V/H/S/85

It gets right into it. No main story arc about who's watching these videos. We start off with a story of vacation, youth, recreation, death, sudden and surprising horror, partying, wait, this was just an old video tape of young adults having fun, right? What could possibly go wrong....oh wait.... HOLY @#$!

So the first segment was so misleading, I honestly forgot what kind of movie I was watching until things got intense. Then it took a turn. A very "different" turn. This is not your usual VHS film, nor is it a typical, cash-grab low-budget horror. It does well for itself.

Despite the unattractive, distracting segment totally dependent on subtitles (unless you are fluent in Spanish), every segment is promising, intense, and fun. There are lots of great moments. It's not at fearful as the first VHS movie. No VHS sequel only will be. But this is the best installment since the release of the original.

It does get a little weak and predictable for the last couple segments. Still, it's fun. Have a few drinks, kick back, and just have fun.

I know this is going to sound really bizarre but V/H/S/85 is totally creepy if you put it on a TV "in the background" while you're doing other things, because many of the scenes are genuinely surreal or disturbing if you just randomly look up now and then. I started watching this movie with the sincere intention of watching it closely, like I would with most films, but it just wasn't solid enough in the first vignette to capture my interest. Maybe if I had turned this flick off impulsively I would have given it a much lower rating, but instead I just let it play and wow what an unsettling ambiance this style of film making creates.

I think it helps that I'm old enough to remember 80s television but also young enough that I was a child at the time, so there's something a bit jarring about seeing clips of real commercials blended in from almost 40 years ago that I had half-forgotten. This technique ups the authenticity factor but not if you pay attention too closely.

Short review: This is the definition of "if you like these films then you are going to like V/H/S/85." This film stays true to what we have come to expect from this franchise. The dark, gritty and often highly disturbing tone is all apparent here. But this one also has a few tricks that you won't have seen before. I won't spoil anything, but just know that there are some structural changes and they are game-changing and excellent additions.

As usual in these movie a few of the segments are better than the rest. There was certainly no absolute dud that ruined the film for 20 minutes by any means though. If you want to feel unclean and see some messed up things for 110 minutes then look no further than this film. It has everything you're after. 5.5/10.

After V/H/S 99, I was approaching this next installment a little fearfully. But, to my surprise V/H/S 85 is a good entry. The wraparound story, as well as each segment were pretty good. Maybe the "TKNOGD" Segment (Segment number three) was a little weak, but still better than the first four segments of V/H/S 99.

Overall, V/H/S 85 reminded me a lot of V/H/S 94, which I consider one of the best. So, if you enjoy the suspense, eerie atmosphere and sophisticated storytelling of 94, you will enjoy this one too.

The best two segements (Dream Kill and Ambrosia) start and finish this series and therby "roll out" and "wrap up" the red carpet for the segments in the middle, allowing them to effect us with their full potential.

I just watched this and it's definitely better than it's rating right now. The stories are varied with some being splitt into parts and spread out so that we get both variation and familiar parts. There's fear, gore, murders and monsters and most of it is well made and well acted, and it's all sewn together in a period correct nice glitchy VHS chaos. I guess for me it had what I expect from a horror movie but a lot more varied and some of it cooler than I expected, for example the story of the scientists with ..something... behind a one way mirror (slightly reminding me of beyond the black rainbow somehow)