V/H/S/85 review.
V/H/S is back! In the 80s! A very solid entry in the long running found footage series sees no bad segments to weighing it down.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
V/H/S/85
Directed by David Bruckner, Scott Derrickson, Natasha Kermani, Mike P. Nelson and Gigi Saul Guerrero
Written by C. Robert Cargill, Zoe Cooper, Scott Derrickson, Evan Dickson, Mike P. Nelson and Gigi Saul Guerrero
Starring Freddy Rodríguez, James Ransone, Jordan Belfi, Dani Deetté, Chelsey Grant, Alex Grant and Marcio Moreno
V/H/S/85 Review
V/H/S/85 is one of the more consistent installments of the found footage anthology franchise. It gathers five talented filmmakers and transports them back to the days of standard definition. There isn’t one dud in the bunch. There also isn’t one standout classic among the five new segments. It’s a fair trade off.
The framing story has been reworked for the better in V/H/S/85. In lieu of a disconnected story of people watching video tapes for some, often silly, reason…V/H/S/85 instead provides segments that are a part of their final segment. It leads to things being a little harder to separate from each other as previous entries…but it keeps the pacing moving at a solid rate.
One note before we jump into the bulk of the movie…the end credits of V/H/S/85 feature an absolute banger of a song. Go out of your way to find it.
Now, let’s go ahead and count down the five new segments that make up V/H/S/85. In reverse order as God intended.
5. TKNOGD (segment 3)
Directed by Natasha Kermani (Lucky, Imitation Girl), TKNOGD is the strangest entry in V/H/S/85. Essentially, a filmed stage show. It captures the awkwardness of watching a performance artist do their thing. This artist has a lot to say about the role of technology and where it is headed. It contains 1985 appropriate virtual reality video…which is funny to look at. The reason TKNOGD works is due to the committed performance from Chivonne Michelle. She nails the mannerisms and over-pronunciations that come with the territory. A sci-fi horror short with an eye towards the future…presented through the eyes of the past. There’s a good idea here…but, outside of the lead performance, that’s really all there is. It doesn’t overstay its welcome and only ranks last due to the quality of all the segments.
4. God of Death (segment 2)
Gigi Saul Guerrero (Culture Shock, Bingo Hell) brings the second segment in V/H/S/85…the story of a Mexican news broadcast shaken by a massive earthquake. After the crew gets trapped underground, they find that they are not alone. The scenario here is strong…and the footage feels the most authentic of the entire movie. The problem is that the payoff doesn’t quite measure up. The first two-thirds of the story works very well, however. From characters questioning why the cameraman is still filming to the stress and fear of being trapped during a natural disaster…God of Death hits every note. Had it been leading to a more interesting finish…it would have jumped up the ranking.
3. Total Copy (segment 5)
Total Copy from David Bruckner (Hellraiser (2022), The Night House, The Ritual) serves as our updated wraparound/framing story. In reality, we are seeing updates on a science experiment that will serve as the final installment of V/H/S/85. It involves an alien shapeshifter and the experiments that are being run on it. Having taken the form of a child they’ve taken to calling Rory…a group of scientists observe as it watches television to learn about humans. Some good effects and a fun finale combine for a solid segment. It ends with a fantastic joke…a great way to roll credits on the movie in its entirety.
2. No Wake/Ambrosia (segment 1)
The first proper short in V/H/S/85 comes from director Michael P. Nelson (Wrong Turn (2021), The Domestics). It’s actually two segments broken up during the movie. The first is a very strong entry that involves a group of friends partying at a lake. They’re warned not to swim in the lake…but do so anyway. A portent of disaster in the form of a dead squirrel who “disappears” is not enough to dissuade them. While they’re boating around…someone opens fire upon them. Great gore effects and a shocking usage of sudden gun violence make a genuinely terrifying experience. That’s when things get strange. Without spoiling anything…the story will be continued later in V/H/S/85. The second act isn’t as strong as the first…but the unique presentation is interesting.
1. Dreamkill (segment 4)
Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange, Sinister, The Black Phone) delivers the best segment of V/H/S/85. An ambitious and fascinating concept that, above all the others, should be expanded into a feature film. The only fault with it is that it can barely be contained by the abbreviated runtime afforded by the series. It begins by showing us a home intruder from a first-person perspective. They break in and violently murder a woman. Next, we see the police investigating the crime scene…only, it’s several days later and the video we saw was delivered to them days before the actual crime. The scenario repeats itself as the police struggle to understand how any of this is possible. They manage to arrest a suspect who explains that his video camera is filming his nightmare…and then the nightmares are coming true. The highly stylized kill scenes look fantastic but it’s the great concept that makes Dreamkill the best segment of V/H/S/85. It is a little too ambitious, stuffs too much into a short period to deliver the full intended effect, but it delivers the best experience of this installment.
Scare Value
V/H/S/85 delivers a consistent level of quality. It solves the framing story problem by giving quick glances at its final segment. It makes understanding what goes with what a tad bit messier than usual…but allows the overall package to keep its energy high. Pretty much every installment of this series is good (except for Viral) …and V/H/S/85 is no exception. The lack of a true classic segment keeps it from full potential.
3/5
V/H/S/85 Link
Streaming on Shudder
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