Review: V/H/S/Beyond

Directors:  Kate Siegel, Justin Long, Virat Pal, Jordan Downey, Christian Long, Justin Martinez, Jay Cheel

Stars: Namrata Sheth, Libby Letlow, Alanah Pearce

Another year, another V/H/S movie rolling onto Shudder in time for October. It’s become a bit of a thankless tradition. Something observed for the sake of it, not out of any real excitement for the experience. And yet, that’s probably the wrong attitude to take for these anthologies from fresh voices on the fringes of horror. This should be a chance to see what’s coming.

Of course, V/H/S has changed since it’s early, scrappier, dirtier days, when the whole experience felt oddly transgressive and unhealthy, and when the shorts themselves seemed hewn from a collective of filmmakers with a history in mumblecore and generally bleak human observations. It’s mutated with each iteration into a kind of gloopy, splatter-indebted Halloween party playlist, where someone’s famous friend is allowed to guest, often overshadowing the unknowns. V/H/S/Beyond continues in this present mode.

Wraparound “Abduction/Adduction” from Jay Cheel promises us evidence of alien life on Earth. A dry pseudo-doc that also dares to mock the series’ growing evolution into a VFX showcase. Beyond suggests us a more concrete thematic linkage than previous iterations in the series, but what follows is almost as joyfully scattered as ever. More variations on the fuck-around/find-out formula.

In Jordan Downey’s “Stork” a cadre of overwhelmingly-well-armed, renegade New York cops – W.A.R.D.E.N. – take on a house full of zombies in a pulpy, energised Resident Evil rip-off. There are fun, visceral thrills (a zombie in hi-vis wielding a chainsaw!), but the visual of the NYPD shooting first and asking questions later feels gaudily, provocatively deliberate, ensuring that the whole leaves a mercurial bad taste. The discovery of a meteor deep within the property pushes this gung-ho entry into the realms of the extra-terrestrial. Credit where it’s due; a dark attic full of baby cribs sure is creepy, while the short’s ‘final boss’ sure gives Cuckoo a run for its money.

In Virat Pal’s “Dream Girl” a pair of Indian paparazzi try to get close to Tara (Namrata Sheth); a popstar rumoured to have employed witchcraft to ensure her success. It’s something of a V/H/S staple now to be presented something from beyond the boundaries of North America, and it often proves a welcome and innovative kernel within the whole. One of the series’ more welcome traditions. A music video number in the middle of the segment affords V/H/S the opportunity to ‘go Bollywood’. An enjoyable reminder that this series can really envelope any and everything.

The segment goes on to subvert expectations with a fun if confused reveal that’s a bit more concerned with commenting on the craven nature of the music industry than making any sense. Still, it offers a more punchy take on the artist’s need for reinvention than Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance. And, as is increasingly often the case with V/H/S, the primary driver is to show off technical prowess and revel in the chaos that surrounds it.

“Live And Let Die” from Justin Martinez returns us to the extraterrestrial theme as a truly obnoxious, borderline-intolerable bunch of adrenaline junkies encounter a UFO while preparing for a birthday skydive. Martinez accentuates the claustrophobia and precariousness of the rickety biplane packed with bozos. The segment doesn’t lack for ambition, and the panicked parachute jump at its centre is the most thrilling since Tom Cruise leapt from a plane in Fallout. The whole is somewhat undermined, however, by its shrill characters, so-so CG nasties and a tendency for gross-out prosthetic punchlines. Nice orange groves, though.

Now to our celebrity guests, behind the camera in a one-two punch. First off, Justin Long helms “Fur Babies” with his brother Christian. A broad comedic effort, we’re introduced to ‘Doggy Dream House’; a homely dog-sitting firm that a bunch of liberal activists intend to take down with an undercover sting… believing that chirpy owner Becky (Libby Letlow) is turning her wards into stuffed toys. The segment itself toys with notions of political correctness and civil liberties in its dialogue exchanges before ultimately mocking YouTube crafters via Letlow’s deranged singsong presentations. It is Beyond‘s lightest, brightest and silliest short… until we’re taken down to the basement, that is. Long may have taken some inspiration from his tenure on Barbarian… And, grimly, career-nadir Tusk…

Lastly we have “Stowaway”, written by Mike Flanagan and directed by his wife and regular star Kate Siegel. Wannabe documentarian Halley (Alanah Pearce) takes a solo trip out to the California desert in search of UFOs. Of all the shorts offered this time, “Stowaway” is the most aesthetically disciplined to the V/H/S conceit. It’s also the least concerned with gaudy excess and feels like a throwback to the type of experiments that appeared in the series’ earliest entries, more interested in a particular feeling than a succession of crazed pyrotechnics. Ironically, it still showcases some of this anthology’s most impressive VFX. Siegel might be Beyond‘s secret weapon.

The seventh entry in the franchise thus far, it’ll be up to personal taste as to where this falls, quality-wise. For this viewer it’s at least a consistent run of offerings, even if none of them really punch-up above its peers. Still, a solidly good anthology isn’t something to be sniffed at, but the most surprising thing V/H/S could do at this point might be to take a well-deserved break.

See you next year!