When the “V/H/S” horror anthology franchise kicked off in 2012, we had not but entered the streaming wars that may irreversibly change the panorama of how audiences eat media, nor have been we trapped in the cycle of “newstalgia” that at present plagues each main movie launch no matter style. Horror, arguably greater than some other style, is probably the most overt in its willingness to discover, reinvent, and pay homage to the movies that got here earlier than, consistently discovering methods to make the previous really feel recent and new once more. The primary “V/H/S” movie did that by borrowing the aesthetics of a time passed by, and injecting them with the storytelling sensibilities of a brand new technology.
Within the years that adopted, the “V/H/S” sequence has significantly expanded its scope. I firmly imagine that there has by no means been a “unhealthy” batch in all the franchise, even when I’ve my private favourite segments *cough* “Secure Haven” *cough* and collections. The final movie to be launched on VHS, David Cronenberg’s “A Historical past of Violence,” was printed in 2006, which means we’re now creeping up on the final vestige of VHS being categorised as “classic.” How does a franchise constructed round an out of date medium discover a solution to keep relevance and exist past a enjoyable gimmick? You look inward, and you’ve got enjoyable subverting the consolation and nostalgia innately hooked up to these clunky bins of polypropylene and magnetic tape.
“V/H/S/Halloween” is a set of Halloween-themed quick movies from among the most fascinating established and up-and-coming voices in horror. The enjoyment present in Jack-o’-lanterns, trick-or-treating, costume events, neighborhood haunted homes, low-cost masks, selfmade costumes, and the entitlement of “one good scare” is being flipped on its head. That is the primary “V/H/S” entry in a protracted whereas that actually seems like an occasion, and it is lengthy overdue for certainly one of horror’s most constant franchises.
V/H/S/Halloween joins the ranks of nice Halloween anthologies
The road-up for “V/H/S/Halloween” is certainly one of its most fascinating but, with music video and quick movie maestro Bryan M. Ferguson’s “Eating regimen Phantasma,” “Too Many Cooks” and “Grownup Swim Xmas Log” helmer Casper Kelly’s “Enjoyable Measurement,” trend maven and filmmaker Micheline Pitt-Norman & R.H. Norman’s “Residence Hang-out,” “Her Scent,” “Pavements,” and “Videoheaven” indie darling Alex Ross Perry’s “Child Print,” co-creator of the “[REC]” franchise Paco Plaza’s “Ut Supra Sic Infra,” (translation, “as above so under”), and “Appendage” and “Chunk Measurement Halloween” director Anna Zlokovic’s “Coochie Coochie Coo.”
The anthology joins a protracted line of Halloween-set horror anthologies, just like the underseen “Tales of Halloween,” the vacation traditional “Trick ‘r Deal with,” the 5 unique tales of “The Witching Season,” the low-budget “Unhealthy Sweet,” and even the birthplace of “Terrifier” star Artwork the Clown, “All Hallows Eve.” Whereas the “V/H/S” sequence has by no means waned in high quality so far as this author is worried, setting the following installment round each horror fan’s favourite vacation seems like a recipe for fulfillment and a surefire solution to get those that have checked out an excuse to come back again in and catch out on any entries they could have missed. And in the event that they’ve pulled it off, they will have created a movie with built-in rewatchability as holiday-centric tales change into folded into the annual celebration. Let’s simply hope that this entry could have extra treats than tips.
“V/H/S/Halloween” could have its world premiere subsequent month at Unbelievable Fest, forward of its broad launch streaming completely on Shudder beginning October 3, 2025.
