V/H/S/94 (2021) Review By Phil Newton

V/H/S/94 (2021) Review By Phil Newton

V/H/S/94 is the fourth installment of the ‘found footage’ franchise that showcases multiple tales of terror from upcoming and established horror talent. We reviewed and enjoyed the more recent fifth film in the franchise, V/H/S/99, last year, which included segments by Johannes Roberts, Flying Lotus and Tyler McIntyre, but this previous installment is widely regarded as the best in the series and finally receives a belated home entertainment release. So, let’s press play and see if it’s as good as everyone says it is, shall we?

V/H/S/94 kicks off with its wraparound story Holy Hell, directed by Jennifer Reeder (Knives And Skin). A team of SWAT officers are taking part on a drug bust, but they find the compound full of locked cells, TV screens and dead bodies who appear to have gouged their own eyes out. As their horrific discoveries continue we learn that two of the officers Petro (Kimmy Choi) and Nash (Nicolette Pearse) are also members of the Far Out Fetish Film Club who bootleg illegal VHS content…

One of the TV screens is broadcasting a news report from Westerville, Ohio, which leads us to the segment Storm Drain, directed by Chloe Okuno (Watcher). Following recent sightings of local legend ‘The Rat Man’, reporter Holly (Anna Hopkins) and her cameraman Jeff (Christian Potenza) are persuaded to head deep into the sewers in search of the story. There they find a group of homeless individuals who have found a new God to worship… are Holly and Jeff worthy devotees?

The next segment is The Empty Wake, directed by Simon Barrett who also contributed Tape 49 to the earlier V/H/S/2. Hayley (Kyal Legend) is reluctantly on duty at a funeral home, keeping watch during the wake for a man called Andrew Edwards who we later discover committed suicide. A family member has requested the wake be recorded, so we watch as Hayley waits and waits, all alone aside from one visitor who comes to pay his respects, speaks some kind of incantation and promptly leaves. As the stormy weather worsens outside, poor Hayley finds her nerves shredded as strange noises begin to sound from inside the closed coffin…

The fourth and most fun segment is The Subject, directed by Timo Tjahjanto (The Night Comes For Us). In a secret lab somewhere in Jakarta, Dr James (Budi Ross) is up to no good. A pioneer in the field of mechanical prosthetics, this mad scientist is trying to create the ultimate ‘neo human,’ unifying human and machine in a weapon of mass destruction. As the police turn up looking for his latest kidnapping victim, a stand off ensues with said subject capturing the mayhem that follows POV style.

V/H/S/94 concludes with Terror, directed by Ryan Prows (Lowlife), arguably the weakest of the five segments. A militia of American Patriots live in a compound plotting to destroy a government building and help rid America of the evil they believe rules their country. However their secret weapon is no ordinary bomb, but a vampire they have held hostage, and whose blood explodes when in contact with sunlight. Needless to say, the best laid plans… well, things quickly go pear shaped when the vampire escapes his captors.

Whilst not as uniformly satisfying as V/H/S/99 (my personal favourite of the franchise to date), there’s still a lot to enjoy here. There’s a real dark sense of humour that pervades these twisted tales matched by creativity behind the camera to bring these stories to life, all the while recreating the fuzzy VHS aesthetic we all remember from our childhood. As with the other films in the franchise, there’s a great mix of practical and CGI effects employed to produce some stomach churning gore effects which will delight fans of the genre.

Having premiered on Shudder’s streaming service, the home entertainment release of V/H/S/94 from Acorn Media International features a wealth of bonus material, including a commentary track, behind the scenes features and deleted scenes. The franchise shows no signs of slowing down with most recent entry V/H/S/85 following hot on its heels next month, and which we will be reviewing here very soon.