Why ‘V/H/S: Viral’ Could Make Sense As A Movie (But Ultimately Doesn’t)

TV & Film

Oct 17

Everyone loves to get scared by a good horror movie, so when the chance of a sequel arises, it can lead to exciting, high expectations. After all, if the first movie can get popular with how terrifying it was, then why can't there be sequels that expand upon the story and make it even scarier? This is the type of philosophy that has elevated movies such as Saw, Paranormal Activity, Halloween, and Insidious. While there exist movies that get the terror done in one entry, such as Lake Mungo, Nope, or Midsommar, there's no harm in extending the universe when it's executed well. One such series that many horror fans love to admire for its variety, among other things, is the horror anthology series, V/H/S.

With six films making up the franchise, the most recent of which being V/H/S/85, releasing on October 6th of this year, discussions about which films (as well as their respective segments) are the pillar of creative quality are plentiful. I've previously written a list of segments that discuss some of the best and worst that the franchise has to offer (up to V/H/S/94, at least), and it's not hard to see why some stand above others. While many can attest to the quality of the better films, such as V/H/S and V/H/S/2, many fans, myself included, also tend to agree that the worst entry of the series goes to the third film, V/H/S: Viral.

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'V/H/S/85' Spoiler Free Review

In an attempt to reimagine the concept that V/H/S is known for, that being "analog found footage", Viral drops the ball at what made the previous films scary and memorable. While it isn't unheard of for horror movie sequels to forget their original concept (looking at you, Child's Play), it's a bit confusing as to what led to the decision to make a V/H/S movie that doesn't focus on actual VHS tapes, but viral internet videos. Ironically enough, this may be the film's biggest flaw since otherwise the film could've been seen in a better light. When you create a movie with V/H/S in the title, fans of the series get a certain expectation from how they expect the "plot" to go. I say "plot" very loosely, as the framing narrative for the films before Viral was little more than a group of people finding a pile of VHS tapes and watching them, which ultimately acts as a transition for the different shorts. While there was never anything wrong with the framing narratives, it's clear that the priority of action and terror went into the segments themselves.

With Viral, however, it seems as if the framing narrative was the priority, while the segments only seem to be included just to fulfill the anthology quota. It's clear to see that there is an actual plot that the film attempts to follow in between the short segments they provide. Oddly enough, despite the laughably bad CGI and special effects that pop up now and again the story proves itself to be... coherent?

The leading narrative, titled Vicious Circles, follows an amateur videographer, Kevin, as he records his day-to-day life with his girlfriend, Iris, as well as his abusive grandmother. When an out-of-control ice cream truck is broadcasted on the news, Kevin hurries outside in an attempt to make a viral video off of a firsthand recording. When Iris receives a weird phone call, she walks outside, seemingly hypnotized, before disappearing. It isn't long before Kevin's phone starts displaying the helpless cries of his girlfriend, crying with pleas to be saved by him. Kevin pursues the truck, though not without having to weave around large groups of people, who also seemingly receive weird videos and images on their phones. Because of this, everyone acts unreasonably erratic and insane, as if brainwashed by the transmissions the truck is sending out.

In all honesty, despite the concept of a crazy, uncontrollable truck that transmits screwed-up viral videos to anyone it drives by sounding ridiculous, Viral manages to play it out deceptively well. Aside from sending people viral videos, it also tends to make them go crazy, turning into fame-hungry maniacs who will do anything to go viral. As Vicious Circles shows, this includes chasing after the truck on motorcycles, jumping off of bridges, and causing fights. If one were to look at most social media nowadays, one would think that this movie was predicting a cruel society that thrives off of shock value and fame.

What's more, while Kevin is the main protagonist of the short, it also goes out of its way to show how it affects others. This includes a Hispanic gangbanger barbeque turned violent, due to police helicopters flying over the backyard by pure coincidence, but quickly leads to a huge misunderstanding that ends with bloodshed. Another scene portrays a confrontation within a taxi cab, as a skeezy porn director gets a gun pulled on him by the stripping girl he's attempting to record. The biggest flaw that weighs this segment (and most of the other ones, unfortunately) is the rather terrible, cringey over-acting that plagues almost every character with a speaking role. The previously mentioned cheap-looking special effects don't do much else other than cement the film as a lot less scary and a lot more schlocky, at least when compared to the previous movies. At the very least, the ending to Vicious Circles pulls it out of the mud to deliver a surprisingly impactful conclusion and give the unfortunate souls who sat through the entire film a decent (and surprisingly symbolic) payoff. Maybe not as poignant as Parasite or Us, but still fairly decent.

