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There are now seven entries in the V/H/S horror anthology franchise, and since 2021, each new arrival has come with two guarantees. They will world premiere at Austin’s Fantastic Fest, and they will be a mixed bag of highs and lows. This year’s V/H/S/Beyond once again fits the bill on both counts as its five segments, plus wraparound, bring a loosely tethered sci-fi element to its blend of gory, goofy, and (for one short at least) sincere horror hijinks.
Jay Cheel‘s “Abduction/Adduction” is the wraparound in V/H/S/Beyond, and he presents it as a documentary about our obsession with footage of aliens and UFOs. Talking heads discuss the battle between shaky, blurry footage and determining authenticity, and while “real” clips are used here it’s in the service of building up to the discovery of two tapes found bearing supposed proof of aliens. It shouldn’t surprise you that the final reveal is blurry and glitchy, but hey, at least it’s not shaky. It’s a well-crafted segment, but it definitely lacks a feeling of cohesion with the rest of the film as well as a sense of momentum. It’s a documentary, and then it ends.
Jordan Downey‘s “Stork” is our first proper short, and the focus here is a group of rogue cops looking to bring down those responsible for a series of baby abductions. A brief bit of exposition soon sees the cops head into a house and immediately enter a shoot-em-up warzone as monstrous people start attacking. Downey and co-writer Kevin Stewart don’t put a lot into the narrative (and the dialogue is rough), but the visuals take on a pretty solid resemblance to something like a Silent Hill or Resident Evil game. Monsters come out of the shadows, and our first-person POV (frequently via the cops’ body cams) gives viewers an intense, front row seat for the bloody, grotesque, and sometimes fun carnage. The end reveal is undeniably silly, but it’s played straight and looks pretty cool, so while this is a standard entry in most ways, it works thanks to fun, gory, energetic visuals.
Virat Pal‘s “Dream Girl” is a rarity in the V/H/S franchise as a non-English entry, and it’s something I’d love to see more of going forward. Paparazzi in Mumbai are chasing photos of a big star during production of her latest film, and while it grants us a fun Bollywood dance number, it also reveals her secret for staying energetic and on in the spotlight. The character work in the front half shows the strength of Pal and co-writer Evan Dickson‘s writing before everything descends into the usual chaos of shaky-cam slaughter. Again, some gory beats, frequently augmented with digital effects and haze, resulting in another pretty straightforward entry.
Justin Martinez‘s “Live and Let Dive” is the standout segment in V/H/S/Beyond as it does something too few of the V/H/S franchise shorts do — it takes us someplace new. Martinez and co-writer Ben Turner drop viewers up in a plane with a group of friends hoping to enjoy their first skydiving adventure. Chaos erupts when their plane collides with a UFO, and we’re with our main protagonist — a poor schlub celebrating his birthday — all the way down. The skydiving action looks fantastic, especially as the rapid descent is accompanied by glimpses of death and alien terror, and it continues once the survivors make it back to the false safety of Earth. Sure, the ground stuff is a return to the traditional, but bloody beats, alien creatures, and the orange tree orchard setting keeps it all appealing.
Justin Long and Christian Long‘s “Fur Babies” suggests that Justin Long has yet to forget his experience on Kevin Smith’s Tusk (2014). No details here for those who’ve yet to see it, but it involves an uncomfortable, interspecies transformation that has clearly stuck with the actor turned co-writer/co-director. This story sees animal rights activists go undercover at a doggie daycare to investigate possible animal abuse, and the results are a mix of the nonsensical and cruel. The visual effects have a practical ugliness to them (a compliment) that makes it easier for viewers to feel the characters’ pain, but it struggles in contrast with the overall goofiness and hammy approach to acting. If nothing else, we should be grateful that it’s kept to a short instead of being stretched out to feature length like the aforementioned Tusk.
Kate Siegel‘s “Stowaway” is the final segment in V/H/S/Beyond, and it’s an interesting choice for that placement as it’s the least energetic of the bunch. That’s not a knock, as instead Siegel and writer Mike Flanagan deliver a fairly somber tale of a woman seeking the truth about UFO sightings and lights in the sky. She records her journey, hoping to make a documentary from the material, and we’re given occasional glimpses of the tape’s previous recordings showing her as a child. It adds a human element to the story, something usually pushed to the background in these shorts for understandable reasons, and it makes the final minutes and moments that much more compelling.
V/H/S/Beyond shows that the franchise concept continues to have legs even if it too often reverts back to the same ol’ thing — shaky cam chaos! It does feel a bit long, both the feature as a whole and most of the individual segments, but it never truly kills the vibe. 2013’s V/H/S/2 remains the franchise highpoint — four tales (plus wraparound), some real bangers among them, and a quick ninety-minute running-time — but V/H/S/Beyond will leave you looking forward to next year’s entry.