I watched V/H/S and Sound of My Voice.
Sound of My Voice... there's not much to say. It didn't really stick the landing. It felt like the person who wrote it was very deliberate and self-conscious about creating ambiguity, like they were creating
themes for their work and it didn't feel very organic. Sure you can debate over the meaning of it and what the ambiguous parts mean, but there's no real reward to doing that. It was left too open to interpretation to the point that it doesn't seem to carry any meaning itself, so you're wasting your efforts analyzing something that isn't intelligent enough to deserve that exertion.
for V/H/S:
- the first tape (the camera glasses one) was very good. Absolutely didn't expect it to go there. Good body horror and creep factor. Man do people not know how to run down stairs though in this movie
- second tape (bf-gf roadtrip) wasn't that great.
There's really no motivation present for the gf to want to conspire to kill the bf. I think they could've done a better job of establishing why she wouldn't just break up with him. It feels like they tried to hint at him being controlling but it just wasn't enough. Also a pet peeve is when the events take place seemingly just to scare the viewer without making any logical sense in the universe. For example, why would the gf's side-girl break in the first night and not do anything but steal $100? Why not kill him then? It makes no sense and is just there to misdirect the audience. There's no real point to the events taking place, so I lose patience.
- third tape (friends camping) was ok. It was interesting to watch but the actions of the protagonist didn't make much sense.
Why lure these people out to the woods to use them as bait when you aren't... actually using them as bait? You just let them wander off and get killed? Was it just that she thought having a bunch of teens out in the woods would make it appear again? Dumb plan. It's funny that all these horror movies involve the most unlikely group of friends going camping together. Always the weird goth chick, the bro, the hot cheerleader, the nerdy guy...
- fourth tape (haunted apartment) was uh... weird. I didn't care for it.
They never explained the child ghosts, di d they? When the bf came in, he bumped into them with his legs as he walked up to her, so they are physically present but... they weren't talking. Are they supposed to be the aliens he was talking to? It seemed like he was ignoring them and talking to some presence outside the door I thought.
- fifth tape (haunted house party) was good. Not as good as the first tape, but very enjoyable and good special effects.
I thought it was interesting (especially in light of the earlier conversation in this thread) that in all but one of the V/H/S tapes, the women were evil and led men to their deaths. I guess that makes it a woman-hating incel film?
I enjoyed it overall.
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filmschoolrejects.com
