V/H/S/85- Fantastic Fest 2023
September 23rd, 2023
MOVIE: V/H/S/85
STARRING: FREDDY RODRIGUEZ, JAMES RANSONE, JORDAN BELFI, ALEX GALICK
DIRECTED BY: DAVID BRUCKNER, SCOTT DERRICKSON, NATASHA KERMANI, MIKE P. NELSON, GIGI SAUL GUERRERO
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 STARS (Out of 4)
There are a total of six installments in the V/H/S franchise. At this point, you know what these movies are, and should know exactly what you are in for. They are a series of anthology horror movies, based on situations of found V/H/S tapes, featuring segments directed by some of the best in the horror genre today. The newest installment, V/H/S/85 shows that there is more attention to detail and only getting better. With each segment having a cohesive blend, highlighting each director’s style- this one delivers great scares. V/H/S/85 gets to the point. They step away from any setups of a character finding a tape or trying to mix a story between segments and make it all about the creativity of the horror genre. There may be plenty of V/H/S movies at this point but V/H/S/85 is one of the best.
The opening begins with plenty of static and waves on the screen, getting the connection better in the old tape, and starts with a faux Hard Copy show, as a group of scientists perform tests on what looks like a little boy. This segment is directed by David Bruckner (Hellraiser (2022)) and is the one part that is returned to the most. It gives us a delightful payoff at the end, which features creatures, a little stop-motion, and plenty of blood.
The first and second segments might be the best, starting with some bangs, in Mike P. Nelson’s “No Wake”. It’s a found footage picture, where a group of friends head in an RV to camp by a lake. Early on things seem fine, there are signs that say “No Swimming”, but there’s nobody to enforce that until bullets start raining from the sky, ripping off faces. There’s also even more of a twist to make it extra creepy. The follow-up is Gigi Saul Guerro’s “God of Death”. It starts with a hilarious news broadcast in Mexico and quickly turns into an impressive earthquake leaving bodies impaled. That’s typically parr for Guerro (Bingo Hell) at this point, as she continues to show she’s a director
The third segment is “TKNOGD”, directed by Natasha Kermani, whose previous film Lucky was criminally missed, but here she’s having wild fun. She features a character using a new form of technology that finds a way to attach itself to their head. The results are splattering and delightful, although it does feel too brief. As for the final segment, that belongs to The Black Phone director Scott Derrickson, who is delivering his fastball. “Dreamchild” has a child-like demon causing a bit of havoc, which of course is done in Derrickson’s classic Sinister style using Super-8 cameras and the kind of terrifying nightmares that would make Freddy Kreuger jealous.
Most anthology films sit in that three-star rating, and that still fits here, but that’s only the reality of anthology films. It depends on the averages of each segment. There is zero fat on V/H/S/85. The 1985 aesthetic is evident throughout, with interrupting commercials and old jingles. The costumes and mustaches fit the time this tape lives in. It’s lean, mean, filled with scares, and another example of why the horror genre will always rule. Directors get only a set amount of time and budgets to turn in something truly terrifying and when they succeed so well, it’s impossible not to love. Pop V/H/S/85 into the VCR because this series can only get stronger from here.
3 STARS
V/H/S/85 WILL PREMIERE ON SHUDDER FRIDAY OCTOBER 6TH, 2023.
Written by: Leo Brady
leo@amovieguy.com
