Movies
Ranking the Best V/H/S/ Segments in the Franchise
With the recent release of V/H/S/Beyond, the topic of this franchise is HOT HOT HOT. As a V/H/S fanatic, I figured there would be no better time to throw together a list of my top 10 favorite V/H/S segments! While I may feel the franchise is going in the wrong direction for some time, I will still jump at any opportunity to consume V/H/S content. But let’s cut the crap and get into my top 10 favorite segments in this groundbreaking franchise.
With the recent release of V/H/S/Beyond, the topic of this franchise is HOT HOT HOT. As a V/H/S fanatic, I figured there would be no better time to throw together a list of my top 10 favorite V/H/S segments! While I may feel the franchise is going in the wrong direction for some time, I will still jump at any opportunity to consume V/H/S content. But let’s cut the crap and get into my top 10 favorite segments in this groundbreaking franchise.
Want to read our ranking of the ENTIRE V/H/S/ franchise? Then click here!
The 10 Best V/H/S/ Segments in the Franchise
10. No Wake /Ambrosia, V/H/S/85
Written and Directed by Mike P. Nelson
It might be cheating to consider No Wake and Ambrosia the same segment. I don’t care.
No Wake thrusts a group of friends into a scenario that has life-altering consequences and a chance at eternal life. While out on a lake, these friends drink, party, and water ski; truly living their best lives. After a skilled shooter takes them out, one by one, they realize their life-ending injuries are now nothing more than lifelong wounds.
Ambrosia follows Ruth (Evie Bair) from No Wake and doles out some just desserts. The group from No Wake shows up at Ruth’s family get-together and gives one of the kids a water pistol (filled with water from Lake Evig). Kids being kids, he shoots Ruth with the water. This seemingly innocent gesture proves detrimental to Ruth when armed police show up.
Mike P. Nelson’s double feature has an exhilarating setup/payoff. No Wake sets the bar quite high as the first segment after this installment’s incredibly boring wraparound intro. The practical effects on the boat are nothing less than gorgeous and some of the best practicals in the franchise. Their wounds look wild when coupled with the fuzzy home camera grain. Ambrosia starts incredibly unassuming and gives the audience time to get the full picture. Seeing the RV from No Wake and the water pistol makes the segment feel insidious. Once you realize where the story is going, you can’t help but chuckle when the armed police show up.
9. Stork, V/H/S/Beyond
Written by Jordan Downey and Kevin Stewart, Directed by Jordan Downey
When baby disappearances plague a city, it’s up to the W.A.R.D.E.N. unit to get to the bottom of it. Told through police body cams, and a single cameraman, the W.A.R.D.E.N.s are set for a night of doom and death.
Stork does what Hardcore Henry failed to do: making first-person action fun rather than migraine-inducing. Imagine seeing an effigy of some group’s god and not even ten minutes later becoming attacked by that god? Wild. The well-choreographed fight scenes give V/H/S/Beyond an unforgettable first segment. It’s a shame the rest of the film couldn’t follow suit (except for one segment we’ll talk about later). The way Downey blends practical and digital effects could be used as a masterclass for up-and-coming filmmakers. This is your segment if you like blood, first-person action, meteorites, chainsaw POV, and bird gods.
8. Terror, V/H/S/94
Written and Directed by Ryan Prows
A group of right-wing militia members plan to attack a federal building with a special type of biological weapon. But what happens when that biological weapon fights back? Well, you get an incredibly fun and compelling segment that feels more poignant than may have been originally intended.
With reports of right-wing militia members harassing FEMA workers in North Carolina, I decided to go back and watch this segment. Even though I don’t feel it’s the franchise’s strongest segment, it does work well in today’s climate. Prows’ script does an excellent job of frustrating the audience. He forces you to sit with this group of neckbeards as they spout their hate. It’s exacerbated when the group decides to continue with their plan after learning about a daycare center in their target location. (No doubt a nod to the Oklahoma City Bombing.)
Throughout the segment, the viewer is left wondering what terrible fate will befall this militia group. It seems their plan is going all too well. When everything goes belly up, you can’t help but cheer as the militia members are picked off by the weapon they have locked up (and even by each other in a few cases). Terror is the ultimate FAFO.
