V/H/S/ (2012)

V/H/S/ kicks off the series with a gritty, chaotic mix of found-footage horror shorts, all wrapped around a group of criminals breaking into a house to steal a rare videotape. Inside, they find a dead man surrounded by old TVs and piles of cassettes. As they play each tape, we watch different stories unfold-each one captured through shaky camcorders, webcams, or surveillance footage. The segments cover a range of setups: a sleazy night out that turns violent, a couples road trip interrupted by something sinister, and a haunted house visit that spirals out of control. The framing story gets more disturbing with each tape, as the thieves realize something is seriously wrong with the house and the tapes themselves. Each short brings its own style of horror, with raw, DIY energy and some shock moments that helped the film stand out in the found-footage wave.