| "Tape 49" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Credits | |
| Title: | "Tape 49" |
| Directed by: | Simon Barrett |
| Written by: | Simon Barrett |
| Produced by: | Simon Barrett; Adam Wingard; Zak Zeman; Tom Owen; Brad Miska; Roxanne Benjamin; Gary Binkow; Chris Harding; Amy Skerkoski |
| Cinematography: | Tarin Anderson |
| Edited by: | David Geis; Adam Wingard |
| Production | |
| Production: | Snoot Entertainment |
| Released: | January 19th, 2013 |
| Rating: | R |
| Country: | USA |
| Language: | English |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | — |
| Next: | "Phase I Clinical Trials" |
"Tape 49" is a film short featured in the V/H/S film series. It is the first of five vignettes featured in the 2013 film V/H/S/2. It serves as the framing story for the film and is divided into five sections. It was written and directed by Simon Barrett.
Plot[]
Larry and Ayesha are private investigators who are requested to investigate the disappearance of college student Kyle by his mother. After sneaking into Kyle's house, they find several televisions broadcasting white noise, several VHS tapes, and a laptop that contains footage of the criminal gang from the first film.
Ayesha discovers that the laptop is still recording as Larry tells her to watch the tapes, planning to inspect the house while she does so. Rewinding the laptop recording, Ayesha watches Kyle discuss the latest acquisition to his VHS tape collection, then puts a tape in the VCR to watch it, neglecting to notice Kyle peering at her from the shadows.
Ayesha calls Larry into the room to discuss the tapes' legitimacy with him. He tells Ayesha to continue watching the tapes while Kyle's recording explains that the tapes must be watched in a proper order "to affect you". Ayesha fails to notice Kyle in the hallway behind her as she puts another tape in the VCR.
Larry re-enters the room and finds Ayesha with a bloody nose, staring at the televisions in an apparently hypnotized state. When she is woken from her trance, she tells Larry that she has a migraine. Larry leaves to find some medicine as a seemingly-entranced Ayesha inserts another tape in the VCR, while Kyle from earlier crawls out of the shadows and watches her.
Ayesha is entranced.
Larry returns with the medicine, only to discover that Ayesha is dead, having committed suicide with her gun. As he pleads for help, Larry finds a tape with the word "WATCH", written with lipstick, lying beside her. He nervously picks it up and puts it into the VCR.
The unnerved Larry watches the laptop recording, where Kyle explains that he and his mother want to make their own tape. Kyle then shoots himself in a on-camera suicide attempt, shattering his jaw but ultimately surviving, and runs off moments before Larry and Ayesha arrive. As Larry tries to leave, an undead Ayesha suddenly rises and attacks him.
In self-defense, Larry breaks her neck and rushes into another room while Ayesha chases after him on all fours. Larry hides in a closet and shoots Ayesha in the head when she finds him. Hearing a strange gurgling sound, Larry discovers that Kyle has been hiding in the same closet. Kyle promptly lunges at Larry and strangles him to death, giving a thumbs up to the camera before turning it off; his and his mother's plan being a complete success.
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Lawrence Michael Levine | Larry |
| Kelsy Abbott | Ayesha |
| L.C. Holt | Kyle |
| Simon Barrett | Steve |
| Mindy Robinson | Tabitha |
| Mónica Sánchez Navarro | Hotel maid |
Notes & Trivia[]
- Kyle uploads the footage from his video tapes onto social media, which then go viral. This comes into play with the film shorts chronicled in the sequel project V/H/S: Viral in 2014.
See also[]
References[]
Broken neck | College | Computer | Handgun | Jaw shot off | Private investigator | Strangulation | Student | Suicide | Video tape