Tags:
Film: V/H/S/Beyond
Year: 2024
Director: Jay Cheel, Jordan Downey, Christian Long, Justin Long, Justin Martinez, Virat Pal and Kate Siegel
Writers: Evan Dickson, Jordan Downey, Mike Flanagan, Christian Long, Justin Long, Justin Martinez, Virat Pal, Kevin Stewart and Benjamin A. Turner
Starring: Brian Baker, Trevor Dow and Gerry Eng
Review:
This was another installment of this franchise that I was intrigued by. I’ve been checking out these V/H/S films since they first started coming out. I was working at Family Video so I would take them home as pre-streets. I’m late to the party here, since this came out in October. It was one that I was making sure that I wouldn’t miss, despite hearing the mixed reviews.
Synopsis: six bloodcurdling tapes unleash horror in a sci-fi inspired hellscape, pushing the boundaries of fear and suspense.
Now something that I find interesting here is that through the poster and the wraparound, they looked to be alien influenced. As a disclaimer, not all feature this, but a majority do. The first short, which is the wraparound, is called ‘Abduction/Adduction’. It talks about a couple of video tapes, with proof that aliens were found at a flea market. It follows what happened to Reed Farrington (Gerry Eng). We learn about his backstory, his family and this is told through Mitch Horowitz (himself) and others. This is given in pieces as we jump into the other stories.
The second short is called ‘Stork’. There is a secret group of police officers called W.A.R.D.E.N. Segura (Phillip Andre Botello) is brought in, which rubs members the wrong way. They’ve been monitoring a high number of babies disappearing. There have been 17 in 3 months. The group is made up of Broome (Thom Hallum), Aubert (James C. Burns), Ivy (Tyler Andrews), Bennet (Jolene Andersen) and E.T. (Vas Provatakis). They’re led to a house in the middle of nowhere. It is here that they battle with these zombie-like people. What they discovered inside is more terrifying than they could imagine.
Then we go over to ‘Dream Girl’. We have Arnab (Sayandeep Sengupta) and Sonu (Rohan Joshi). The former is showing the ropes to the new guy. I get the idea that they’re paparazzi or reporters of sorts. There is this new sensation in Bollywood, Tara (Namrata Sheth). Her run of movies is unheard of. Sonu hides in her dressing room and gets more than he bargained for as she finally reveals her true self.
It is then followed by ‘Live and Let Dive’. There is a group going skydiving. They look out of the plane and think they see a spaceship. They’re forced to jump when something happens. That is just the start of the nightmare for Zach (Bobby Slaski), Logan (Rhett Wellington Ramirez), Noah (Jerry Campbell), Brittney (Bix Krieger) and Jess (Hannah McBride).
The fifth short is then ‘Fur Babies’. This is showing a commercial for a dog boarding business run by Becky (Libby Letlow). She is the target of an eco-group. They send in Stuart (Matthew Layton) and Angela (Braedyn Bruner), who get more than they bargained for. It becomes a nightmare to free them, but what happens here is unbelievable.
Then our final short is ‘Stowaway’. We are following Halley (Alanah Pearce) as she does an independent documentary about lights that were found over the Mojave desert. What is interesting here is that we’re seeing the raw, unedited footage. She is messing up, not being used to doing this. We see that she interviews two locals, who aren’t the most reliable. That is until their stories check out when she camps under the path of the lights. She makes an otherworldly discovery and goes on a journey she’ll never forget.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. What I’ll do is break down all the shorts individually, then average the score since we have different teams doing each. Starting then with ‘Abduction/Adduction’. This one had good elements to be a wraparound. It is interesting that the mansion from Ready or Not is a backdrop. My issue here is that I wasn’t sure when we jumped back to this short before going into the next ones. They also built up this footage that we see at the end, but I was disappointed there. Just wanted more. The acting performances though were good, I did want to give credit there.
Then to move into the first actual short that we get start to finish, ‘Stork’ fits along with the wraparound. This feels like watching a first-person shooter. It also gives off the vibe of Resident Evil by having this isolated house and these zombie-like people. Then having infants being taken adds tension. The reveal of what is behind this made me chuckle. It is an interesting correlation though to babies. The effects here in general were great. This short is brutal. We don’t necessarily develop the characters, but since this is more about the action, it still works. This was one of my favorites overall.
One that doesn’t fit the overall concept would be ‘Dream Girl’. It does have an interesting connection though to ‘Stork’. I saw another reviewer give credit to the song used here and how catchy it is. That is something that I agree with. This one though left me wanting more with the concept. It isn’t bad, but one of my least favorites unfortunately. The acting was good though, I did want to give credit there.
‘Live and Let Dive’ is not only a creative title, but I was questioning if this one had connections to the wraparound story. Seeing a spaceship while skydiving would be terrifying. Then being forced to jump when things happened would be as well. This one is intense. The look of the monster was a bit too much CGI for my liking. There were good brutal effects. The design of the alien though was something I’ll give credit for. What it does to people as well. I give this a slight edge to ‘Dream Girl’, just due to keeping in line with the overall concept.
What came next was intriguing when I learned that Justin Long co-directed and co-wrote ‘Fur Babies’. This doesn’t stay in line with the concept, but the effects here are uncomfortable. It reminded me of an independent film that used a similar idea. Where it takes it here though is more intense. It also feels in line with something that Long was also in. If you know his filmography, that should make sense. I wasn’t expecting this to go where it did, it made me cringe and the practical effects definitely helped that out. This is up there as one of my favorites, despite not necessarily fitting the overall concept.
Then the last was another one that I was impressed with in ‘Stowaway’. This is a simple story. Halley is putting everything she has on the line to make a documentary about what people were experiencing here. There is heart when she realizes she is recording a party for her daughter. That hit me in the feelings. Halley discovers something and records it but gets trapped. Seeing where this goes is heavy as well. It is on the upper end of the shorts with the effects and Pearce carrying it. Since it fits the concept, that gives it a nod too.
In conclusion, having sat down and gathered my thoughts, this is another solid installment into this franchise. It works well having an overall concept. My problem is that not everyone fits into it. If they did, that could have worked better overall. I also didn’t find the wraparound to be as strong as it could have been. That does hurt slightly. Overall, these are all well-made. There are just a couple moments of CGI that don't work. There are brutal practical effects though, which I appreciate. I also thought that the cinematography and framing help there as well. Acting is solid across the board too. This is hovering on the upper middle of the series.
My Rating: 7 out of 10