It was once reasonably reliable, for at least a decade or
so, that if it were the Halloween season, we would get one new entry into a
major horror franchise. It was Saw for a while, then Paranormal
Activity, and then there seemed to be a gap. That is, until Shudder decided
to bring together a new V/H/S entry each October. Truthfully, I was a
fan of the series from the first film, even when its quality ebbs and flows, so
the decision to make this a yearly event was very welcome in my house. Last
year, they started to morph the anthology series into more thematic entries,
with the sci-fi slanted V/H/S/Beyond, so with bated breath we all
awaited to find out what the 2025 edition would be.
Turns out they called it V/H/S/Halloween. Oh. Perhaps
not the most thrilling or unique choice for a theme, but here we are.
Despite the redundancy of its theme, title, and the time of
year that Shudder drops a new entry, V/H/S/Halloween is surprisingly
enjoyable. Sure, it’s a general conceit, which results in most of its segments
succumbing to a lot of similar setups (including the entire “we’re too old to
trick or treat! So let’s go to a party or do other dumb shit!”) and some
overall similar elements in the visuals.
However, what’s remarkable about V/H/S/Halloween is
how unique each story is in tone and style, particularly when one recognizes
the limits of the found footage genre. The wrap-around, “Diet Phantasma,”
features some of the most grotesque testing for a new soda one is likely to see
(outside of actually drinking soda), with its test footage tapes of the titular
drink. Segments like “Coochie Coochie Coo” and “Ut Supra Sic Infra” take
decidedly serious turns with haunted house stories, albeit the former aims for
creature feature scares and the latter for time-jumping possession elements.
While “Fun Size” and “Home Haunt” lean into the sillier aspects of the holiday, supernatural elements erupt from normal Halloween tasks. There’s a ton of
fun to be found here, particularly in the effects work on “Coochie Coochie Coo”
or “Home Haunt,” and it makes for a raucous horror holiday watch that ought to
have fans screaming with jump scares and laughter.
Of course, then there is Alex Ross Perry’s segment
“Kidprint.” While the other stories balance grotesquerie with macabre winks and a firm tongue-in-cheek style in their reveals,
“Kidprint” might be one of the most harrowing segments in any V/H/S entry of
the long-running series. It’s brutal, dark, and incredibly haunting with its
approach, and while I have enjoyed some of Alex Ross Perry’s other films, I had
no idea he was capable of crafting this kind of material. Is it good? Hell, it
might be one of the best that the franchise has seen; however, it’s the kind of
watch that leaves its viewers feeling a bit hollow. So, consider this a
warning.
Truthfully, while I did not have the highest expectations
for V/H/S/Halloween based on its theme, this one ended up being one of
my favorites overall. It’s nice to see Paco Plaza return to the found footage
genre with “Ut Supra Sic Infra” and “Fun Size” ended up really capitalizing on
the zaniness one expects from the creative force behind Adult Swim’s “Too Many
Cooks.” For fans, this is a no-brainer, but even for those new to the franchise, it’s a decent place to start due to its diverse tones and
approaches to what could have been a relatively redundant concept.
Here’s to next Halloween for the next V/H/S
installment.
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