I enjoy the V/H/S movies: they give horror directors the freedom to explore some crazy ideas without the need to conform to a traditional narrative structure. V/H/S 85 is a scattershot mix-tape of madness, presenting several tales that merge together in a mess of noise, grainy imagery, aerobics, and some very gruesome gore.
The variety of stories is great: we get a murder cult, a virtual reality creature, a psychic goth, an ancient Aztec god, and a shape-shifting monster called Rory. Some of the segments start off a little slow, but ultimately the weird and wonderful payoffs are worth the wait, with some very effective special effects. The somewhat inconclusive nature of the tales is bound to annoy those who prefer a standard 'beginning, middle and ending' format, with everything tied up in a neat package, but as an experiment in horror that allows film-makers to tackle something a bit different, I found it to be a refreshingly creative experience.
The variety of stories is great: we get a murder cult, a virtual reality creature, a psychic goth, an ancient Aztec god, and a shape-shifting monster called Rory. Some of the segments start off a little slow, but ultimately the weird and wonderful payoffs are worth the wait, with some very effective special effects. The somewhat inconclusive nature of the tales is bound to annoy those who prefer a standard 'beginning, middle and ending' format, with everything tied up in a neat package, but as an experiment in horror that allows film-makers to tackle something a bit different, I found it to be a refreshingly creative experience.