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V/H/S/2 Review

Other Critics provided by


  • 3.0

    out of 100

    Mixed or average reviews
    based on a weighted average of all
    critic review scores.

  • 10

    out of 100

    Village Voice Nick Schager

    There isn't a scare to be found in the series's second installment.

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  • 50

    out of 100

    The Hollywood Reporter Justin Lowe

    The scares are as hit-or-miss as the filmmaking in the second installment of the “VHS” found-footage horror anthology series.

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  • 80

    out of 100

    Variety Dennis Harvey


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  • See all V/H/S/2 reviews at

For Families provided by Common Sense Media

not for kids

Tons of violence, over-the-top gore in anthology sequel.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that V/H/S/2 is an anthology horror film that's a sequel to 2012's V/H/S, which did poorly in theaters but well on DVD/streaming. This installment has a largely new cast and crew, though it takes place in the same creepy house. Violence is very strong and gory, including disemboweling, mass suicides, failed suicides (and gaping wounds), ghosts, aliens, zombies, dead bodies, a dead dog, and huge spatters of blood. Two topless women are shown, and two sex acts (one of them is fairly hardcore, though it's very brief). Language is very strong in two of the segments, with multiple uses of "f--k" and "s--t," among other words. Teens drink alcohol in one scene during the final segment.

  • Families can talk about V/H/S/2's violence. Is a horror movie scarier with lots of blood? What's the impact of showing so much gore? What's the appeal of over-the-top violence?
  • What makes the movie scary? Are the monsters scary, or is it the way that the movie tells the stories?
  • Why is sex often so much a part of horror movies? What message is this movie sending about sex? 
  • For the YouTube generation, when everything is public and online, what's the appeal of VHS tapes?

The good stuff
  • message true0

    Messages: No messages here other than "don't go in the creepy house or woods, and definitely don't try to film yourself all the time."

  • rolemodels true0

    Role models: The characters aren't on screen long enough to become role models, and the ones who are have serious flaws (adultery, cowardice). Hardly anyone survives.

What to watch for
  • violence false5

    Violence: In the most intense sequence, a religious cult involves (off screen) sex with young girls, mass suicides (with guns and poison), bloody operations, zombies, and massive amounts of gore sprayed around. Another segment includes zombies attacking, ripping open people's bodies and devouring bloody entrails. Scary ghosts appear in another segment, and aliens attack in the final segment. In the wraparound segment, a man films himself trying to blow his own head off, but he fails, "merely" blowing off his jaw instead. His bloody, gaping mouth and tongue are shown hanging out. Nearly every character dies, including a cute little dog.

  • sex false5

    Sex: Two topless women are shown. A woman meets a man in a hotel room for sex; viewers see them kissing and undressing through the window. (The inference is that it's an illicit affair.) A woman has sex with a man to distract him from seeing a ghost. There's a quick shot, through a doorway, of two minor characters having what looks to be hardcore sex: The man's naked bottom is shown thrusting. A woman flirts with her boyfriend over the phone and uses sexual innuendo. A woman is shown to be pregnant from an illicit affair with her boyfriend's best friend. A teen girl starts to have sex with her boyfriend but is interrupted.

  • language false4

    Language: Strong language is constant in the first and fourth segments but less so in the second and third. Many uses of "f--k," "s--t," "Jesus," "goddamn," "t-ts," "d--k," "ass," "hell," "oh my God," and "faggot."

  • consumerism false0

    Consumerism: Not an issue

  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3

    Drinking, drugs and smoking: Adult characters casually drink beer in the first segment, and teens drink liquor during a slumber party in the fourth segment.