The eighth entry of the V/H/S anthology film series brings six well-done stories, taking place on the best of the holidays in V/H/S/Halloween, now streaming on Shudder.
CW: Many, many children are hurt and killed across the film.
The V/H/S series has become a fantastic staple of anthology filmmaking over its 8 films, with two feature films expanding on shorts (Siren & Kids V. Aliens). Except for the mostly terrible V/H/S Viral, each entry has had some really amazing shorts, along with expected nadirs. After the original trilogy (I saw the first two entries theatrically, which was awesome), V/H/S has been appearing regularly on Shudder every October. They’ve been a welcome and awesome part of the Halloween holiday, finding their stride in the perfect place and time for them. Every installment is produced by Brad Miska, so it didn’t change hands, just focus. The newest entry, V/H/S/Halloween, now uses our favorite holiday as the basis of all segments, akin to Trick ‘r Treat or Tales from Halloween. And they’re all good!
V/H/S Halloween is easily the steadiest of the bunch. Each of the five shorts, plus the wrap-around around is solid, with no stinkers in the group. The downside of the consistency in the quality this is year is none really stands out as a new “favorite segment”, with the possible exception of the wonderfully demented “Fun Size.”(For the record, my favorite short across the eighth films remains 10/31/98; Radio Silence’s Halloween-based haunted house/cult flick).
As V/H/S Halloween is an anthology with different stories, writers, and directors for each story, it’s best to break down for smaller reviews of each segment. But on the whole, this year’s grouping is scary and clever, albeit a little familiar in many ways (tenets of found footage over dozens of shorts and all), providing exactly what it should: shocks, laughs, occasionally geyser-like bursts of blood, scares, and even a new horror icon I wouldn’t mind seeing again.
“Diet Phantasma” is the wraparound. Written and directed by Bryan M. Ferguson, Diet PHantasma shows the 1982 consumer trials of a new soda with a peculiar aftertaste. I don’t remember the Pepsi Challenge or the Cola Wars being this nasty. It doesn’t actually introduce or tie into the films; instead, its nature is to pop in, provide some truly gnarly and fun kills as the soda affects each person in a new, violent, and bloody way. If presented a continued short, it wouldn’t sustain, but the drop-in and get-out method works as a fun, increasingly violent jolt between the more serious (mostly) full segments. Totally nails the early ’80s look as well.
“Coochie Coochie Coo” is a well-made but very familiar start. Anna Zlokovia’s film follows a trio of girls who decide to trick or treat during their senior year of high school (“aren’t you too old to be trick or treating?” a mantra across the film. And no, no one is too old). There’s a town legend of a “Momma,” an entity that kidnaps teenagers out on Halloween. Guess who they find when a house they “missed” suddenly appears? It becomes a legitimately scary journey through a hellish, changing house; claustrophobic in the stalking of Momma and other mothers and ghouls (and victims) create increasing danger. It reminded me of the [REC] movies, funnily enough, because…
“Ut Supra Sic Infra” is from the director of the [REC] films, Paco Plaza (and written by the same plus Alberto Marini)! This one follows a Halloween party gone wrong (bodies crushed and eyes missing) with a single survivor. That survivor has to lead the police back through it. So, in a nice change, the story shifts across two timelines, allowing breaks in the sustained takes and building of tension in the following two stories in the same place. While the story is rather scant, missing any sort of lore when it feels like it should be there, it works from impressive effects and overall tone. And as always: “Don’t Read the Latin.”
“Fun Size,” written and directed by Casper Kelly, is my favorite of the set. Kelly is most known for [adult swim]’s Too Many Cooks (one of my favorite shorts of all time) and Yule Log 1 & 2; if you know his work, he banks in the surreal and absurd. He makes dangerous liminal spaces of films, and Fun Size is no exception. Fun Size starts like many V/H/S segments but soon gets dileriously strange. A quartet of college kids head out trick or treating and disregard a “Take One!” sign on a bowl of odd candies unknown to them and sporting Ikea-like names. The affront to the rules sends them to an esoteric space, chased by a pair of new horror icons. Candy-headed and stating only “Fun Size!” and “Whoopsie!”, they are disturbing and uncomfortable in the best ways. Kelly’s segment is Full-Sized Weirdness.
The fun of FunSize is followed by the more serious (but it’s V/H/S, so it still has a sort of humor; a very dark humor), Kidprint. Her Smell’s Alex Ross Perry segment was often truly disturbing and uncomfortable, nonetheless. My warning about kids in danger and death is across the film, but this short in particular. Someone is kidnapping and killing kids in a small town, and a local photographer has set up a “most current photo” service. When someone he photographed earlier on the day goes missing, he finds more than he bargains for. It drags a bit with repetition and waiting for the next push in the narrative, but still a solid go.
“Home Haunt,” written and directed by Micheline Pitt-Norman & R.H. Norman, closes the program. In many ways, it serves as a celebration for those who love Halloween, transforming their yards and homes into haunted attractions. A local Halloween nut preps for his yearly haunt, with the willing help of his game wife and less willing distant son (a plot point that doesn’t go anywhere). On a personal note, it starts with home movies of said kid as a very young and very excited for Halloween. My 4-year-old is gaga for Halloween, and I fear that won’t last… when he finds a record that claims to bring hell to earth if played on Halloween. Perfect new music for the haunt! The crux is just what you expect from that. Once it gets into it, it’s a wild blast. And it features special effects master Rick Baker! Lots of fun deaths, and the sheer joy of a haunted attraction, and Halloween pervades.
V/H/S/Halloween is a strong entry to the series, although its steadiness doesn’t reach series highs (or lows, thankfully). Fans of the franchise will be more than pleased with the overall output. It’s often scary, rather bloody in segments, fittingly disturbing, and all in all a great way to spend an October night, leading up to Halloween. Can’t wait until next year’s!