Horror Film Review: Shudder’s Creepy V/H/S/Beyond

While the V/H/S series has explored sci-fi horror in the past, the seventh entry—this week’s V/H/S/Beyond—puts a specific focus on the genre, unspooling a nightmarish array of close encounters, robotic terrors, and mad scientists. There are a few big names behind the segments this time around (Justin Long, Kate Siegel, Mike Flanagan), but the standout moments—you know, the ones that make you gasp, scream, or feel like you’re gonna puke—are scattered evenly throughout.

Not being tied to a specific year means Beyond doesn’t have to be strict about its level of technology; there’s still shaky-cam and grainy VHS, but we also get some digital-age advancements: cell phones, home-security doorbells, a GoPro, YouTube videos, police body cams, and the like. The frame story, Jay Cheel’s “Abduction/Adduction,” is crafted like a “mysteries of the unknown” documentary you might stumble upon while doing some late-night scrolling, complete with talking heads and archival clips anchored around a central mystery involving aliens and (of course) mysterious video tapes.

The other segments include Jordan Downey’s “Stork,” about a rookie cop having a very strange first night with his new unit; Virat Pal’s “Dream Girl,” which follows a paparazzi team as they uncover more than expected while stalking Bollywood’s hottest new star; Justin Martinez’s “Live and Let Dive,” a cautionary tale for would-be skydivers; Christian Long and Justin Long’s “Fur Babies,” about animal-rights activists determined to bust the owner of a doggie daycare; and Kate Siegel’s “Stowaway,” written by Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House), about a troubled woman hoping to DIY her own UFO doc.

One of the perpetual delights of the V/H/S series—other than its copious affection for gore and gross-out special effects—is its conceit that we’re watching the most thrilling parts of whatever found-footage tape is next in the queue. There’s not much time for context or exposition; after a quick dose of suspense (we know something awful is going to happen; this is V/H/S, after all), all hell breaks loose. Rarely has this set-up been so perfectly deployed than it is in “Live and Let Dive,” which more than makes good on its killer premise both in the air and on the ground. “Dream Girl” is also a fascinating entry; not only is it the first V/H/S segment made in India, it contains a full-on Bollywood musical number, viewed from the point of view of the set-crashing photographers.

It’s not often that V/H/S movies are singled out for their performances—most of the acting tends to be of the running and screaming variety—but Beyond has a couple of notables, including Alanah Pearce as the awkward filmmaker in “Stowaway,” and especially Libby Letlow in “Fur Babies,” whose pup-obsessed Becky has uncanny echoes of Annie Wilkes in Misery.

If overall V/H/S/Beyond isn’t quite the best of the franchise—last year’s V/H/S/85 is still my top pick, though V/H/S/2 is a close second—it’s overall a solid entry, and proof yet again that there’s still an alarming amount of creative energy to be mined from grimy, gruesome video clips. Bring on the next one!

V/H/S/Beyond hits Shudder October 4.

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