7. Live and Let Dive, V/H/S/Beyond
Written by Ben Turner and Justin Martinez, Directed by Justin Martinez
A group of friends goes out skydiving for Zach’s (Bobby Slaski) 30th birthday. Wow, all I did for my 30th birthday was allow myself to spend $100 at Bookoff New York. The plane they’re in swiftly crashes into a UAP, sending the soon-to-be skydivers plummeting through the air. Once they land, things go from bad to worse. The friends who landed safely find themselves running through orange groves from a four-legged creature that will stop at nothing to kill them.
Live and Let Dive serves as Radio Silence co-creator Justin Martinez’s first foray back into the V/H/S franchise since the first V/H/S film. Martinez and Ben Turner craft an undeniably intense and fast-paced story perfectly brought to life by Martinez. The plane crash, and subsequent free falls, are some of the most compelling mixtures of digital and practical effects in the franchise. As someone who is terrified of skydiving and has never been, this free fall looks all too real.
Once on the ground, the energy is kept at 100% with the introduction of the alien. While the chase scenes are frantic and fun, the alien doesn’t look great. While Stork uses a mixture of practical and digital techniques for the stork (I think), the creature in Live and Let Dive looks too digital. That doesn’t make the creature less scary, but it’s akin to seeing a scar in a film with visible putty lines.
6. The Subject, V/H/S/94
Written and Directed by Timo Tjahjanto
S.A. (Shania Sree Maharani) is the latest experiment from mad scientist Dr. James Suhendra (Budi Ross). The doctor has a whole laboratory full of these human/robot abominations. A police raid on his laboratory results in S.A. being set free, and that’s when the blood FLOWS!
Timo Tjahjanto is, personally, one of my favorite modern filmmakers. His films have all been a home run for me, but his personality is even more interesting. Whether professing his love for action and horror films or taking down trolls on Twitter, he is a force to be reckoned with. The Subject is a fast-paced, action-packed, balls-to-the-wall techno-horror ballet. If you haven’t seen this one, it needs to be seen to be believed.
5. Storm Drain, V/H/S/94
Written and Directed by Chloe Okuno
Holly Marciano (Anna Hopkins) and Cameraman Jeff (Christian Potenza) head into a sewer to investigate a story about a local cryptid dubbed “Rat Man.” They descend deep into the sewer and eventually become captured by sewer dwellers. That’s when they finally meet…Raatma.
Hail Raatma!
That’s all.
4. 10/31/98, V/H/S
Written and Directed by Radio Silence
A group of friends made up of three out of four of the Radio Silence team as well as a guy named Paul (Paul Natonek), go to the location of what they think is a Halloween party. Unfortunately for them, they’ve stumbled upon an exorcism in progress. As the four men try to make a hasty escape, they are subject to an onslaught of paranormal activity.
Whatever faults the first V/H/S film has is almost moot. Hungry filmmakers took their intense passion and made one of the genre’s most compelling anthology films of all time. Everyone was on the same playing field. Instead of having Scott Derickson and other prominent filmmakers use their connections to pull off something overly grandiose, you have barebones filmmaking. 10/31/98 showcases independent filmmaking at its core and what can be accomplished with guerrilla filmmaking.
Some of the digital effects here are dated, but that’s okay. The story, direction, and passion behind 10/31/98 (and all of V/H/S) is beyond palpable. Each segment in V/H/S showcases what each independent filmmaker can do within the same budget as one another, but, to me, 10/31/98 is the most impressive.
3. Ozzy’s Dungeon, V/H/S/99
Written by Zoe Cooper and Flying Lotus, Directed by Flying Lotus
Young Donna (Amelia Ann) finds herself permanently disfigured from her time on the Legends of the Hidden Temple-esque kids show Ozzy’s Dungeon. Sometime later, after the cancellation of the show, The Host (Steven Ogg) wakes up in a dog cage. He’s surrounded by Donna and her family, who have kidnapped him and plan on running him through their own disgusting version of a game show. But when The Host tells them he can actually make Donna’s dream come true, things get…deadly.
First and foremost, I love FlyLo. His music is beyond original and gorgeous. It’s a type of music I never thought I knew I needed in my life. FlyLo’s 2017 midnight movie Kuso changed my life. It’s funny, scary, and one of the most disgusting films I’ve ever seen. I did a backflip when I found out he was making a segment for this franchise.