Of course, what would an anthology series be without other shorts to anthologize? Granted, the framing narrative itself could be expanded into a full-length feature, were the opportunity to arise. Remember, though, this is a V/H/S movie, so other short films are expected by the audience. Since the framing narrative could be seen as a segment in and of itself, there are only three other segments that take place in Viral. Much less than the five from V/H/S or the four from V/H/S/2 (not counting the framing narratives of those movies). The saying goes "Less is more", so one would expect the quality to be elevated in this case, right?

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be the case, as the segments all seem to suffer in some capacity, with many of the same complaints from Vicious Circles being seen in others. Again, the concepts of Dante the Great, Parallel Monsters, and Bonestorm could hypothetically work but are bogged down by questionable filmmaking decisions. Previously, I would've lamented the fact that both Bonestorm and Dante the Great barely count as being "found footage," due to the usage of overlayed music and overuse of camera cuts. After rewatching the movie a few times, however, adding strange edits and including post-edited music and filters began to make sense. After all, this is called V/H/S: Viral and anyone who's ever made videos for the internet knows how much editing goes into one.

My contempt for Dante the Great still stands, however, as it's by far the worst segment in the whole film if not the whole franchise. The idea is promising: a documentary about the story of a famous Las Vegas magician, aptly named "Dante the Great." While he begins his 'career' with no talent, money, or fame, his life changes completely when he comes across "Houdini's Cape", which proves to have magical properties. Naturally, it isn't long before fame and power go to his head, even when he takes in an assistant under his wing (or cape, in this case). Near the climax of the segment, it seems to give up attempting to be scary, showcasing a fight scene involving magic, and not in a cool D&D wizard way either. The movie ends with very little flair or terror, cementing just how unscary (or good) this segment was. At least Viral gets Dante the Great out of the way by being the first segment shown after the intro.

By stark contrast, Parallel Monsters is possibly the best segment out of the rest, though it may be because the short plays out like any other V/H/S segment normally would. A Spanish scientist manages to cross over into a parallel dimension, where he meets an alternate version of him. The two decide to go into the other's world out of scientific curiosity, recording the whole time. After crossing over, the scientist from our world discovers that the parallel dimension is a lot more than what he imagined. I won't spoil the twist here, considering this segment is a decent watch, despite the incredibly graphic and vulgar effects (one hint, three words; Satanic monster genitals). Granted, the V/H/S series is no stranger to gratuitous nudity, although any shown in Parallel Monsters will be the opposite of fan service.

Finally, the film rounds out its mediocre repertoire with Bonestorm, another segment that kills any suspense it could've had by devolving into a cheesy action movie. Initially, it's not that easy to tell just where the plot of the segment wants to go, as most of the focus is on two skateboarders and a camera guy they hired, who seems more interested in seeing them get injured for a more interesting video. After pulling a fourth person along for gas money, the group heads to Tiajuana to find a good skating spot. Why? Because the camera guy told them to. It isn't until the 'horror' aspect of the short comes in, as the group winds up interrupting a ritual that makes the cultists rise from the dead. That doesn't stop the skateboarders from fighting their way out of danger, all while gritty rock music and distracting filters play over it!

Truthfully, the only real crime the segment suffers from aside from annoying characters (which was most likely done on purpose), is the overuse of disorganized camera cuts. Since it's inferred that these videos are edited after being found, one wonders why they would be edited in such a chaotically uncontrolled manner. If the implication is that the skateboarders managed to escape and upload the video, it would at least explain many of the editing decisions. Again, not a terrible segment, but certainly not anything that stands up to something like Safe Haven, Ozzy’s Dungeon, or The Subject.

Upon first watch, any fan of V/H/S would surely be disappointed with the concept, seeing as how it doesn't match up with the other entries of the franchise. At best, it's mediocre and slow, and at worst, it's laughably cringe. It is refreshing, however, to see a new attempt at evolving the concept in a new and intriguing manner. Even if you have the ingredients for a delicious stew, however, it won't taste good if you don't cook it long enough or use the right spices. Much like an undercooked, unproperly seasoned stew, V/H/S: Viral's engaging concepts, and immersive world-building are held back heavily by mediocre storytelling, low-quality special effects, laughable acting, the occasional overly cruel and crass dialogue, and an overall lack of cohesion or consistency.

It's honestly a real shame that much of this movie just doesn't work, as all of the right ideas are present. Fortunately, it seems very few mistakes were repeated with the installments after Viral, and hopefully won't be. For those who haven't seen this entry yet, it's at least worth a watch if you want a good idea of how not to do a found footage anthology (or if you want a decent chuckle now and then). Despite how easy it is to point out the numerous flaws, it's also clear that there's as much passion and dedication in V/H/S: Viral as there was in the others. The directors and actors clearly had fun with their work and I truthfully hope to see how they've improved in their future endeavors. Just as long as Dante the Not-So-Great doesn't make a return.

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