This review was made possible by an advance screening of V/H/S/Beyond. V/H/S/Beyond releases widely on Shudder on October 4, 2024.
For the past few years, the VHS franchise has become something of a tradition over on Shudder, and VHS Beyond is no different. After initially starting as an anthology series featuring multiple filmmakers from the “mumblecore” subgenre of independent film, the VHS franchise quickly found success before going on pause after VHS: Viral, an instalment that wasn’t well received by fans. However, with the release of VHS/94 in 2021, the series quickly found itself back in the spotlight, with new entries being provided by Shudder every October. With VHS Beyond, we move away from the 80s and 90s eras that defined each recent entry, with a new focus specifically on science fiction horror. Can the series succeed in this new subgenre focus? Let’s find out.
In this review, I will go through each segment one by one before bringing everything back around and discussing my overall thoughts on this new entry. First up is…
Stork
Directed by Jordan Downey of Thankskilling fame, Stork follows a group of police officers who find themselves searching a mysterious house for clues after multiple babies go missing. First off, the core inspiration here is obviously Resident Evil and the 90s survival horror gaming aesthetic. Many of the characters feel right out of the Capcom series, and when you finally get to see them in action, it quickly becomes an absolute treat of fantastic VFX and gore. Sure, what’s here isn’t particularly deep, but it never tries to exceed its simple ambitions. Instead, it just offers a lean, mean, and silly piece of action horror that starts this new entry off very vigorously.
Rating: 4/5
Dream Girl
Dream Girl sees the VHS series finally dipping into the Bollywood scene with a story from director Virat Pal that follows a pair of photographers working in the paparazzi scene while trying to capture the best shots of a famous celebrity. When one of the photographers manages to get into the celeb’s trailer, they discover a terrifying secret that I wouldn’t dare spoil. Much like Stork, Dream Girl is a very simple entry in VHS Beyond that works better as a contained set piece rather than a straightforward story. There are some themes that Pal explores, such as the horrors of being a child celebrity and the parental abuse that can come with fame, but these are mostly abandoned for a finale that, while somewhat shallow, more than delivers in both horror and intensity. Plus, we finally got our dance number in the series, and honestly, it’s a total banger!
Virat Pal struggles to keep control of the chaos that unfolds in the final few minutes, with some overly shaky camera work distracting from the cool practical effects on display, but he does provide a really fun segment that fits in quite nicely while offering a fresh new creative voice and culture into the VHS series.
Rating: 3.5/5
Live and Let Dive
Live And Let Dive sees Justin Martinez return to the VHS series, but this time, without the help of his partners over at Radio Silence, the filmmaking collective responsible for Scream VI and, more recently, Abigail. The short follows a group of skydivers celebrating a 30th birthday by preparing for a terrifying drop up high. However, what starts as a simple but adrenaline-inducing trip quickly goes wrong when the group discovers that they’re dropping in the middle of an alien invasion. Live and Let Dive has an excellent premise and even some surprisingly decent CGI in the first half. However, I think it suffers from being too long and perhaps a little too confident in its own effects, leading to some wonky visuals in the closing minutes. Still, it’s hard not to be incredibly impressed by what Martinez has whipped up here. It might not come together like the previous two segments, but it mostly succeeds in utilising its entertaining premise.
Rating: 3.5/5
Fur Babies
Fur Babies sees Justin Long collaborating with his brother, Christian Long, to bring us a weird remix of Kevin Smith’s Tusk and other entries from the VHS series. It follows a group of animal rights activists who, after building a case against a strange taxidermist, decide to sneak into their house to find evidence of their possible crimes. What follows is a peculiar and messed-up short with grizzly make-up effects and a darkly comedic tone. Overall, Fur Babies provides a decent bit of fun, but after three strong segments, it admittedly comes through a little weak as it doesn’t offer much that we haven’t seen already from either VHS or other horror movies. I mean, if you have seen Tusk, then you’ve pretty much seen what this short has to offer. There’s still lots of fun to be had here, but in the end, it’s easily the weakest segment in this line-up.
Rating: 2.5/5
Stowaway
Arguably the most hotly anticipated segment of VHS Beyond, Stowaway sees Kate Siegel make her directorial debut with a script written by her husband, Mike Flanagan. It follows Hailey (Alanah Pierce), a young woman reporting on a series of strange lights that have been discovered across the Mojave desert. As Hailey attempts to solve this unusual mystery, she discovers something…not of this world. Overall, Stowaway is an exciting entry to close the film as it’s probably one of the more subtle and contemplative segments that the VHS has ever had. In fact, we even get an incredibly fascinating monologue early on that shows Flanagan at his most curious, giving us an idea of his concept of extraterrestrials and the existential horror that can bring. Kate Siegel does a really great job directing here, crafting an exciting blend of The Blair Witch Project and even films like Fire In The Sky in a way that feels quite bold for a debut. Stowaway might not work for some who prefer their VHS segments to be a little more direct, but this felt like a welcome breath of fresh air that showed that these movies don’t always have to be as reliant on grossing you out as they may think.
Rating: 4/5
Abduction/Adduction
The “wraparound” has always been where the V/H/S series has struggled, and it’s easy to understand why; it’s one thing to create a 15-20 minute short that plays out in its entirety, but when your short has to be spread out across the wider film, unique challenges can arise. With V/H/S/Beyond, filmmaker Jay Cheel (Cursed Films) has been enlisted to create Abduction/Adduction, an incredibly authentic-looking documentary exploring UFOs and the existence of Alien life. At first, the brief clips of this documentary between each segment are pretty intriguing and haunting in a way that’s quite unexpected for the series, opting for something with the realistic tension and horror of Unsolved Mysteries instead of the usual found footage inspiration of the franchise. The ending is a little anti-climactic, opting for a creepy but ultimately shallow set of visuals that look quite appealing but don’t leave much of a lasting memory. The wraparound is still something that these films can’t get quite right, but at least with Cheel’s attempt here, some nice ideas are on display that will intrigue anyone interested in aliens and whether or not we’re truly alone in the universe.
Rating: 3/5
‘V/H/S/Beyond’ – Final Thoughts
V/H/S has become my horror equivalent of junk food over the past few years, and V/H/S/Beyond continues that trend. None of what’s here is particularly revolutionary for the horror genre, but for someone who has a deep appreciation for the found footage subgenre, these films more than deliver, even in their less-than-stellar moments. I do think these films are running the risk of becoming samey, as it’s pretty clear now that a particular formula is starting to form around what a V/H/S segment should be. However, as long as there’s still room for different creative voices to come on and provide unique stories of their own, this series will be fine. Beyond won’t change the minds of those uninterested in the series or found footage in general, but for those who do enjoy these films, you’ll likely find yourself pretty happy with this year’s lineup.