Ozzy’s Dungeon is, simply put, absolutely wild. If Trevor Phillips, who was Stephen Ogg’s character in Grand Theft Auto V, was a real person then he would be The Host. In hindsight, no one else could play The Host. This segment is full of squelching, belching, vomit, and shit. It’s singlehandedly the most disturbing and disgusting segment in the franchise. And we are all better for it.
2. Safe Haven, V/H/S/2
Story by Timo Tjahjanto, Written by Garreth Huw Evans and Timo Tjahjanto, Directed by Timo Tjahjanto
A film crew attempts to shoot a documentary to expose an Indonesian cult. They sit with Father (Epy Kusnandar) for an interview, but when they get split up, things go awry. Mass suicide, boxcutter stabbings, and mythical creatures soon pit the filmmakers into a life-or-death scenario.
The team behind the V/H/S films struck gold when Timo Tjahjanto brought them Safe Haven. As the franchise’s first non-English-speaking entry, they set a bar that could only be topped by Tjahjanto himself. The vibe is immediately off when the filmmakers get to the cult, and things just continually amp up until the segment’s final moment. There’s no question that Epy Kusnandar is one of Indonesia’s greatest horror actors. His mannerisms and all-around vibe are immaculate. Watching him go to work in this film is truly terrifying.
1. A Ride in the Park, V/H/S/2
Written by Jamie Nash, Directed by Eduardo Sánchez and Gregg Hale
Mike (Jay Saunders) heads out for a bike ride in a state park. While on the path he encounters a woman who is covered in blood and begging for help. She quickly turns into a zombie and bites him. Mike eventually comes back as a zombie and leads an invasion against a group of partygoers. The invasion has begun!
This segment, directed by The Blair Witch Project’s Eduardo Sánchez and Gregg Hale, is beyond perfection. The entire segment looks like it was handled practically with digital effects used to clean up some edges. Beyond being scary and gory as hell, A Ride in the Park has an underlying emotional impact. Mike starts his bike ride off with a phone call with his girlfriend Amy. Once he’s a zombie, he shows no aspect of humanity. At one point he starts to reach for a shotgun, but it’s moved away from him. By the end of the segment, he accidentally calls Amy again and upon hearing her voice, he has a moment of clarity, grabs the shotgun, and kills himself.
It’s heartbreaking.
A Ride in the Park is one fo the most well-filmed segments in the entire franchise. You get the POV from Mike the whole time, which is fun, but once he is stabbed in the head with a meat fork, you’re stuck with his POV as the meat fork is in his head. It’s brilliant. Can this segment ever be topped?
What did you think of this list? Do you agree? What segments are your top of the V/H/S franchise?
I don’t know about you, but it feels like I stepped out of the theater after seeing Wolf Man, blinked, and suddenly it was September. It’s been a very busy year in general, but as always, especially so for the horror genre. We’ve had some misses and some hits, but overall, I’d say it’s been a strong year (though maybe not quite as strong as 2024 and its deluge of incredible movies).
Though your mind might still be primarily occupied with a more recent release, there have been a lot of incredible movies to hit both theaters and especially streaming services like Shudder in 2025. So, we here at Horror Press have decided to put together a shortlist of the best horror the year has had to offer so far.
The Best Horror of 2025 So Far
Feel free to wave this list in the face of your friends who say that all the horror they’ve watched this year is bad. Or just to celebrate because your favorite made the cut! Without further ado, let’s start with…
Dangerous Animals
Fun and insane animal horror movies are so hard to come across these days, but Dangerous Animals chums the waters with some fresh meat for the subgenre. Sean Byrne, best known for his work on the Australian sleeper hit The Loved Ones, tells a story reminiscent of Wolf Creek on the high seas.
A surfer and her boyfriend fall prey to a boat captain who promises a thrilling cage diving experience, but with a catch: he secretly enjoys torturing people before feeding them to sharks. Jai Courtney shines as the antagonist Tucker, whose mealy-mouthed grins and demented demeanor sell the danger our leads are in.
Clown in a Cornfield
The pick for the best slasher offering this year (until Black Phone 2 releases, #JoeHillHypeTrain) is a no-brainer. Shudder has finally delivered the long-awaited adaptation of Adam Cesare’s Clown In A Cornfield. And helmed by Eli Craig of Tucker & Dale vs. Evil fame no less! In the now dead hamlet of Kettle Springs, Missouri, a group of teens run afoul of its former mascot Frendo. While it initially presents itself as a basic corn-fed killer clown movie, if you stick with it, you’ll find it’s actually much more clever and thrilling than it lets on.
