Running Time: 115 Minutes
Certification: 18
Starring: David Haydn, Samantha Cochran, Natalia Montgomery Fernandez, Elena Musser, Teo Planell, María Romanillos, Lawson Greyson, Riley Nottingham, Jenna Hogan, Jake Ellsworth, Michael J. Sielaff, Stephen Gurewitz, Carl William Garrison, Jeff Harms, Noah Diamond
Ever since Shudder resurrected the V/H/S franchise, the streamer has made each instalment into an annual October release with its own set theme. With the eighth entry, V/H/S/Halloween takes advantage of the release date for a holiday specific anthology, and manages to deliver one of the franchise's best entries.
Usually, these films are opened by a wraparound which ends up being the weakest segment. With Bryan M. Ferguson's Diet Phantasma, that tradition sadly continues. The Octagon Company plans to launch a brand-new soda, and they bring in multiple test subjects to try their new drink. The reactions are worse than an unfortunate taste, particularly as the secret ingredient is revealed. What this ends up being is a little idea stretched out more than necessary, with its repeated appearances feeling deflating to watch.
Before you worry that this franchise has lost it's fizz, things go uphill with Coochie Coochie Coo, the segment from Anna Zlokovic. Before leaving for separate colleges, Lacie (Samantha Cochran) and Kaleigh (Natalia Montgomery Fernandez) decide to send-off their friendship with one last night of trick-or-treating. As they steal candy while wearing baby masks, in an attempt to recapture their youth, things turn horrific when they spot one last house to approach. It is a solid segment which approaches worries about time passing by in ways that are unsettling, creepy, and disturbingly milky. If only there was not a glaring use of A.I. within, as this image of slop sours an otherwise good tale.
Following that is Ut Supra Sic Infra, which opens in the aftermath of a Halloween party at an abandoned mansion. One may expect the location to be littered with beer bottles and broken belongings, but the result is instead a bizarre mass murder with the victim's eyeballs all removed. The only survivor, Enric (Teo Planell), blames himself for what happened. While the police do not buy that he was solely responsible, their curiosity is piqued by why he blames himself, so they take Enric back to the house to retrace his steps. While this segment was made by Paco Plaza, one of the directors behind the terrifying film [REC], this is sadly one of the film's less scary entries. From the sole survivor returning to his past trauma, or the footage of the mysterious party events, it feels like a less interesting version of something we have seen multiple times before.
Next up is Fun Size, which comes from the madcap mind of Casper Kelly. In an effort to get candy, a group of friends leave an adult Halloween party to go trick-or-treating. Their party includes engaged couple Lauren (Lawson Greyson) and Josh (Riley Nottingham), although Lauren is having second thoughts. The group stops at a house which has outside a bowl of fun-sized candy bars from unknown brands, accompanied with a sign stating "one per person." When one of their group breaks that rule, all hell breaks loose as they are captured, and wake-up within a warehouse. What unfolds is the film's most entertaining segment, delivering a bizarre idea that feels like a survival horror game set inside Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. But, if you thought Gene Wilder's take on the iconic chocolatier generated nightmares, wait until you see the brutal troll in a plastered smile that runs this location. A tale which gets goofy, gruesome, and acts gleeful about it, this is a hell of a good time.
Prepare for a change of tone with the penultimate segment, Kidprint, which comes from independent film director Alex Ross Perry. Set in 1992, an American town is rocked by a series of instances where children are kidnapped and murdered. In order to help matters, a video store films the local children with documentary videos, in an effort to help ID and search for any children who go missing. The franchise has gone to many gruesome and unsettling places before, but this is undoubtedly the most disturbing segment in this film, and possibly in the franchise. A nightmarish story which pairs monstrous actions with children in terror for something haunting.
Closing off this film is Home Haunt, which arrives from writing/directing duo Micheline Pitt-Norman and R.H. Norman. It follows an annual tradition, where family man Keith (Jeff Harms) uses the family home to set up an elaborate haunted house. While it was once a bonding experience with his son, Zack (Noah Diamond), the now-teenage boy no longer wishes to participate. Struggling to recapture that joy shared in their past, Keith wishes to change things up by making a scary house this year. While searching for items to put in the house, he finds a record to play at this year's house of horrors. However, on opening night, it all goes horrifically wrong. A fun-house ride of a tale which does not hold back, particularly with how it one-ups the previous segment for child deaths. It is an absolute blast to behold, and is the strongest showing within this annual tradition.
Each year, the V/H/S franchise brings together an interesting collection of directorial voices for a new entry worth devoting your time to. Not only is the same true of V/H/S/Halloween, but it also manages to be one of the franchise's best entries. Come for the holiday appropriate scares, and stay for the penis shaped chocolate.
V/H/S/Halloween is now available to stream on Shudder, and is available on Blu-Ray, DVD, and digital
Comments