MY CALL: A bit of a standout in the franchise for its theme, which permeates 3 of its 5 segments. Of the recent V/H/S releases, I’m inclined to say V/H/S/94 (2021) was pretty good, V/H/S/Beyond and V/H/S/99 (2022) were even better, but V/H/S/85 (2023) was just okay (but still enjoyable) for me.
MORE HORROR ANTHOLOGIES: Dead of Night (1945), Black Sabbath (1963), Tales from the Crypt (1972), The Vault of Horror (1973), The Uncanny (1977), Screams of a Winter Night (1979), Creepshow (1982), Screamtime (1983), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye (1985), Deadtime Stories (1986), Creepshow 2 (1987), From a Whisper to a Scream (1987; aka The Offspring), After Midnight (1989), Tales from the Crypt Season 1 (1989), Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990), Grimm Prairie Tales (1990), The Willies (1990), Two Evil Eyes (1990), Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993), Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996), Campfire Tales (1997), Dark Tales of Japan (2004), 3 Extremes (2004), Creepshow 3 (2006), Trick ‘r Treat (2007), Chillerama (2011), Little Deaths (2011), V/H/S (2012), The Theater Bizarre (2012), The ABCs of Death (2013), V/H/S 2 (2013), All Hallows’ Eve (2013), The Profane Exhibit (2013), The ABCs of Death 2 (2014), V/H/S Viral (2014), Southbound (2015), Tales of Halloween (2015), A Christmas Horror Story (2015), The ABCs of Death 2.5 (2016), Holidays (2016), Terrified (2017; aka Aterrados, a pseudo-anthology), Oats Studios, Vol. 1 (2017), Ghost Stories (2017), XX (2017), All the Creatures Were Stirring (2018), The Field Guide to Evil (2018), Nightmare Cinema (2018), Blood Clots (2018), Shudder’s series Creepshow (2019-2021), Scare Package (2019), The Mortuary Collection (2019), Xenophobia (2019), V/H/S/94 (2021), Netflix’s series Cabinet of Curiosities (2022), V/H/S/99 (2022), and V/H/S/85 (2023).
It’s been too long since viewing the first three V/H/S anthologies. But of the four most recent anthologies, Beyond ranks high along with the more horror-comedy-themed V/H/S/99 (2022). In the case of Beyond, the stories have no direct links other than their presentation as snippets of “proof of the beyond” in a documentary-style wraparound segment.
Featuring a rather eclectic mix of brutal gun and chainsaw violence, projectile acid vomit melting faces, unconventional undeath, a lot of ripped off faces, zombie babies, bizarre animal attacks, UFOs, a brain-drinking beaked monster, gangly “laser-faced” extraterrestrials, faceless monsters, mentally ill dog groomers, this movie brings a healthy dose of gore, gashes, dismemberments, flesh-tearing and guts. So there’s that fun to be had!
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Abduction/Adduction (Director Jay Cheel; Cursed Films)
We open [in the Wraparound Story] with much more sleek footage than is typical fare of the V/H/S series, with a documentary style introduction to video proof of an alien abduction. I’m really digging the docu-style. Between segments, we enjoy discussions of past ideas regarding aliens in pop culture and videos of purported UFOs.
Stork (Director Jordan Downey; The Head Hunter, Thankskilling 1 & 3)
A group of cops followed by a cameraman infiltrate an old house filled with deadites-style zombies. The pacing is fast with loads of undead, ample monster make-up, and a lot of blood and gore—a lot. Panicked shaky cam, zombies with chainsaws, severed heads, occasional stylish FPS-POVs, macabrely stocked refrigerators, and non-stop action make this segment a joy!
This is one of my favorite segments of the entire franchise for raw, high-octane entertainment value alone. And the “stork” is a videogame boss sight to behold!
Dream Girl (Director Virat Pal)
Two Indian (?) paparazzi trying to get footage of the recent Bollywood starlet Tara (Namrata Sheth) sneak onto her film set and into her trailer to capture some candid video. But upon talking to her and sharing his opinion of her, she becomes… a monster. This wanders into some very gory, over-the-top territory that feels like Carrie (1976, 2013) meets Lady Terminator (1989).
Live and Let Dive (Director Justin Martinez; Southbound, V/H/S)
A group of skydivers endure a complicated encounter with a UFO, a loss of cabin pressure, an unwanted boarding onto their plane, and an off-schedule dive.
Some really great gore gags accompany this improvised in-a-panic sky diving scenario, and the alien monster design and effects are pretty wild. There’s also a hilariously gross hand injury.
Fur Babies (Director Christian Long and Justin Long)
An animal cruelty prevention group’s film team plans to expose the Fur Babies kennel business for some sort of fraud. But the business owner has some sick operations that the film team suffers a la Tusk (2014) or Pet(2016), with a dash of Tales from the Crypt’s “Collection Completed.” The “dog attack” scene is pretty bizarre, and includes some almost slapstick gore.
Stowaway (Director Kate Siegel)
A documentarian investigates a series of witness accounts of lights in the sky in the Mojave Desert. She witnesses exactly what was described by locals, and she encounters a sort of spaceship that has landed, which she enters and documents everything she observes… and gets more than she bargained. It wanders into some fun, macabre ideas.
Written by Mike Flanagan (Oculus, Absentia, Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil).
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This is probably the greatest overall production value of any of the V/H/S anthologies, with effects, acting and budget all seeming rather superior for the franchise. But while some segments were very good to great (e.g., Stork), I still wouldn’t call this the best of the franchise. Like all anthologies, there are highs and lows to be found. The great strength in this anthology, is that it lacks distinctly weak segments, making this a generally satisfying anthology experience.
Like V/H/S/85 (2023) had a delicious 80s nostalgia to it, the UFO-alien theme (which did not apply directly to Dream Girl or Fur Babies) was also a nice change from most of the other V/H/S installments. Still, I feel this anthology would have been stronger if the theme could have held through all included segments. Of course, this is not to say I didn’t enjoy Dream Girl or Fur Babies.
Keep’em coming. I’ll take every V/H/S movie I can get. So many interesting ideas to be shared.
