V/H/S/Beyond (2024) Review by Phil Newton
V/H/S/Beyond (2024) Review by Phil Newton
V/H/S/Beyond is the seventh and most recent installment of the ‘found footage’ franchise that showcases multiple tales of terror from upcoming and established horror talent. Since teaming with Shudder in 2021, the revitalised series has now had four successful releases via the speciality streaming platform, all of which have also received physical releases on Blu-ray and DVD here in the UK courtesy of Acorn Media International.
Friday The 13th did it. Hellraiser did it. Heck, even The Fast & The Furious did it. Yes, for this sequel V/H/S is taking the franchise into space with a selection of sci-fi inspired shorts. V/H/S/Beyond opens with Abduction/Adduction directed by Jay Cheel (How To Build A Time Machine) which is then interspersed between the other tales. Cheel’s story is presented as a documentary featuring genuine real-life experts debating the authenticity of some found footage which purports to prove the existence of extra-terrestrial life.
Our first story proper is Stork, directed by Jordan Downey (The Head Hunter). A crack team of NYPD officers are investigating the kidnapping of babies and are planning a raid on a house. Inside they are attacked by white-eyed crazies, one of whom is wielding a chainsaw, and it soon becomes a bloodbath. Hearing babies crying from up in the attic the survivors discover that a meteor has crashed through the roof and cracked open… and something sinister was inside…
The next segment is Dream Girl, directed by Virat Pat (Night Of The Bride). Set in Mumbai, paparazzi Arnab (Sayandeep Sangupta) and his assistant Sonu (Rohan Joshi) are assigned to the set of Dream Girl to get some candid shots of Bollywood star Tara (Namrata Sheth). Rumours of witchcraft circulate amidst her rapid rise to fame, but when Arnab sneaks into Tara’s trailer he uncovers something that transforms Tara from the girl of his dreams to the girl of his nightmares…
The fourth segment is Live And Let Die, directed by Radio Silence member Justin Martinez (Southbound). Zach (Boby Slaski) is celebrating his 30th birthday so his friends have taken him skydiving to mark the occasion. However a close encounter with a UFO damages their plane, causing them to bail out prematurely. Landing in an orchard, those that survive the fall soon realise that something has jumped with them and is picking them off like the low-hanging fruit that surrounds them…
Next up is Fur Babies, written and directed by Christian Long (Lady Of The Manor) and actor sibling Justin Long (Barbarian). Becky (Libby Letlow) runs a daycare centre for doggies. However her taxidermy trophies of much-loved pets raise the ire of Humans Against Animal Cruelty, so a couple of their members pose as loving dog owners in order to infiltrate Becky’s home. When Becky rumbles their deception she takes them down to her basement where the bad dogs are kept…
The sixth and final segment is Stowaway, written by Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep) and directed by his partner and actor Kate Siegel (Hush). Halley (Alanah Pearce) is in the Mojave Desert when she spies six floating lights in the sky. When one falls to earth she goes to investigate and soon finds herself trapped inside some kind of organic spaceship which seems to possess healing qualities…
As with most portmanteau films, and most of the previous V/H/S films, V/H/S/Beyond is a bit of a mixed bag. Cheel’s wraparound segment is a great idea and well presented, but sadly lacks any real bite or intrigue. Stork is gory fun featuring a particularly over-the-top POV chainsaw killing spree, even if there’s little time to tell the characters apart. Dream Girl is a breath of fresh air with its Indian setting, even if the payoff doesn’t quite deliver. Best of the bunch is the adrenalin-fuelled Live And Let Dive which is gnarly and properly terrifying, utilising some brilliant visual effects. It’s nice to see Justin Long behind the camera with his brother Christian, with their spin on The Human Centipede. Siegel’s story is also low-key and more cerebral, but sadly leaves the film on a bit of an anti-climax. However the filmmakers deserve credit for trying something a little different this time around, and the sci-fi theme certainly makes this installment stand out from previous entries.
Having premiered on Shudder’s streaming service, the home entertainment release of V/H/S/Beyond from Acorn Media International features a wealth of bonus features, including Pre-visuals on Live And Let Dive, Libby Letlow’s Fur Babies Audition Tape, The Making of Dream Girl, Behind the Scenes of Stork and Stowaway Timelapse. An eighth film is currently in development and is due to be released later this year – now that the franchise has been to outer space what direction will it take next?
