Imagine how scary it would be to have to break into a stranger’s home, the interior pitch black, and attempt to steal a VHS tape for a reasonable amount of money. This is one of the many horrific scenarios that occur in the new independent horror film “V/H/S” by film directors Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg, and Radio Silence.

“V/H/S” is a film that consists of six stories packaged into one film. One of these stories deals with a group of young adults who are trying to steal a VHS tape in a house, that contains the other five haunting stories shown in the film. Some of the other stories throughout the film center around demonic secrets, a lethal plan from a wandering hitchhiker, a revenge plot in a forest against a hiding murderer, a paranormal Skype conversation, and a halloween house party with a disturbing dark secret.

Fans of Horror Anthology films might love “V/H/S,” it has everything that a modern day “Creepshow” would have, and it is told in a interesting “found footage” fashion like “Paranormal Activity” was. Some of these stories do contain some reasonable scares, and some interesting story concepts. The film also manages to keep its dark secrets hidden very effectively within each story.

Although “V/H/S” does deliver at times, it does have some story elements that might disappoint certain viewers. The first is that there is a ton of unnecessary blood & gore throughout the film, which did not have to be so extreme. The film tends to drag in certain stories, and there are some occasional scary scenes that feel somewhat underwhelming, like the film could have felt scarier then it was.

Overall, “V/H/S” does offer some occasional interesting story concepts, and some worthwhile scares throughout its runtime. Unfortunately, it is not in the same league as other horror films of its kind like “Creepshow” or “Paranormal Activity.” “V/H/S” might be a better redbox experience than a theatrical one.

Rating: 3.5 stars