-acted and has a great social commentary element. The little bow that ties it all together at the end is great, too. Seriously, it’s one of the gold star movies that you can enjoy all year-round if you just want a good scare.
I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll just keep it brief. The sequel isn’t too bad, either.