- Writers
- Jordan Downey, Kevin Stewart, Virat Pal, Evan Dickson, Benjamin A. Turner, Justin Martinez, Christian Long, Justin Long, Mike Flanagan
- Directors
- Jay Cheel, Jordan Downey, Christian Long, Justin Long, Justin Martinez, Virat Pal, Kate Siegel
- Rating
- n/a
- Running Time
- 114 minutes
- Release Date
- October 4th, 2024 (Shudder)
Overall Score
Rating Summary
V/H/S/Beyond is the seventh and latest addition to the V/H/S franchise, this time features shorts from directors Jordan Downey, Justin Martinez, Virat Pal, Jay Cheel, Kate Siegel, and Justin and Christian Long. Following the usual format and structure set by most of the other films in the franchise, characters in a main wraparound storyline who stumble upon select VHS tapes and then play them soon after, allowing them and audiences to experience the contents of the tapes. This new entry features five shorts as well as a wraparound segment that takes the franchise in a more sci-fi horror direction. One of the very best recent Halloween traditions has been to check out the latest V/H/S film on Shudder and thankfully, this entry may be one of its best yet.
In terms of the franchise, V/H/S/Beyond might be the most fun and consistent but with any anthology, some shorts are going to be better than others. That being said, there isn’t really a weak link here. Its shorts are creative, insane, and brilliantly take this franchise in a more sci-fi direction. Each, for the most part, gets progressively crazier, funnier, and gnarlier than the last thanks to some well-executed practical work, featuring some wicked gore. While the wraparound story is usually the weakest part of these films, the story stands out and is just as entertaining as any of the other shorts.
Taking a more sci-fi oriented route while holding onto the kind of horror the franchise is known for proved to be a smart call, putting audiences on the edge of their seats and eager to see where these stories will go next. As far as the shorts go, Jordan Downey’s “Stork” and Justin Martinez’s “Live and Let Dive” deliver the most excitement due to their frenetic pace, and the ever growing chaos throughout, while Virat Pat’s “Dream Girl” can also get pretty wild as it goes along. But make no mistake Christian and Justin Long’s “Fur Babies” has several WTF moments and absolutely goes for it in maybe the most memorable and shocking of all of the shorts. Without giving too much away, audiences are definitely in for a demented treat.
While none of the shorts necessarily stand out in a bad way, Kate Siegel’s “Stowaway” was definitely the weakest and unfortunately, one lacking much of an impact. Though Siegel clearly has a great eye behind the camera and the short is even written by the great Mike Flanagan, it just doesn’t have the same wow factor as the others and doesn’t quite fit alongside the others as well as it should in style, tone, or energy. It’s also the very last short of the film which could mean audiences are already exhausted, so it ends the film on a bit of a whimper rather than a bang. Other than its slightly overlong runtime (clocking in at nearly 2-hours), V/H/S/Beyond is a solid addition to the franchise that ranks up there with the very best. In the end, fans of this franchise will be in for a good this year and even for those who don’t happen to be fans of these or horror anthologies, this one is worth checking out.
still courtesy of Shudder
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