V/H/S/Halloween review
The reliable V/H/S franchise is back with a seasonably appropriate installment.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
V/H/S/Halloween
Directed by Bryan M. Ferguson, Casper Kelly, R.H. Norman, Alex Ross Perry, Micheline Pitt, Paco Plaza and Anna Zlokovic
Written by Bryan M. Ferguson, Casper Kelly, R.H. Norman, Alex Ross Perry, Micheline Pitt, Alberto Marini, Paco Plaza and Anna Zlokovic
V/H/S/Halloween Review
Since Shudder took over the V/H/S franchise with V/H/S/94 two things have been true. There is a consistent level of quality to the installments…and we get a new one every October. V/H/S/Halloween is no different on either front. This is the fifth straight year that Shudder has dropped a new V/H/S movie. Like it’s Shudder produced predecessors…it has a wonderful lack of rough spots. That consistency on both a micro and macro level has made the V/H/S franchise a true bright spot in Shudder’s portfolio.
This year’s installment, unsurprisingly given its title, revolves around Halloween. Another five short films and a framing story are on hand to join our ongoing ranking of the series (which will be updated soon). Today, however, we will do a mini ranking as we do with all horror anthologies. Segments in V/H/S/Halloween will be ranked from worst to first…including the framing story.
It bears repeating that this year’s V/H/S movie has a remarkable consistent quality from start to finish. If you see your favorite segment ranked near the bottom of the list…it doesn’t mean that it’s much worse than what is ranked on top. The separation between segment quality in V/H/S/Halloween is among the smallest in the history of series.
Without further ado…let’s get into ranking the eighth installment of the V/H/S franchise. From worst to first as is our way.
6. Diet Phantasma (framing story)
Not all anthologies contain a framing or wraparound story. They’re barely ever relevant or entertaining. I’ve long railed against the practice…and the V/H/S series has occasionally listened. V/H/S/Halloween has one…and we’re ranking it last. But, as I mentioned in the opening, the entirety of this anthology is quality. That includes Diet Phantasma.
Diet Phantasma, directed by Bryan M. Ferguson, contains a series of short segments where people participate in a taste test for a new soda flavor. The soda contains an extract that…well…this is a V/H/S movie so you can probably guess how this is going to go for the people in the trial. A segment opens V/H/S/Halloween, and we get another one in between each short film. Interestingly, we don’t return to Diet Phantasma after the final short film segment plays. It truly is there just to give clear breaks in the format. But there’s plenty to like within its short runs. One of the better framing stories in the series…even if it doesn’t add up to more than some fun moments of gore and laughs.
5. Kidprint (segment 4)
The penultimate short of V/H/S/Halloween is directed by Alex Ross Perry. Kidprint is set in 1992 during a time when children are being abducted around the town the film is set in. A video store takes updated photos of children in case anything happens to them. It turns out that a shockingly high percentage of the children who use this service are the ones who end up getting abducted.
Kidprint gets bloody and chaotic as we discover what’s going on. It all feels very in line with what you’d expect from a V/H/S segment. It ranks lowest among the five short films within V/H/S/Halloween but that doesn’t mean that you should skip it. It isn’t as fun as some of what’s to come on this list…but it has does some good stuff.
4. Coochie Coochie Coo (segment 1)
V/H/S/Halloween’s first full segment is Cooccie Coochie Coo directed by Anna Zlokovic. Lacie (Samantha Cochran) and Kaliegh (Natalia Montgomery Fernandez) are too old to go trick or treating. They’re warned about this right when their story begins. In this world…there may be punishment for breaking that unwritten rule. Punishment in the form of an urban legend called “The Mommy”. After stealing candy and causing a little chaos, Lacie and Kaliegh find themselves at a strange house. They enter its open door and find themselves locked in a haunted house…stalked by The Mommy.
