‘V/H/S/HALLOWEEN’ Review: A New High For The Spooky Franchise

This past week I caught up with the V/H/S franchise ahead of the release of the latest film, V/H/S/HALLOWEEN. What I was met with were some incredibly haunting segments, some underbaked shorts, and a few poor overarching narratives capitalising on misogynistic and crude tendencies. These tendencies would slowly dissipate as producers Bloody Disgusting and distributor Shudder would team up, giving the franchise a new life, taking the films from Sundance and to Fantastic Fest. But they never quite reached the original inventiveness of the first two films. Now, V/H/S/HALLOWEEN finally usurps those films and takes the crown as the best V/H/S film. Read our V/H/S/HALLOWEEN review below.

V/H/S is a found footage anthology franchise, typically held together by a frame narrative which acts as its own part of the narrative of the anthology. V/H/S/HALLOWEEN is a Halloween themed instalment in the franchise, and the eighth overall film in the mainline V/H/S franchise. Each segment follows events that happen on Halloween night (bar one and the frame, with the latter planning something for the night). Each segment is also written/directed by a different filmmaker(s).

Here, filmmakers Bryan M. Ferguson (“Diet Phantasma”, the frame narrative), Casper Kelly (“Fun Size”), Micheline Pitt-Norman and R.H. Norman (“Home Haunt”), Alex Ross Perry (“Kidprint”), Paco Plaza (“Ut Supra Sic Infra”), and Anna Zlokovic (“Coochie Coochie Coo”).

Right off the bat, this is easily the best film of the franchise, with each and every narrative in this collection working beautifully. Many serve as cautionary tales, whilst others work to highlight the gruesome nature of existence. Whilst I wouldnt say any of the segments here at he most gorey or scary of the franchise, many come close, especially the first segment titled “Coochie Coochie Coo”, a cautionary trick or treat tale about a woman named Mommy who abducts people and baby-fies them. This segment alone told me that I was in for a treat with the rest of the anthology, and each segment delivered to varying extents.

A final segment, titled “Home Haunt” sees a Haunted House come to life and kill it’s victims using very campy but very disturbing methods, including a sheet ghost, a green witch, and so much more. It’s such a beautiful homage to the celebration of the Halloween tradition.

How Would I Rank The ‘V/H/S/HALLOWEEN’ Segments?

1. “Coochie Coochie Coo”, dir. by Anna Zlokovic

Anna Zlokovic’s “Coochie Coochie Coo” treads around cliche’s and uses them to its advantage to set up a disgustingly evil story about a mother gone mad. It oozes atmosphere and makes a good spiritual successor to Zach Cregger’s vile 2022 film Barbarian, which featured similar subject matter.

2. “Kidprint”, dir. by Alex Ross Perry

Alex Ross Perry’s “Kidprint” tells a relatively tame tale of child abduction by a man meant to be responsible for the saving of the children, which makes it similar to Justin and Christian Long’s “Fur Babies” segment from V/H/S/BEYOND in a way. What makes this segment so haunting is it’s graphic sensibilities, and the way realism is invoked in performances, framing, and other aspects. The screams exhibited by many of the younger cast in this segment still haunt me, hours after viewing the film.

3. “Home Haunt”, dir. by Micheline Pitt-Norman & R.H. Norman

The final segment tells the story of a home video of the first walkthrough of a families haunted house pop-up. What makes this story feel particularly real is the estranged relationship between father Keith and son Zack, who have grown distant as Zack entered his teenage years. I really enjoyed the prosthetics and visual effects here, something made even cooler by a cameo from multi-Academy Award winner Rick Baker (who plays Rich), the man who worked on makeup for An American Werewolf In London.

4. “Fun Size”, dir. by Casper Kelly

This is where the list goes down hill slightly. Each segment is still quite enjoyable and undoubtedly well-made but they stop feeling as if they were made for a metaphorical purpose, instead just telling a cool story with no well-meaning behind the story itself. This story is still incredibly fun, featuring a gaggle of slightly douchey teenagers who get sucked into a candy bowl on Halloween bowl after taking more than one and getting turned into candy themselves. I guess its a commentary on selfishness, but it does come off as a Jigsaw level punishment, as each of the four teenagers is mutilated and shaped into various chocolate coated lollies.

5. “Diet Phantasma”, dir. by Bryan M. Ferguson

The frame narrative for this film, also known as the wrap around, is an interesting one. A lot of these films usually follow a group of people who uncover video tapes, and whilst I usually like that format for these films, giving the anthology a sense of connectivity, I did enjoy this one. It follows a scientist testing a new soda called Diet Phantasma with a focus group. Each child who taste tests the drink dies in a brutally violent way. It’s a great exhibition of deaths in the franchise but I don’t think it’s a really good idea for a frame narrative. Maybe should have been a short on its own.

6. “Ut Supra Sic Infra”, dir. Paco Plaza

The final segment on my ranking is “Ut Supra Sic Infra”, a Spanish language film by the creator of the [REC] found footage franchise Paco Plaza. The short follows a non linear timeline, back and forthing between a group of friends who have their eyes ripped out following an accidental ritual, and the police investigation of the same incident. It’s a little too jumpy for my liking and the story is far too straight forward to be considered anything but the worst of this film. Despite that, it still makes for good viewing and is worth a watch for any found footage horror fan.

V/H/S/HALLOWEEN is easily the best film in the franchise, offering inventiveness in both plot and scares, homaging a subgenre that is now quite extensive, partly due to this franchise. Each team behind each segment poured their heart and soul into this and make quite an entertaining but flawed film.

V/H/S/HALLOWEEN is directed by Bryan M. Ferguson, Casper Kelly, Micheline Pitt-Norman, R.H. Norman, Alex Ross Perry, Paco Plaza, and Anna Zlokovic. You can catch the film on Shudder below:

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