“V/H/S Viral” fails to muster up any genuine scares

By Corey Vikser
Staff Writer

Murderous magicians, Mexican death cults, parallel universes and an evil ice-cream truck may sound like an interesting plethora of anomalies for a unique horror film, but when it is not scary, it is hard to care for its creativity.

While it has the most exciting narrative in the series to date, the film “V/H/S Viral” fails to achieve the terrifying and visceral heights of the series’ first two installments. The storytellers attempt new styles with mixed results, unfortunately relying on shock tactics, sexual imagery and pointless brutality in place of actual scares.

The “V/H/S” series is series in which a collection of short horror films are all connected by an overarching story. In “Viral,” the film’s three shorts are tied to together by the central narrative, or wraparound segment, ‘Vicious Circles.’

‘Vicious Circles’ follows a driverless ice cream truck that goes on a killing rampage while broadcasting a signal to citizen’s cell phones that causes the citizens to become zombie-like and catatonic. In it, the film’s three short films are being uploaded to the internet by the mysterious truck.

The film’s first short is ‘Dante the Magician,’ a mockumentary-style story about a Vegas illusionist who gains his power from a demonically-possessed cloak. The second, ‘Parallel Monsters,’ is about a man who builds a portal to a parallel universe, only to find an exact copy of his life on the other side. The third and final segment, ‘Bonestorm,’ chronicles the escapades of delinquent skaters on a trip to Tijuana that turns sour when they run into a vicious cult thirsty for blood.

Unfortunately, all the attempts at horror in the film come off as cheap and disgusting, never actually scary. The film’s many directors rely too much on cheap scare tactics, such as purposeless brutality in place of actual tension. The only horror displayed in ‘Dante” is gore, not a single jump scare or anything of that nature.‘Parallel Monsters’ starts impressively as director Nacho Vigalondo utilizes subtle tension and imagery to build an uncomfortable atmosphere, but it is all undone by a cheap twist that lazily and uncomfortably resorts to gags about mutated genetalia. ‘Bonestorm’ is no better, as the majority of its runtime is spent observing unlikeable teenage skaters engaging in debauchery and killing Mexican cultists.

The lack of legitimate horror undermines the entire film as a supposedly scary movie, and while it is the film’s only major problem, it proves so severe that it over shadows the film’s charms. This is all the more unfortunate given that the previous two films in the series proved genuinely scary throughout.

However, the film keeps from completely falling into obscurity thanks to the intensity of its central narrative. ‘Vicious Circles’ is the best wraparound segment in the series, as the sense is larger than ever before when compared to previous films, in which the central narrative was generally just a group of people watching tapes. In it, the story spans all of LA, and the camera quickly cuts from shots from helicopters to shots from cellphones on the ground, lending a sense of chaos to the cinematography. The visceral nature is at its best here, as the situation reaches apocalyptic heights while violence becomes widespread, creating a sense of intensity throughout the film.

“V/H/S Viral” is a series disappointment as the weak segments cannot match the scale of grandiose wraparound segment ‘Vicious Circles,’ or even muster up a scare. The film’s directors replace tension and terror with brutality that does no more than create a cheap reaction, leaving a film that does not compare to its predecessors.

“V/H/S Viral” is rated R and is now playing in theaters. It is also available on video on demand.