NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • Generate wealth weekly
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

'Chilling' horror film comes with a warning

Chris Schulz
Chris Schulz
Herald online·
3 Aug, 2012 02:40 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
A scene from horror film V/H/S. Photo / Supplied

A scene from horror film V/H/S. Photo / Supplied

One of the contributors to a gruesome ensemble horror film screening in Auckland tonight says it "scared the living hell" out of him when he saw it for the first time.

Found footage horror flick V/H/S, screening at SkyCity Theatre as part of the Film Festival, brings together five directors - Adam Wingard, Ti West, David Bruckner, Joe Swanberg and Glenn McQuaid - who supplied their own 20-odd-minute short films to the movie.

The separate segments are tied together by an overall story arc involving a group of burglars who begin watching a pile of video tapes they found in a creepy house.

Reviews have been positive, with an 80 per cent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where reviewers have called V/H/S "chilling," "ingenious" and would make viewers "sleep with the light on".

One Sundance Film Festival viewer found the film so overwhelming he passed out.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Co-director David Bruckner, who is in Auckland as part of the Film Festival, said he was amazed at how well the director's contributing pieces worked together.

"I got to be a fan of the other films, and I can say there are one or two in particular that scare the living hell out of me," he told nzherald.co.nz.

"I haven't wanted to go in and watch them again."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Bruckner said he had been amazed at how many of the same story threads showed up in the directors' shorts, which were written and filmed separately.

"With V/H/S a lot of it is preying on the ideas of voyeurism. We've all got video cameras in our pocket. What are some of the things you've wanted to do with a video camera that maybe you shouldn't? Have you ever taken a photo you shouldn't? Do you not want someone to look through your phone?

"One of the things we try to do is to find something you have a personal experience with (and use that) to springboard from that into the genre stuff and it will have more of an effect."

Bruckner, who also helmed 2007's The Signal and 2011's Talk Show, said horror films were a great entry point for young filmmakers.

Discover more

Opinion

Dominic Corry: Gentlemen murderers, intrepid scouts at the Film Fest

26 Jul 09:00 PM
Entertainment

Ex death-row inmate at Jackson premiere

30 Jul 03:10 AM
Opinion

Dominic Corry: Sightseeing serial killers at the Film Fest

30 Jul 08:07 PM
Entertainment

Look who's stalking: How to Meet Girls From a Distance

01 Aug 06:00 PM

"These images are compelling on a visceral level. They can arouse these sensations in you and that you can use those to manipulate an audience into a certain direction."

As for that viewer that passed out at Sundance, Bruckner says V/H/S wasn't solely to blame.

"He had been driving all night, he'd had a lot to drink, it was a high altitude and he was feeling a bit queasy. It was a combination of all those things and what was going on on screen.

"He did pass out, it was very scary for all of us (but) it turns out he was fine."

* V/H/S screens at Sky City Theatre at 9.30pm as part of the Film Festival.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

Entertainment

Diddy asks court for early release after 13 months in jail

23 Sep 09:36 AM
Entertainment

'I'm in heels all the time': Dua Lipa on why her core matters

23 Sep 04:01 AM
Entertainment

Dua Lipa uses strength training to help her walk in heels

Watch
23 Sep 04:00 AM

Sponsored

The skin sensitivities keeping Kiwi dogs (and their families) awake

21 Sep 12:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

Diddy asks court for early release after 13 months in jail
Entertainment

Diddy asks court for early release after 13 months in jail

Prosecutors are pushing for up to 63 months, far longer than his lawyers request.

23 Sep 09:36 AM
'I'm in heels all the time': Dua Lipa on why her core matters
Entertainment

'I'm in heels all the time': Dua Lipa on why her core matters

23 Sep 04:01 AM
Dua Lipa uses strength training to help her walk in heels
Entertainment

Dua Lipa uses strength training to help her walk in heels

Watch
23 Sep 04:00 AM


The skin sensitivities keeping Kiwi dogs (and their families) awake
Sponsored

The skin sensitivities keeping Kiwi dogs (and their families) awake

21 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP