Joey Magidson
Once again, it’s nice to see the V/H/S franchise continue to string together several strong entries in a row. Previously, we’ve seen the series swing back and forth in terms of quality over the years. Initially, it was a solid if never spectacular anthology outing, one that seemed to have its time come and go a while ago. Then, perhaps unexpectedly, V/H/S/94 gave the property new life four years ago. Three years ago, V/H/S/99 moved forward in time, if somewhat of a step back in quality. Two years ago, we had something new in V/H/S/85, which was in the upper tier, overall, as well as being the first to have no bad segments. Last year, we had V/H/S/Beyond, which again didn’t really have a lowlight, while also featuring a genre shift of sorts that really gave it a fresh feeling. Now, we have V/H/S/Halloween, which is maybe the goriest one yet, in some ways, while having fun with the entire film being centered on the spookiest of holidays. Is it doing anything totally new? No. Is the movie effectively fun and gross? Very much so.
V/H/S/Halloween starts off with a few longer segments, but once it hits its stride, it’s a very consistent entry. I actually think the Halloween aspect ties it all together in a way that the previous entries have struggled to achieve. Plus, the franchise has more or less dispensed with the wraparound device having to set up the segments. Now, it’s almost like a mean little bonus, which I do appreciate.
As always, there’s several segments with a wraparound device, which again, doesn’t really tie into anything, but sets things up, thematically. The framing device here is called Diet Phantasma and is written/directed by Bryan M. Ferguson, centering on the trials of a new diet soda by The Octagon Corporation in the late 1980s. As you might imagine, there’s something very off about the soda and all of the test subjects pay a very brutal price. These trials continue between each of the following segments.
The segments begin with Coochie Coochie Coo from Anna Zlokovic, which has teenagers Lacie (Samantha Cochran) and Kaleigh (Natalia Montgomery Fernandez) out trick or treating one last time. When some younger boys tell them the legend of The Mommy, they’re dismissive, but when they stumble upon a mysterious house, they come face to face with her, among other terrifying residents.
Next is Ut Supra Sic Infra from Paco Plaza (co-written by Alberto Marini), where Enric (Teo Planell) is the only survivor of a Halloween party massacre. Insisting to the police that he’s to blame, they tell him that’s impossible, given just how brutally killed everyone was. Bringing him back to the scene of the crime, a home supposedly owned by a psychic, the cops and Enric enter the cupola where everyone died. Bad things happen.
Fun Size is next from Casper Kelly and is a hoot. Having left a party due to a lack of candy, newly engaged Lauren (Lawson Greyson) and Josh (Riley Nottingham), alongside Haley (Jenna Hogan) and Austin (Jake Ellsworth) come across a house with some snacks out for the taking. They’re odd candy they’ve never heard of, with the chocolate resembling some phallic parts, alongside a sign saying to take only one. When they don’t follow the rules, they wind up sucking into the bucket, which leads to a candy factory. There, they’ll find out just how that strange candy gets made.
What follows is Kidprint from Alex Ross Perry and is among the darkest segments in the series. Family man Tim Kaplan (Stephen Gurewitz) owns an electronics store that operates a video ID service for identifying missing children. He and his employee Bruce (Carl William Garrison) are providing a service that parents can rely on in the darkest of times. The town has been having an epidemic of kids going missing, and when the police ask for his help, he stumbles on to something absolutely chilling. Fair warning, this one goes hard.
Finally, we have Home Haunt from Micheline Pitt-Norman and R.H. Norman. Here, we see the attempt by Keith (Jeff Harms) and his wife Nancy (Sarah Nicklin) to have one last big Halloween, now that their son Zack (Noah Diamond) has become a moody teenager. Keith has done a big haunted house for years, though when he tries to go all out this time, he unleashes something quite deadly.
The actors are never the highlights, but the filmmakers usually are. Here, it’s always the filmmakers. Most notably, Alex Ross Perry is a bigger name than usual, and not associated with horror (Her Smell, etc), but boy does he take to it with a nasty little segment that also manages to play with the form. Perry seems most interested in the “VHS” of it all, which is nice to see. Likewise, Casper Kelly is having more of a blast than most with his segment. That’s a real nasty bit of fun. Throughout, none are likely to blow you away, though there isn’t an obvious weak link this time around, which isn’t usually the case.
V/H/S/Halloween isn’t going to win over any new converts, but for those who like the franchise already, it’s a rock solid new outing. The series is on very firm ground currently and shows no signs of slowing down. So, if you’re into what the fright flicks here are doing, this is one to be excited about. Prepare to be amusingly grossed out!
SCORE: ★★★
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