VHS 99 is a mixed bag, out of all the VHS movies, this one has the largest gap in quality between segments. Instead of all segments being okay, or bad, or good. The portions can be described as ranging from fantastic to putrid.
- Framing Device ('Toy Soldiers') - Directed by Chris Lee Hill & Taylor Macintyre
I loved this framing device. It is a series of silly animated shorts made by a character who appears in a later segment of the movie. They're cute, legitimately funny, and nostalgic. It reminds me of fun and inventive videos that dominated the early internet.
8/10
- 'The Shredders' - Directed by Maggie Levin
The 'VHS' films have never been particularly impressive or remarkable, there have been plenty of segments that are downright bad. But 'The Shredders' takes the cake for most embarrassing VHS portion ever. This segment made me cringe so much that I literally had to shut off the movie and return to it later.
'Shredders' deserves an entire review to its own, because it packs so many embarrassing and cringey moments into such a short period of time, but here's a few. 1. The acting is the worst it's ever been in one of these films. 2. The music made by the "legendary" underground punk band is like the most fluffy Hannah Montana song ever, but the filmmakers legitimately think they made something hardcore. 3. There's not one character even remotely interesting, there are plenty of horror movies with obnoxious characters, but they're at least interesting. Every single character in this is hard to watch, I feel pity for everyone involved. 4. The editing is as bad as it's ever been in the VHS franchise, all the kills are lame and impossible to make out because of the shaky cam.
There was a minor story that came out a while ago, where a couple of directors were whining about how "the worst films of the year" lists were "cruel" and "unnecessary", and it now makes perfect sense that one of the main voices complaining about those lists was the director of this segment. Maybe in the future, don't make embarrassing, amateur garbage, and people won't put you on their 'worst' lists...
1/10
- 'Suicide Bid' - Directed by Johannes Roberts
Luckily, from here on out, it's a much smoother ride. I don't know if 'Suicide Bid' is as good as the credit I'm giving it, but after 'The Shredders', 'Suicide Bid' felt like a masterpiece. Like the first story, 'Suicide Bid' has obnoxious characters, but they're archetypal "Mean Girl" characters, who aren't framed as "cool and punk" like the first segment insists of its' characters. The acting isn't great, but again, compared to its predecessor, it's amazing.
The story pretty predictable, you know what's going to happen as soon as the inciting incident happens. Imagine how terrifying this story would be if it was just a girl stuck in a buried coffin slowly filling with water. But unfortunately, they have to through a zombie ghost in the mix, which looks comically bad. The ending is obvious, but satisfying. Not great, but after 'The Shredders', a welcome addition to the film.
4.5/10
- 'Ozzy's Dungeon' - Directed by Flying Lotus
If 'The Shredders' is the worst VHS segment ever, then Ozzy's Dungeon is one of the best. A delightfully disgusting story, Ozzy's dungeon takes full advantage of its' premise. There are moments that are genuinely sickening, hilarious and impressive. The characters are wonderfully scummy and over-the-top, with the absurdity turned up to 11. As the segment progresses, it gets increasingly extreme and silly. It's like if John Waters made a VHS segment.
Along with 'Storm Drain' and 'Safe Haven', 'Ozzy's Dungeon' has got to be one of the most satisfying VHS shorts ever.
9/10
- 'The Gawkers' - Directed by Chris Lee Hill & Taylor Macintyre
The third and best of the segments to revolve around obnoxious teens, 'The Gawkers' is pretty much 'American Pie' meets Medusa. It's a fun, simple concept, that is well directed and edited. The characters are equally unlikeable as the first segment, but again, they're framed as creeps and d***heads, so it feels like you're actually feeling the intended emotions of the directors.
It's not really scary, and the last 5 minutes feels rushed, but it's a little twist on the 'Rear Window'/'Disturbia' premise we haven't seen yet. Not as great as the framing device, but still worthy of a decent anthology popcorn flick.
5.5/10
- 'To Hell and Back' - Directed by Vanessa & Joesph Winter
This was such a fun ending to the whole movie. It's a seance that goes off the rails immediately and doesn't let up. It's charming, the effects are low-key and creatively silly, the story is fresh for the VHS franchise, and the character of "Mabel" has got to be the best character out of any VHS story ever (the actress is chewing the scenery and having endless fun too).
7.5/10
I dare say, if it's weren't for the unwatchable first segment, this would be undoubtedly the strongest VHS yet. In fact, even with the first segment being as dreadful as it is, I would likely watch this VHS over the others in the series. Including the framing device, there are 6 stories, 1 is terrible, 2 are average, 2 are great, and 1 is fantastic. All-in-all, a really entertaining watch, you just have to bite your tongue through the atrocious first segment, then it's pretty smooth sailing.