Film

V/H/S/2

Name: V/H/S/2
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Released: 2013
Cast: Lawrence Michael Levine, Kelsy Abbott, L.C. Holt, Simon Barrett, Mindy Robinson

V/H/S/2 is an anthology horror film where found-footage segments unfold through old videotapes, each a self-contained nightmare. It's visceral and inventive—some stretches are genuinely disturbing, others absurdly fun. Built for horror enthusiasts who don't need logic, just ingenuity and sustained dread.

TMDb rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like horror anthologies where each short, shaggy found-footage segment has its own sudden jolt, and you enjoy the gleeful mess of a format that keeps changing gear from one tape to the next.

Skip it if you need a single tightly built story to hold you, since its pieces vary wildly in quality and a few drag longer than their hooks deserve.

What it asks of you: Settle in for ninety-six minutes of stacked short films, each one arriving with its own rhythm, its own crackle of dread, and little patience for explaining itself.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Conjuring2013

Masterful supernatural horror that builds unbearable tension through suggestion rather than gore. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson anchor genuine scares in a period-perfect haunted house that respects its audience's intelligence.

But Plays it relatively straight without subversion or irony. If you want horror that comments on itself, this is earnest craftsmanship instead.

Insidious2011

Found-footage's theatrical cousin: handheld camera work and jump-scares with a genuinely creepy astral plane mythology. Patrick Wilson again, and the film earns its reputation for making audiences flinch hard.

But The second half abandons subtlety for demon logic that feels a bit silly. Once you see the villain clearly, some of the nightmare evaporates.

Paranormal Activity2007

The prototype for microbudget horror that terrifies through restraint. A couple's home becomes a proving ground for something patient and malevolent. Economical filmmaking that somehow becomes increasingly claustrophobic.

But Almost nothing happens for stretches. If you need plot momentum or character development, the minimal narrative will feel like punishment.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from V/H/S/2

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Vast of Night2019

Both films build horror through mediums and formats—V/H/S through tape, this through radio broadcasts and home video—treating technology itself as a conduit for the uncanny.

A 1950s radio operator and switchboard operator uncover a mysterious transmission in their New Mexico town. It looks like Twilight Zone on a television budget, playing with found-footage conventions through radio dramas and archival footage. Clever, eerie, and genuinely inventive.

But The UFO mystery is less important than the aesthetic and atmosphere. If you need resolution or answers, the ending feels deliberately incomplete.

The Wailing2016

A Korean film that weaponizes ambiguity—is it demonic horror or a portrait of how fear destroys community? Visually stunning, narratively intricate, and impossible to forget. Demands your full attention and rewards it darkly.

But Nearly three hours of deliberate pacing with no clear answers. The dread accumulates in whispers, not screams. Requires patience and multiple viewings to decode.

A Dark Song2016

A widow and an occultist perform a dangerous ritual in isolation. Slow-burn supernatural drama that's genuinely moving beneath the horror—grief and faith collide in ways the genre rarely explores with such tenderness.

But Barely a thriller. If you came for scares, you'll get metaphysical yearning instead. Its power is quiet and meditative, which can feel like nothing is happening.

Sinister2012

A true-crime writer discovers a box of snuff films in his attic. Brilliantly constructed dread that uses imagery as weaponry—the haunted-house premise becomes secondary to what those films actually contain. Ethan Hawke grounds it perfectly.

But Some of the scariest images land through editing rather than storytelling logic. The finale divides audiences about whether it earns its mythology.

It Follows2015

A curse spreads through sexual contact, manifesting as an unstoppable humanoid shape. Genre-bending science fiction horror with a synth score that doubles the dread. Visually imaginative and emotionally coherent in ways most horror isn't.

But The concept is stronger than any plot that could contain it. Long stretches are just teenagers waiting for something to appear, which tests patience.

As Above, So Below2014

Found-footage descent into the Paris catacombs searching for the philosopher's stone. Claustrophobic, surreal, and committed to its supernatural logic even when it gets delightfully bonkers. Genuinely inventive set-pieces in actual underground locations.

But The camera-in-the-dark sequences are nearly unwatchable at times. If motion sickness or visual chaos bothers you, extended passages will be hard to sit through.

Cabin Fever2003

Eli Roth's debut is body horror adjacent to isolation thriller. A flesh-eating virus spreads through a cabin with brutal efficiency and unexpected dark comedy. Genuinely unsettling in ways modern horror often sanitizes.

But Graphic body horror and a mean-spirited tone. The teenage characters make stupid decisions, and the film doesn't coddle you for hating them. Visceral to the point of exploitation.

Martyrs2008

Both are anthology-adjacent explorations where what's captured on film—or what drives the obsession to capture—becomes the real horror. Found-footage stripped to metaphysical bone.

A French film about two women tracking down the people who tortured one of them as a child. Brutally unflinching portrait of how trauma and obsession corrupt. It commits entirely to its ideas regardless of audience comfort—shocking, structured, thematically precise.

But Extreme violence and suffering played without irony or distance. This isn't horror-entertainment; it's a film using violence to ask questions about meaning. Many will find it punishing rather than cathartic.

Come True2020

Both use framing devices and found footage aesthetics to externalize internal horror—the tapes in V/H/S/2, the sleep studies here—making the act of recording or observing the violation itself.

A homeless teenager joins a sleep study that reveals something terrible about nightmares and consciousness. Hypnotic, architecturally soundtracked, visually unlike anything else. Low-budget science-fiction horror that feels like a fever dream about surveillance and vulnerability.

But Deliberately vague and dreamlike. Plot is secondary to mood and image. If you need clear narrative explanations, the film's mystery becomes frustrating rather than engaging.