The V/H/S found-footage horror anthology franchise has been going strong for 12 years. With a new entry now streaming on Shudder, Liam Maguren picks 5 of the best “tapes” the series has to offer.
As a staunch defender of the found-footage genre, even I had to admit when studios were taking the piss and using the format as a means of churning out clunky horror films on the cheap. Through its highs and lows, the horror anthology V/H/S has remained, constantly giving filmmakers a crack at short-form faux footage style with a respectable amount of creative freedom.
They aren’t all winners, as anyone who’s followed the series can tell you, but there’s plenty of entertaining and inventive “tapes” that show how fun found-footage can be when done right.
10/31/98 (V/H/S)
The first V/H/S entered at the peak of the found-footage craze. The Paranormal Activity series was up to number four at this point and Chronicle brought a superhero twist to the subgenre. Most of the shorts in the original aren’t all that original (or good) but there was something to the overall idea of numerous stories existing on a single tape that made for an inspired take on a horror anthology.
Whether you were into the first V/H/S or not, practically everyone agreed that they saved the best for last. From the filmmakers behind Ready or Not and the new Scream movies, this absolute doozy of a short horror presents a classic wrong-place-wrong-time setup seen from the perspective of one camera stuck inside a guy’s stupid Halloween costume. Immediately eliminating the question “Why are you still recording,” we’re essentially left with a first-person run-for-your-life rollercoaster that kicks off the moment these lads realise the house they’re in isn’t the house of their Halloween party.
The Subject (V/H/S/94)
Having suffered diminishing returns with V/H/S/2 and V/H/S Viral, Shudder jolted the series back to life with this focused effort. Forcing all filmmakers to tell stories set within the year of 1994 added another limitation to the already limiting format. But as they say: limitations breed creativity, and there’s a fair bit more of that going on here.
Unfortunately for all of the other shorts in this anthology, nothing stacks up to the wonderful insanity of director Timo Tjahjanto’s sci-fi creation. If you’re not familiar with Tjahjanto’s work (start here), you’re probably in the best seat to be surprised by this blood-spraying mad scientist tale. And if you are a fan, you won’t be disappointed with his retro-futuristic take on cyborgs.
Ozzy’s Dungeon (V/H/S/99)
Pushing the date along by five years, Shudder’s second shot at the franchise revolved around an abandoned underground music venue, a sorority hazing, some pervy teens who get what’s coming to them, and a stellar sequence involving the turn of the millennium.
However, just for the sheer audacity of the idea, it’s hard to look past the centrepiece film from musician filmmaker Flying Lotus. Initially, you’re watching a dumpster bin version of one of those Nickelodeon kids game shows like Legend of the Hidden Temple hosted by an appropriately sketchy Steven Ogg. But then comes a switch into something profoundly grosser and grislier, while also being strangely and darkly comedic. At this stage, you’re either with it or against it. When the utterly bonkers ending hits, it’ll push you further to either extreme.
Dreamkill (V/H/S/85)
Turning the clock back to the ‘80s brought a palpable new taste to the franchise with era-appropriate references to satanic panic, broadcast television cameras, and more than one reference to Betamax being the superior form of videotape (bloody film nerds). It’s also the only entry in the series that has a somewhat decent wrap-around tape—short “documentary” segments with a satisfying payoff—and two tapes that connect their stories in a pretty cool way.
But Dreamkill is the best of the lot. Director Scott Derrickson and his longtime writing partner C. Robert Cargill are no strangers to found-footage, their 2012 hit Sinister being a film where footage is actually found. They understand how imperfections in recording equipment can have an unsettling effect, imbuing this short’s disturbing dream sequences with uncomfortable bursts of light and grain to a haunting degree. Twirling these nasty moments around a mind-screwing story, Dreamkill is one of the most fully-realised tapes in the franchise.
Live or Let Dive (V/H/S/Beyond)
The ‘beyond’ part in this V/H/S entry mostly references its heavy lean into sci-fi, but it could also mean going ‘beyond’ the initial ambitions of the franchise and letting its filmmakers cut loose a bit more. It claims to be “the biggest, maddest, bloodiest” of the lot and it’s hard to argue: Kate Siegel’s Stowaway goes VERY big (working with a script from horror maestro Mike Flanagan), Christian and Justin Long’s Fur Babies is mad to the point of goofery, and Jordan Downey’s Stork is just one big bloody shoot-em-up and chainsaw-em-down.
At the top of the shelf, Live and Let Dive manages to deliver something equal parts big, mad, and bloody. From the opening moment, introducing a group of skydiving friends right before they jump out of a plane, you’re primed for something to go catastrophically wrong—and the film makes good on that anticipation with an absolutely frantic thrill ride. It makes a strong case for its director Justin Martinez, who was part of team Radio Silence’s first entry 10/31/98, to helm a feature.
