The Good: I'm very happy VHS 99 refrains from the overarching storylines, which more often than not, interrupt the storyline and aren't particularly interesting. This is a good ol' fashioned anthology and I liked that.
The Gawkers is easily the best of the bunch, the chemistry between the teenage boys felt the most natural. The concept was formulaic, but elevated because of the choice of monster and the surprisingly decent acting.
The Suicide Bid was pretty terrible for a good chunk, but the latter half becomes nightmarish and could've worked without the supernatural elements. It was easily the scariest aspect of the whole movie.
The Bad: The problem with VHS is that, as with every other entry in the series, the vast majority of the stories are forgettable at best and actively awful at worst. The acting is horrendous in the majority of these stories (especially 1, 2, and 5) and it really took me out of the story. They become more laughable than anything else.
Outside of The Gawkers, I kind of felt like setting this in 1999 was basically inconsequential to the plot. In fact, there were slang terms used in many of these stories that were clearly anachronistic (why are people saying hella, why?). It doesn't help that the majority of characters are utterly awful people and hard to bear watching, let alone connect with.
The visuals are flat out ugly for a majority of this movie. While I like the use practical effects, most of these ghouls look like stuff you'd see at a cheap neighbourhood haunted house. Some of the stories (especially the first) is so muddled with visual distortions that it becomes borderline unwatchable at points.
I also actively really hated some of these stories. Then Ozymandias Dungeon started off kind of cool and interesting, but then devolves into budget torture porn (really, in 2022) and then veers off into the direction of randomness by the end of it. A lot of these stories do; they rely on shock value and gore to make up for anything interesting or compelling.
The Ugly: I think a lot of people give VHS a pass because it's clearly a low budget movie made by people who love horror. But, these movies are almost always disappointing. While it gets better by the end, it's like going to a bad restaurant and being okay with the pre-made ice cream dessert at the end. Sure, it's better than nothing, but it's still doesn't make up for a bad experience overall.
VHS 99 doesn't even have a Timo Tjahjanto to elevate the thing and give us a genuinely good short to watch on its own. There are endless choices for horror this Halloween. Don't waste it on this one.
The Gawkers is easily the best of the bunch, the chemistry between the teenage boys felt the most natural. The concept was formulaic, but elevated because of the choice of monster and the surprisingly decent acting.
The Suicide Bid was pretty terrible for a good chunk, but the latter half becomes nightmarish and could've worked without the supernatural elements. It was easily the scariest aspect of the whole movie.
The Bad: The problem with VHS is that, as with every other entry in the series, the vast majority of the stories are forgettable at best and actively awful at worst. The acting is horrendous in the majority of these stories (especially 1, 2, and 5) and it really took me out of the story. They become more laughable than anything else.
Outside of The Gawkers, I kind of felt like setting this in 1999 was basically inconsequential to the plot. In fact, there were slang terms used in many of these stories that were clearly anachronistic (why are people saying hella, why?). It doesn't help that the majority of characters are utterly awful people and hard to bear watching, let alone connect with.
The visuals are flat out ugly for a majority of this movie. While I like the use practical effects, most of these ghouls look like stuff you'd see at a cheap neighbourhood haunted house. Some of the stories (especially the first) is so muddled with visual distortions that it becomes borderline unwatchable at points.
I also actively really hated some of these stories. Then Ozymandias Dungeon started off kind of cool and interesting, but then devolves into budget torture porn (really, in 2022) and then veers off into the direction of randomness by the end of it. A lot of these stories do; they rely on shock value and gore to make up for anything interesting or compelling.
The Ugly: I think a lot of people give VHS a pass because it's clearly a low budget movie made by people who love horror. But, these movies are almost always disappointing. While it gets better by the end, it's like going to a bad restaurant and being okay with the pre-made ice cream dessert at the end. Sure, it's better than nothing, but it's still doesn't make up for a bad experience overall.
VHS 99 doesn't even have a Timo Tjahjanto to elevate the thing and give us a genuinely good short to watch on its own. There are endless choices for horror this Halloween. Don't waste it on this one.