“V/H/S/MIXTAPE” Review
Director: Tobias Forge, RZA, Flying Lotus, David Moreau, Ernest Dickerson, Renee Zhan Screenwriter: Zoe Cooper, Ernest Dickerson, Matt Landsman, David Moreau, RZA Cast: Barbara Crampton, Alex Hsu, GWAR, Omar Mustafa Adem Distributor: Shudder Running Time: 98 min. MPAA: R
It brings me no joy to say that V/H/S/MIXTAPE is one of the worst entries in this horror anthology series. It hurts even more given the talent assembled. The connecting segments feature GWAR’s grotesque clowning; one segment features puppets from the Jim Henson Creature Shop, and accomplished filmmakers like Ernest Dickerson, David Moreau, and Flying Lotus direct the shorts. But for this entry, with its music theme, every short seems to strike only one note in tedious repetition.
There isn’t really a GWAR short here so much as a series of bumpers that MTV would’ve played back in the day. There’s something mildly amusing about scenes of GWAR members ejaculating green goo on drawings and a silly argument about how VHS tapes work. But these bits unfortunately set the tone for the entire film: gore came first, and maybe the story would be found in the edit. I expect mindless, cartoonish vulgarity from GWAR, but the horror shorts of V/H/S should be held to a higher standard than this.
The first short, “Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance,” is notable only for its vast assortment of Jim Henson puppets. The story is an uninspired reboot of an old kids’ show, with the puppets fighting back against a team that comes into the old puppet studio to study the classic characters. The TV short in this segment doesn’t even try to pass as a believable kids’ puppet show that shockingly turns violent. One of the old puppets is a mosquito, and you can probably guess how he attacks human beings. The more intriguing angle, the puppets coming to like and take control of human bodies, quickly takes a backseat to the studio becoming a haunted house of killer puppets. In the same way that the Henson company’s production of The Happytime Murders was “What if Muppets used profanity and had sex?”, this is very much “What if Muppets killed people in the Creature Workshop?” Well, as it turns out, it’s not as entertaining as it sounds on paper, especially when that’s the only idea on paper.
Even worse is the stop-motion entry “Another Cabin,” which doesn’t even feel finished. The incredibly short segment of a monster attacking a boy and his grandmother in a cabin never finds a good flow or even a greater thematic element. It’d be impressive if it were a student film that was framed as a proof of concept, but not as a short film ready for the V/H/S rotation. “Heartbeat” has an intriguing premise: travel YouTubers explore a bunker and get trapped in a soundproof room, forced to hear every part of their bodies forever. It’s a good idea with great sound design, which makes it all the more disappointing that its strengths don’t extend beyond the technical. “Premature Burial” is just a music video, and while it feels at home in the classic MTV era, it honestly feels like one of the more forgettable ones that would play while I waited for Liquid Television to air.
“The Music of Mr. Sze” is a little more ambitious, trying to fuse Lovecraftian cosmic horror with the power of music that struggles to keep a monster portal shut. It has some impressive special effects, but I wish I could feel more for the curious cameraman filming all this terror and for Mister Sze’s anxiety as he knows the truth behind his essential violin playing. The best is at least saved for last with RZA’s “Death Tone,” where a sound engineer attempts to make the perfect song by editing together the sounds of her murders. The engineer is rather creative in how she lures in men, tortures them in horribly brutal ways, and scrutinizes how they’ll be edited into the mix. I don’t even know if this is a great short; it was refreshing to see one segment that was clever, compelling, and entertaining, with gory effects that served a purpose beyond grossing out the audience or coasting on them in lieu of an interesting story.
The only thing I enjoyed most about V/H/S/MIXTAPE is knowing that this lackluster sequel will not bring down these movies. Another sequel is already in the works for next year, and it seems to take a more fascinating angle on tapping into the creepy SCP lore. I know it’s not a good sign to look forward to a bad movie’s follow-up, but that’s how the V/H/S films have held such appeal. If you didn’t like one short, chances are the next one might be better. I didn’t like V/H/S/Viral, but the series has bounced back with improved sequels. I bring all this up not to sweep aside MIXTAPE, but to sweep aside the notion that the V/H/S movies are out of steam. Previous films have proven there’s still some good stuff in this assortment of analog horror from a variety of directors. MIXTAPE is just one of the worst for failing to live up to the potential of these movies, ensuring it won’t make the cut for the greatest hits of V/H/S.
