'V/H/S/85' Spoiler Free Review
Image source: YouTube
The V/H/S series has had success beyond what most people might think. The popular anthology found-footage films have varied in both quality and segments from really good to not that great at all, as one would expect from an anthology film. With the first film in the series coming out in 2012, it has since received five sequels and several other spinoffs. With the critical and commercial failure of V/H/S: Viral, the third film in the series, the subsequent films were made primarily for the horror streaming service Shudder, beginning with V/H/S/94 coming out in October 2021, followed by V/H/S/99 the following October. Now, this October has seen the release of the latest film.
It’s been pretty clear to anybody paying attention to the series that the move to Shudder has been a positive one for the films. Under the Shudder banner, the filmmakers have been allowed to experiment and push the boundaries of their respective segments. V/H/S/85 is no different.
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The wraparound segment is really unique. While several others have been “I found this tape while looking for this thing and now here’s the segment”, V/H/S/85’s could be a segment of its own. Its uniqueness does work against it a little bit. There’s nothing special about it that would make it make sense as the wraparound segment. There’s another one in the movie that would, as the events take place over two segments, and that particular story is far and away the more interesting one. The setup and payoff for that story are excellent, and they tie together creatively. At first, you’re a little disappointed in part one, especially the ending, but when tied with the payoff, it’s awesome.
Image source: Nerdist
The rest of the segments are pretty good, though a bit standard by V/H/S fare. “God of Death” and “Dreamkill” are fairly decent, though some might see “God of Death”’s tie-in with a real-life tragedy that killed thousands to be a bit tasteless. “TKNOGD” is easily the weakest of the bunch. It has some interesting ideas behind it, but on the whole, it’s highly predictable, its message is cliche, and the ending is underwhelming. It’s unclear if it wanted to have a serious message with a slightly humorous over-the-top manner of delivery, or if it wanted to use the message that we’ve heard over and over again in modern society as an excuse for a silly short. Either way, it doesn’t work.
At the end of the day, where would it rank compared to the other V/H/S films? None of the segments compare to classics such as Safe Haven and Amateur Night, but many of them definitely hold their own, particularly the excellent No Wake and Ambrosia. At best it’s really good, and at worst it’s kind of meh. It’s certain to see the kind of success that will lead to another film shortly, whether that be next October or the one after that. If you’re looking for a fun October film, you could do a lot worse than V/H/S/85.
Rating: 8/10
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