Anthology horror films, much like life, are like a box of chocolates. For every crunchy praline or chewy caramel, there tends to be an off-tasting orange creme lurking somewhere in the tray. V/H/S/Beyond is the rare exception, delivering hit after horrifying hit and proving there’s still life (and gory deaths) in this long-running franchise.
The film opens with “A Special Presentation,” which will form the wraparound story this time around. Written and directed by documentary filmmaker Jay Cheel (Shudder’s Cursed Films), this story is presented as a faux documentary about encounters with extraterrestrial beings, teasing the viewer with the promise of “proof” before the end credits roll.
It’s an unfortunate truth that the V/H/S franchise’s frame stories are always the weakest of the bunch, and though that’s still the case here, it’s more a testament to the strength of the segments around it than it is an indictment of Cheel. The documentary style is engaging, breaking up the shaky-cam standard of the segments while staying true to the franchise’s found footage roots by splicing in “real” clips of UFO sightings. It also serves to emphasize the film’s overarching theme, with all but one of the segments sticking closely to a sci-fi brief.
After our first encounter with the wraparound story, we’re thrown headlong into director Jordan Downey’s “Stork,” the tale of a cliche-ridden police raid that takes a rapid nosedive into hell. The segment follows a special police unit whose investigation into a series of baby kidnappings has led them to an abandoned house. Downey leverages body-cam footage to recreate the close-quarters action of a first-person shooter game, with things only getting wilder once the chainsaw comes out. And while “Stork” isn’t the most memorable of segments overall, there’s a good chance that its monster might crop up in your nightmares.
“Dream Girl” is next, taking the V/H/S franchise to India for its first Bollywood-inspired segment. We follow two paparazzi as they attempt to capture behind-the-scenes footage of the titular star. Director Virat Pal gets audacity points for incorporating a full-blown musical number into his segment, though the editing here pushes the boundaries of what can be considered “found footage” well beyond breaking point.
V/H/S veteran Justin Martinez helms the entry’s strongest segment, “Live and Let Dive,” a cautionary tale about what happens when you force friends to go skydiving against their will. The expedition in question is thrown into chaos when an alien craft crashes into the plane. What follows is a breathless plummet to the orange grove below, with Martinez keeping the adrenaline pumping as the survivors discover they’re not alone among the trees.
“Live and Let Dive” is followed by the V/H/S/Beyond’s lovable problem child. Written and directed by brothers Justin and Christian Long, “Fur Babies” centers around an overzealous and misguided group of activists who attempt to infiltrate a doggy daycare to retrieve some unfortunate taxidermy. At times laugh-out-loud funny, the segment’s connection to the sci-fi theme may be nebulous at best, but damn if it isn’t entertaining to see Justin Long work through the memory of starring in Tusk.
Last but certainly not least is “Stowaway.” Penned by Mike Flanagan, the segment marks the directorial debut of The Haunting of Hill House star Kate Siegel and follows a woman’s determined search for proof of alien life no matter what.
“Stowaway” suffers slightly for being the second straightforwardly alien segment in quick succession, with the conclusion of “A Special Presentation” only enhancing the feeling that V/H/S/Beyond backloaded its extraterrestrials to detrimental effect. But this is a minor complaint, because Siegel’s segment is at times bewitchingly beautiful while still building toward a disturbing conclusion.
It’s quite unlike anything we’ve seen in the franchise before, and evidence, if evidence was needed, that the inventive spirit of found footage will prevail even in the face of oversaturation. Viva la V/H/S franchise — may it continue to grace us with our chocolate box of scares for many Halloweens to come.
V/H/S/Beyond made its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2024 and will be available on Shudder from October 4.