Predator: Killer of Killers
When I say Dan Trachtenberg does not miss, he does not miss in the slightest. The current creative director of the Predator franchise, fans of the series have been eating good ever since his work on 2022’s Prey, and have Predator: Badlands to look forward to early next month.
While Predator: Killer of Killers could have easily been a cheap animated film to tide over fans while they wait for Badlands, it proved to be one of the best films in the franchise yet. An anthology film featuring Yautja hunting throughout human history and across cultures, the animation here is slicker than slick. Killer of Killers delivers the action horror that everyone has been asking for from the franchise for years.
The Ugly Stepsister
When I heard The Ugly Stepsister was a collaboration between a bevy of film institutes and production companies across four different Nordic countries, I wondered what made it so special. What I saw explained it. While it is technically Cinderella, it’s specifically a retelling of Aschenputtel, one of the original and much darker iterations of Cinderella collected by the Brothers Grimm. And dark this is.
Told from the perspective of Cinderella’s stepsister Elvira, we watch her spiral as she tries to beautify herself in the ugliest of ways, all in an effort to secure a wealthy male suitor. Truly inspired costuming, grotesque body horror played for both shock and laughs, and a dead-on sense of comedic timing make this one a very memorable watch.
Weapons
Director Zach Cregger’s sophomore outing in the horror genre following his smash hit Barbarian is well-loved, and for good reason. This time, Weapons shines a spotlight on lives in a small town, and how they intersect, trying to make sense of a horrifying incident: the disappearance of 17 children who run out the front doors of their homes in the dead of night.
Cregger dances deftly on the line between horror and comedy in a way I can only describe as masterful, creating a film that is both viciously funny and aggressively disturbing. Where the film goes is a curveball, even for those who have seen the trailers, and a delightful one at that, since Weapons brings a new horror icon to the stage.
Companion
And speaking of Zach Cregger, this sci-fi horror is another one of his productions. If you’ve somehow avoided seeing anything about Companion until now and don’t know what it’s about, keep it that way and go watch it immediately. The ad campaign spoiled it, but the story is undeniably enthralling even if you know where it’s going. This movie features what is, by far, Sophie Thatcher’s most dynamic performance yet, supported by a stellar cast and the film’s pitch-black humor.
Fréwaka
The first Irish-language horror film is also one of the nation’s best cinematic offerings yet. A gripping and immersive folk horror film, it follows a home nurse named Shoo assigned to a superstitious older woman named Peig who lives on the edge of a remote village. Shoo soon begins to see dark ongoings in her dreams and waking life, plagued by the same mysterious group that Peig has been dealing with her entire life.
Fréwaka is a precision-made film, chock full of high impact editing and cinematography. It evokes a kind of existential monster, both man-made horrors of human cruelty and the mythological ones that lie deep in belief and the dark corners of Irish folklore. In short, unsettlingly effective.
Ash
Flying Lotus’ directorial career has been a point of interest for me ever since the genre shapeshifter that was Kuso and the demented parody that was his segment “Ozzy’s Dungeon” in V/H/S/99. And even with the high hopes those ventures gave me, Ash is so much more than I could have expected.
After astronaut Riya wakes up to nightmares of bodies being melted and screams of agony, she finds herself as one of only two survivors in a mission to colonize a planet gone horribly wrong. Ash is a lovely middle point between Event Horizon and The Void, a mixture that is sure to please those of us who like our science fiction dripping with an evil atmosphere and dark visuals. It also boasts some of the best color grading and lighting in any film this year.
Sinners
If you haven’t seen Sinners already, what have you been up to? Brain science? Rocket surgery? Here, visionary director Ryan Coogler tells the tale of a repressed young black man in 1930s Mississippi, trying to break away from his preacher father’s restrictive ways. His journey to do so lands him a performance at a juke joint out in the woods, one he plays so well that it lures in an ageless and relentless vampire.
Michael B. Jordan, Jack O’Connell, and Wunmi Mosaku lead an all-star cast through a mystical horror story with purpose. It explores the meaning of culture, religion, music, and the Black American experience—all while delivering one of the best vampire films of all time. The showstopping original soundtrack by Ludwig and Serena Göransson that it boasts isn’t half bad either.
