‘V/H/S’ Makes Viewers Ill at Sundance

This V/H/S movie screen shot alone, makes me want to suck my thumb

You know a movie is truly horrifying when it makes someone physically ill, and if it happens at the popular Sundance Film Festival, then it makes for some great publicity!

That’s exactly what happened last week during Sundance’s screening of the horror movie “V/H/S”. It’s been reported that two people viewing the flick had to be cared for by EMTs, while a third woman had to leave during the movie just because she “couldn’t take the suspense” of it.

The film is about a group of criminals who watch a bunch of homemade VHS tapes (remember those?) containing supernatural moments. Apparently a male viewer became ill during the first part of the flick, causing him to head for the lobby, where he then fainted.

This is about the time the man’s girlfriend followed him into the lobby and vomited (while he was beginning to get treated by the EMTs). She was then looked at by the EMTs (neither of them required hospitalization).

The movie’s co-writer Simon Barrett gave his thoughts on what happened at the screening. He told msnbc.com, “Without spoiling anything, (the film’s first segment) ends with a particularly intense series of scenes that involve, among other things, an injury resulting in a compound fracture that is recorded from the first person perspective.” He says that while the segment is “very funny in parts,” it’s also “quite intense and gory.” He also mentions that the film’s handheld camera style probably contributed to the people’s sickness.

Three words…Blair Witch Project. Never have I experienced seeing something like this except for one time. Back in 1999, I went to go see the Blair Witch Project with a couple friends at a tiny little artsy theatre in Santa Ana, Ca, and if you saw it, you might remember the part where the person finds the teeth and hair in the woods. Yeah, that’s when some lady ran up the aisle right beside me and blew her biscuits…totally gross, but I was in shock. I mean, the movie (with the camera angles as well as certain scenes) made me sort of uneasy, but not enough to vomit!

I’ve also heard the Sundance can be pretty intense, with long hours, and rough weather, but according to Barrett, they experienced the almost exact thing during the previous night’s screening, except with a woman uncontrollably sobbing, saying she was scared (from the movie).

So..yeah, whenever this movie has its domestic release, I’ve gotta see it, just to see what all the ruckus is about.

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