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Sundance Review: 'S-VHS' Is An Uneven, Occasionally Thrilling Sequel To The Horror Anthology

  • By Drew Taylor
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  • January 20, 2013 10:30 AM
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  • 3 Comments
Reviews
Last year, the indie horror anthology "V/H/S" was released and promised to be chock full of truly in-your-face terror – these were fearless directors, given complete creative freedom, and squeezed together under a tight, blood-soaked package. Of course, the promise of "V/H/S" and the actual movie itself were quite different, and while there were certainly some gems (including entries by Ti West and Joe Swanberg that blurred the line between mumblecore and horror even further), most of them were overlong and uninvolving and (worse yet) reinforced some of the worst traits in the horror genre, including an undercurrent of ugly misogyny that was knotted through almost every section.
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More: V/H/S/2, V/H/S, Jason Eisener, Adam Wingard, Gareth Evans, Eduardo Sanchez, Simon Barrett, Sundance Film Festival, Review

In Theaters: 'Taken 2' & 'The Paperboy' Are 'Butter' In The Mouths Of 'Frankenweenie' Who Haunts 'Wuthering Heights'

  • By Emma Bernstein
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  • October 5, 2012 6:01 PM
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  • 0 Comments
News
Halloween is still a few weeks away, but, like the drug stores that erect candy aisles in August, the studios are rolling out the thematic material a little early. A reinterpretation of "Frankenstein" for kids (it's never too early to start them on the classics) is complemented by the horror-movie-of-the-week and a number of films that delve into more realistic terrors, like the demise of healthcare or the drug problem in the United States. Also, a Sarah Palin surrogate sculpts with butter. Spooky.
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More: Taken 2, Frankenweenie, V/H/S, Butter, The Paperboy, Wuthering Heights, The Oranges, Sister, The House I Live In

Review: 'V/H/S' A Solidly Delivered Horror Anthology That Brings The Thrills

  • By William Goss
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  • October 4, 2012 6:04 PM
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  • 1 Comment
Reviews
When compared to the pristine picture quality of Blu-ray, the VHS format is a decrepit, grungy thing, so how better to make an anthology of grimy spook stories than to embrace that aesthetic all-around, as "V/H/S" does? Made up of six found-footage style segments – few of which actually attempt to replicate the look of old tape, but all of which have their distinct variations in interference and texture – it’s a film consumed with bad deeds recorded and recovered, helmed by a who’s-who of current genre mavens and delivered with a good sense of playfulness around concepts and conceits generally exploited to lure in the gullible masses for the sake of a single opening weekend.
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More: V/H/S, Review

Watch: Red Band Trailer for 'V/H/S/' Promises Ghosts, Vampires & Murders, Oh My!

  • By Benjamin Wright
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  • June 19, 2012 9:45 AM
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  • 2 Comments
News
The last horror film we can really remember making any sort of waves in the film community was April’s excellent “Cabin in the Woods,” which was able to deconstruct many of the genre’s tropes while also affectionately playing into them to great success. Since then there’s been a dearth of things that go bump in the night at the cinema, with the Johnny Depp-starring “Dark Shadows” doing little to excite, and even a few independent features making their way to arthouses or Video On Demand.
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More: V/H/S, Film Trailers

New Posters For 'V/H/S,' 'Ruby Sparks,' 'Why Stop Now' & 'Deadfall'

  • By Cain Rodriguez
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  • June 15, 2012 1:26 PM
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  • 1 Comment
News
There is no one who would disagree with the notion that the age of great film posters is long behind us -- instead we are left with orange-blue monstrosities with floating heads. That’s not to say there isn’t an inspired choice every now and then, as is the case with the first official poster for the horror anthology film “V/H/S” that scared audiences at Sundance earlier this year (read our take here). The poster wouldn’t look out of place as the cover of a schlocky video at a local video store circa the late '80s. The anthology, which has segments directed by a who’s-who of indie horror including Ti West (“The House Of The Devil” and “The Innkeepers”), Joe Swanberg (“Silver Bullets”) and David Bruckner (“The Signal”), will hit VOD on August 31st before debuting in theaters a few weeks later in October. And if you find yourself in North Texas this weekend, you’ll be able to catch the film on the big screen at the inaugural Oak Cliff Film Festival.
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More: V/H/S, Deadfall, Why Stop Now, Ruby Sparks

Dead Or Alive, You're Coming With Me: 'RoboCop' Reboot Arrives On August 9, 2013

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • March 10, 2012 9:44 AM
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  • 0 Comments
News
After years in development, the "RoboCop" franchise is finally booted back up and ready to return. With "Elite Squad" Jose Padilha at the helm and "The Killing" star Joel Kinnaman newly minted as the man in the robot suit, MGM is ready to get this thing rolling, and has pegged a release date for the movie.
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More: RoboCop, V/H/S, Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers

Sundance Review: 'V/H/S' A Solidly Delivered Horror Anthology That Brings The Thrills

  • By William Goss
  • |
  • January 30, 2012 7:59 AM
  • |
  • 0 Comments
Reviews
When compared to the pristine picture quality of Blu-ray, the VHS format is a decrepit, grungy thing, so how better to make an anthology of grimy spook stories than to embrace that aesthetic all-around as "V/H/S" does? Made up of six found-footage style segments – few of which actually attempt to replicate the look of old tape, but all of which have their distinct variations in interference and texture – it’s a film consumed with bad deeds recorded and recovered, helmed by a who’s-who of current genre mavens and delivered with a good sense of playfulness around concepts and conceits generally exploited to lure in the gullible masses for the sake of a single opening weekend.
Read More »
More: V/H/S, Sundance 2012 Reviews

Sundance: Buzz Films 'Arbitrage,' 'Liberal Arts,' 'Robot & Frank' & 'V/H/S' All Find Distribution

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • January 26, 2012 10:40 AM
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  • 0 Comments
Festivals
As ever, Park City is quieting down again, with many journalists heading home after a week of Sundance madness. We've still got plenty of coverage to come, don't get us wrong, but as is so often the case with festivals, things tend to be a little front-loaded. Except, that is, on the business end; now that most films have unspooled, the acquisitions folk are ready to start handing out the checks. We've already seen a few big sales: Fox Searchlight took two of the best-reviewed films of the festival, "The Surrogate" and "Beasts Of The Southern Wild," while "For A Good Time Call," "Lay The Favorite," "Black Rock," "Celeste and Jesse Forever" and "Red Lights," among others, have all found homes.
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More: Sundance Film Festival, Sundance 2012 News, Arbitrage, Liberal Arts, Robot And Frank, V/H/S, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Magnolia, Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions, IFC Films

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