Bring Her Back
I won’t mark this with the caveat of “so far”—this will be the most disturbing film you see this year. Bring Her Back blew any expectations you might have had from the Phillipou Brothers’ Talk To Me out of the water. While the premise of an orphaned brother and sister who are sent to live with an off-kilter foster mother and another mute child she’s fostering might seem predictable, this film is anything but.
It’s truly an emotionally draining watch, blow after blow with both the physical and emotional trauma it puts its characters through, and forces you to watch. It refuses to let you breathe for even a minute in its final act. It’s definitively Sally Hawkin’s finest hour as an actress, and beyond this short list, it’s firmly some of the best horror of all time.
2024 was pretty damn swamped with horror. Longlegs, Heretic, Nosferatu, I Saw the TV Glow…even over halfway into 2025, fans are still catching up on every horror flick they might have missed last year. Early on, though, we were given one of the best horror-rom-coms of the 21st century…and no one seemed to really care. Did people stop liking fun? It seems to be the only explanation for why this movie did not catch on more. Directed by Zelda Williams and written by the legendary Diablo Cody, Lisa Frankenstein was designed to be a cult classic, and should be remembered as one.
A Vibrant 80s Aesthetic That Screams Originality
One thing to note about this movie right off the bat is how unapologetically itself it is. The film is an absolute vibe, boasting an original aesthetic. There is so much 1980s nostalgia saturating the mainstream (cough, cough, Stranger Things), so it could be hard to imagine why we need another tongue-in-cheek horror-comedy set in the era. Lisa Frankenstein takes a completely original approach to the 80s. Its fashion and music concern themselves with the alternative, new wave-ish, goth-y side of the decade. It does not glorify what was big and popular, but rather picks it apart in ridiculously kitschy designs.
The film feels like a mix of Tim Burton’s brightest, suburban aesthetics, mixed with the grittier side of 80s culture and music. It is a bit of a, dare I say it, Frankenstein’s monster of a wavelength. With such striking originality, it’s hard to say why exactly the film did not find its way into viewers’ hearts.
The Bride of (Lisa) Frankenstein
The leads in the film are both phenomenal. Kathryn Newton is funny and full of life as the protagonist, who feels like a more light-hearted version of Wednesday Addams. Cole Spruce is phenomenal as the creature, playing an old-school, lovable monster. They truly play the movie as equal parts Edward Scissorhands and Juno. Speaking of…
Diablo Cody’s Cinematic Universe: A Horror-Comedy Legacy
What really puts this film on the next level is its writing. The film is written by the legendary Diablo Cody, creator of classics such as Jennifer’s Body and Juno. The film continues her legacy of teen-centric stories, combining drama, comedy, and, more often than not, bloody horror. Her originality shines through in this film without a doubt, with the humor evoking a distinctly mid-2000s indie flick feel.
Additionally, in an interview with Deadline, Diablo Cody said, “…this movie [Lisa Frankenstein] takes place in the same Universe [Jennifer’s Body]. Jennifer’s Body is of course revered as a classic horror-comedy, blending brutal supernatural lore with a ton of humor. That movie has a much higher fan base than Lisa Frankenstein, however, Cody has confirmed that these films share the same Universe. This alone should give fans of the genre another chance to consider this movie. Plus, with news of a potential Jennifer’s Body 2, Lisa Frankenstein could potentially be part of what one day may be an iconic trilogy.
A Deeper Love Letter to Art and Creation
For all the pomp and frills of teen dramedy, romcom-ishness (new word!) and bloody horror, Lisa Frankenstein has some more to say than what meets the eye. The movie is not just a romance between Lisa and The Creature. It is a romance between Lisa and art itself.
Lisa’s character is an artist from the beginning, sewing and designing her own art and fashions, fascinated by the art surrounding her. She has a passion for art and art history, and desires to create. In a sense, through her sewing and construction, The Creature is an art piece. The movie is literally a romance between her and the act of human creation.
In one of the movie’s best sequences, Lisa has a dream sequence in which she is married to the bust of The Creature, and the room is decorated like George Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon. This iconic short film from the turn of the 20th century remains one of the most impactful and inspirational films ever made, helping to pioneer narrative storytelling in film. By referencing and paying homage to this movie, Lisa Frankenstein draws a throughline between Lisa’s creation and the creation of art as a whole. This is a movie that understands its place in film history and appreciates the importance of creation on both a Divine and human creative level.
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