The “V/H/S” horror film anthology franchise kicks off spooky season with an eighth entry, “V/H/S/Halloween” (2025), and a new annual Halloween tradition is born! Consisting of five short horror films with a frame narrative that will keep you on the edge of your seat, it is like getting an album with no songs that you want to skip. Every story is merciless. Every kill brutal.
Bryan M. Ferguson wrote and directed the frame narrative, “Diet Phantasma.” A seemingly ordinary taste test turns horrific. What is more frightening: the side effects of the soda or corporate scientists and COO Blaine Rothschild (David Haydn) conducting unethical, routine taste test experiments devoid of any concern for the human subjects. This is found footage and analog horror at its best because the premise is that the short is actually secret footage from a long time ago. There are no premise explanations for what the secret ingredient is, but the idea of harnessing an otherworldly, disembodied force for profit may be an all-time low that ranks right up there with movies like the “Alien” franchise. The aesthetic is very Eighties classic Jeffrey Combs cinema. Each time someone opens a can, the result is unexpected and bonkers. If you enjoyed “Banshee Chapter” (2013), then this segment will leave you thirsting for more. 10/10. No notes. Lovecraftian possession horror at its finest.
Anna Zlokovic’s “Coochie Coochie Coo” focuses on a couple of senior girls, Lacie (Samantha Cochran) and Kaleigh (Natalia Montgomery), enjoying trick or treating before they go to college. With the neighborhood tense and vigilant after a local cheerleader went missing the prior year, the two girls look for thrills in all the wrong places. A new horror figure, Mommy (Elena Musser), and urban legend are born. The scares rely on repulsive, gross horror. The only drawback is that they do stupid things. The story relies on anxieties over aging and loss of friendship. The pair use the night to regress, which gets taken to unimaginable extremes. It has elements of Mark Z. Danielewski’s “House of Leaves,” which is more intriguing. If you are into Rob Zombie or the Adams Family except more grotesque, this may be for you. The characters’ self-preservation-motivated lack of empathy was more chilling than the weirdness. Zach Cregger would approve. Zlokovic previously made a feature length film for Hulu so if you want more, mommy will feed you. The weakest of the lot, but still a strong entry.
Cowriter and director Paco Plaza and cowriter Alberto Marini are seasoned filmmakers with Plaza helming the “REC” franchise. Set in Italy, it is two found footage shorts in one: cell phone footage from the night of a massacre intercut with video recording of the investigation. Enric (Teo Planell) is forced to relive the worst night of his life when he is unable to explain how all his friends died one Halloween night. If the boyfriend’s investigation in “The Vanishing” (1988) was official, and the culprit was supernatural, you would get “Ut Supra Sic Infra,” which translates into “as above, so below.” Even though there are no clear, prose dump answers regarding the short’s mythology, it is still a fascinating lesson of the intersection of the arrogance of bureaucrats and foolishness of thrill-seeking young people. Both believe that they are immune to harm from forces outside of their understanding. This one has the highest production values and reserves using shaky camera tricks to the barest minimum. Though graphic and unblinking, the grossest moments are impossible to turn away from. You won’t be able to shield your eyes.
Lauren (Lawson Greyson) wants to break up with her fiancé, Josh (Riley Nottingham), but cannot find the right time. They go trick or treating with another couple, and one member of the group disobey the instruction to only take one piece of candy per person, which are large and would fit right in at a bachelorette party. Writer and director Casper Kelly’s “Fun Size” reveals what happens to those who violate the rule. It is probably the funniest segment, which is a surprise from the writer of “Mandy” (2018). The titular, supernatural figure (Michael J. Sielaff) is Willy Wonka if he was a psycho and had The Mask’s fashion sense. Unlike an Oompa Loompa, Fun Size’s Assistant (Joey B) does not sing, but mocks with sounds, not words. Just when a viewer thinks that they understand the rules of this madcap world, it keeps you guessing. The way that Haley (Jenna Hogan) reacts to the situation is an example of post pandemic radical acceptance. Kudos to Austin (Jake Ellsworth) for looking out for his friends and trying to give them a shot. So graphic and twisted with a funhouse score, you will want more than one. There is a little meta mockery of the found footage genre with an additional treat of doorbell camera footage.
Writer and director’s Alex Ross Perry’s “Kidprint” is probably the bleakest segment in the lot. A local businessman, husband and father of two, Tim (Stephen Gurewitz), tries to help kids when a serial killer is mutilating and killing them at record rates, but his efforts are just false security theater. Paranoia and mob mentality is unleashed among everyone and robs them of their ability to find the killer. When it ends, the unsettling vibe will last longer than the short. Perry does not ordinarily make horror films, but he seems like a natural because multiple tragedies layer the story: the innate horror of hurting children, the effect on the town and children, the nature of the murders, the potential of trauma begetting more horror, and the scapegoating and ruination. The editing is top notch in this one. Realistically disturbing, some may have an issue with the mistaken identity theme.
Cowriter and director Micheline Pitt-Norman and cowriter R. H. Norman’s “Home Haunt,” inject a little “cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon” pathos into a fun segment that elevates cheesy haunted horror staples into truly terrifying terrors. An annual family tradition sours as son Zack (Noah Diamond) is sick of helping his dad, Keith (Jeff Harms), with the neighborhood attraction. Diamond has a Jonah Hill dry sense of humor without the baggage. Keith decides to step things up with sanguine consequences. Keep an eye on Sarah Nicklin as the family matriarch, Nancy, who does not miss a beat with hell gets unleashed and she brings on the pain to defend her family. Rick Baker as Rich, a neighbor who lives to troll the family, is a scene stealer, and if a prequel just featured years of uneventful celebration with him talking crap, that would be eminently watchable. The lesson is the deleterious effect of an emotionally immature parent who prioritizes their pleasure over their kid’s well-being. Also, it is the first time that a ghost as a sheet was scary.
I do not have a lot of time to spare but I watched “V/H/S/Halloween” two times, and not just to write the review, but out of genuine admiration. I loved it. “V/H/S/Halloween” is so good that it has inspired me to rewatch and catch up with prior installments so I can figure out if it is the best of the franchise. Shudder has done it again.
