V/H/S/Beyond (2024) Review: The Latest V/H/S Horror Anthology’s Predominantly Sci-Fi Horror Delivers Some Gory Fun Moments
In case you are losing count, V/H/S/Beyond marks the seventh instalment in the franchise (excluding the two spin-offs) and the latest horror anthology film focuses more on the sci-fi horror territory. The movie has seven directors coming up with six segments in total, beginning with Jay Cheel from Shudder’s documentary series Cursed Films in charge of V/H/S/Beyond‘s wraparound titled Abduction/Adduction.
The segment blends faux documentary-style interviews led by the host, Mitch Horowitz as they talk about a pair of videotapes that were allegedly purchased from a flea market. These tapes in question supposedly contain footage of an alien encounter. The framing of the story surrounding Abduction/Adduction would spread out between the end of each five segments but for all the talking heads and teases, I find the eventual reveal is best described as an underwhelming conclusion. A horror anthology film always has its ups and downs and the same can be said with V/H/S/Beyond.
Writer-director Jordan Downey, who helmed the second segment titled Stork combines Resident Evil-style video game horror shot predominantly in multiple POV styles via body-cam footage as we follow a vigilante group of uniformed W.A.R.D.E.N. officers on a mission to raid a dilapidated house. They believe the infants that have been abducted are in there, only to find themselves encountering a horde of zombies. True to its video game horror style, Downey goes all out with the bullet-riddled carnage, showcasing the visceral FPV (first-person view) action set pieces. The officers even go floor by floor and door to door from the ground floor right up to the attic. It’s pretty much a straightforward, yet energetic gory fun with lots of blood splatters and I particularly like the idea of a chainsaw-wielding construction-worker zombie. Then, there’s the bizarre ending that Downey isn’t kidding about the title.
V/H/S/Beyond then moves on to a Bollywood take on sci-fi horror titled Dream Girl through the eyes of two paparazzi eager to find out more about the fast-rising superstar Tara (Namrata Sheth). Virat Pal, who directed this segment, even includes a Bollywood song-and-dance number but it doesn’t take long before the violence starts after one of them discovers something is not right. The Dream Girl segment tends to get overwhelmed with its jittery camerawork meant to mimic the state of panic and confusion once the blood, gore and flying limbs take place.
The third segment, Live and Let Dive sees co-writer and director Justin Martinez make good use of a GoPro body camera to capture the dizzying heights and chaos from the perspective of a terrified protagonist (he sure as hell can’t stop screaming). He is one of the friends supposedly on a plane for skydiving, only to find themselves in the middle of an alien invasion. The plane explodes during the attack with some of them dead while others who survive are fighting for survival against the hostile aliens hunting them in the orange grove. The alien design is not only technically impressive but formidable while Martinez deserves praise for ratcheting up the tension and gory moments. The only downside about the Live and Let Dive segment is the ending that somehow runs out of steam.
In Fur Babies, which marks this instalment’s fourth segment, Christian Long and Justin Long choose to go against the grain by venturing into the Tusk-like territory, where Kevin Smith’s body horror also happens to star Justin Long. There’s nothing sci-fi about this segment but at least it wasn’t a letdown as the Long brothers did a good job giving us a creepy antagonist played by Libby Letlow as Becky. The Fur Babies segment revolves around two animal rights activists who attempt to document footage via a hidden camera as they visit the lady owner of Doggy Dream Home. What begins as a friendly tour turns out to be a nightmare, leading to some depraved moments of body horror.
The fifth segment, Stowaway marks the directorial debut of actress Kate Siegel, best known for her role in Hush. Her husband Mike Flanagan is in charge of the screenplay, where the segment gets off to a promising start with its perfectly lo-fi aesthetics shot in grainy VHS footage. The story, in the meantime, follows a journalist of sorts named Halle (Alanah Pearce) trying to document some video evidence about the alien activity happening in the Nevada desert. The result is both creepy and intriguing, proving Siegel has what it takes to make a horror film, albeit a short one. It would be interesting to see her as a director in a full-length feature one day.
Overall, V/H/S/Beyond has a few worthwhile moments even with some of the shortcomings from the results of a half-baked approach preventing this latest horror anthology film from reaching its greatness and beyond.
V/H/S/Beyond is currently streaming on Shudder.