Coochie Coochie Coo does its simple story well. The girls go from room to room discovering something unsettling around every corner. At one point they even rewind their own footage to find something they missed. When you watch as many found footage films as I have…it’s hard to describe how exciting it is to see someone use the concept that cleverly. It gets V/H/S/Halloween off to a strong start.
3. Ut Supra Sic Infra (segment 2)
Rec director Paco Plaza helms V/H/S/Halloween’s second short film, Ut Supra Sic Infra. This short uses a different style than the others. Instead of simply following along as someone films their experience, Ut Supra Sic Infra begins with footage of a police interrogation. Enric (Teo Planell) is the lone survivor (and suspect) of…something. The police don’t believe he could have committed the massacre alone…but his answers are unsatisfactory. This leads to them taking him on a reenactment of what happened. From here we are watching two pieces of footage that bleed into each other. Enric leading the police around the crime scene…and footage shot during the event itself. The clever twist on the format livens up Ut Supra Sic Infra and helps it stand out.
In fact, in many ways, Ut Supra Sic Infra feels like a quintessential classic V/H/S segment. The only thing that keeps it from ranking higher is that it doesn’t quite fit the overall tone of the anthology. V/H/S/Halloween mostly leans into dark comedy and wacky concepts. Ut Supra Sic Infra plays things straight (and spooky) which works perfectly for itself…but doesn’t quite vibe with the rest of the package.
2. Home Haunt (segment 5)
Having just mentioned how often V/H/S/Halloween leans into wacky concepts…it feels appropriate that we now talk about the top two segments in this ranking. Haunted Home, directed by R.H. Norman and Micheline Pitt, is about a father who really loves Halloween. He makes his son (who is so over it) participate in his yearly haunted house. This will be the last year of it because his son is about to head off to college. And also, because the house and everything in it accidentally becomes alive and tries to murder everyone.
The culprit in this case is a spooky record that the father has stolen from a local shop. Playing the record causes the house to activate…and attempt to kill everyone inside. It’s wild stuff with fun practical effects all over. If there was a segment in V/H/S/Halloween that best encapsulates the tone that the anthology most often finds itself drawn to…Haunted Home is it. A goofy dad, an accidental demonic unleashing, ooey-gooey death all around. A fun way to end what is another strong V/H/S release.
1. Fun Size (segment 3)
To say I was excited to see Casper Kelly’s name among the listed writers/directors for V/H/S/Halloween would be an understatement. The comically twisted mind that brought us Too Many Cooks and two Adult Swim Yule Log movies felt like a perfect fit for a V/H/S segment. That turned out to be correct. Fun Size is the pinnacle of this year’s anthology. It contains all the wild ideas and darkly funny moments you’d expect from Kelly.
Fun Size is the second short film in this anthology to mention an age limit on trick or treating. It sends its four too old to beg for candy characters around town and hits them with an impressive level of comedic doom. Two of those characters are dressed as camera people from a found footage horror film…explaining why the evening is being filmed…and giving us a brilliant idea right out of the gate.
When the two couples happen across a bowl of candy and a sign instructing them to take only one…Fun Size kicks into high gear. The candies here are all brands no one has ever heard of before. Even the internet has no information on them. One of the quartet is pulled into the bowl when he reaches for a second helping. You don’t want to know about the first one. The bowl quickly comes for everyone, and they wake to find themselves in a warehouse stalked by a weird candy mascot trying to herd them into machines that will turn them into the candy themselves. It’s bonkers. It’s pure Casper Kelly. And it’s well worth going out of your way to see.
Scare Value
Another year, another V/H/S movie without any true down points. Shudder has cracked the formula for these. Watching a fresh group of filmmakers have some found footage fun has become an annual delight. Steady in quality and surprisingly high on laughs, V/H/S/Halloween may not reach the heights of the series best segments (Safe Haven) or its peak as an overall package (V/H/S/Beyond)… but it is a consistently fun watch that is well worth your time.
3.5/5
V/H/S/Halloween Link
Streaming on Shudder
