Film Review – V/H/S/Beyond

V/H/S/Beyond
Another year, another V/H/S film.
At this point, the V/H/S franchise has firmly planted itself in the horror tradition of putting out a new release almost every year, replacing the likes of the Saw (2004) and Final Destination (2000) films. And like its predecessors, the results have been uneven. In a sort of weird way, it almost doesn’t matter. We don’t go into these anthology pictures looking for deep character development or grand statements over societal issues. We come for the frights and to see how each entry accomplishes that. From Adam Wingard, Joe Swanberg, Scott Derrickson, Flying Lotus, and more, the series has become something of a testing ground for filmmakers to flex their creative muscles.
Because these installments are churned out year after year, there isn’t a lot of time to construct them in a cohesive fashion. Each one feels a little loose, a little scraggly, and with the thinnest strings holding them all together. The last three entries – V/H/S/94 (2021), V/H/S/99 (2022), and V/H/S/85 (2023) – are obviously influenced by the timeframes in which they are set. This latest entry, V/H/S/Beyond (2024), takes a much more sci-fi bend. The narrative is framed by the fake documentary “Abduction/Adduction,” directed by Jay Cheel. Weaving its way between each short, this section traces the discovery of two VHS tapes that show a supposed alien encounter. While an interesting concept, the inclusion of YouTube content creators, as well as an abrupt ending, makes this feel too much like time filler.

The most bombastic sequence is the first one, “Stork,” directed by Jordan Downey (who cowrites with Kevin Stewart). We follow a group of police officers who enter an abandoned house in search of kidnapped babies. What they find is a hoard of zombie-like beings, leading to an extended set piece where the cops try to shoot their way to survival. This is easily the most action packed short, starting off with a bang and not letting up. Utilizing the body cameras on each officer has a video game like vibe (think of the zombie maps from Call of Duty). The section closes with an absurdly over the top moment, featuring some really well done creature effects. No other chapter is as electric as “Stork,” which makes me wonder if this should’ve been moved to the back half to let the entire movie end on a high note.
The first half of “Dream Girl” is interesting in how it follows two paparazzi as they follow a famous actress onto a Bollywood production. Director Virat Pal (who co-writes with Evan Dickson) adds some unique flourishes, even allowing for an extended song and dance number. There is a bit of character work here as well, with one of the paparazzi describing their jealousy of having to follow someone who obtained the dreams they couldn’t achieve themselves. Unfortunately, we don’t get enough time to expand on this idea, as Pal dumps us into a chaotic, Carrie (1976) like bloodbath. While I dug the setting and how we got a glimpse into this world and culture, the incessant camera shaking became nauseating. It concealed the action, not allowing us to understand what was going on.
“Live and Let Dive” begins with a group of friends celebrating a birthday by going skydiving. Their plan gets interrupted by an alien invasion, which destroys the plane and tosses everyone into freefall. For those that make it to the ground alive, they must outrun the aliens hot on their pursuit. While the stuff on the ground is fine, it’s really the freefall portion that makes “Live and Let Dive” so memorable. Director Justin Martinez, along with the stunt team, made the fall look like it was happening in real time, with plane debris falling all around. It would be a good guess that real life skydivers performed the stunt, and the section benefits from that.

Unfortunately, the weakest link of V/H/S/Beyond is “Fur Babies,” written and directed by Christian Long and Justin Long. The latter must’ve pulled heavy influence from his time working on Tusk (2014) or Barbarian (2022). “Fur Babies” tells the familiar story of characters entering a seemingly safe space only to find something horrific hiding underneath. In this case, we have a group of animal rights activists coming face to face with a taxidermist they believe is mutilating the pets brought to her. The writing is not very strong, swaying between dark comedy and gruesome body horror. There just isn’t much tension or intrigue – we can see what is going to happen from a distance, yet the characters are not interesting enough for us to care what happens to them.
The final portion, “Stowaway,” is notable in that it comes from the collaboration of horror vets Mike Flanagan (screenplay) and Kate Siegel (director). It is also the segment that feels most like an actual found footage film. We follow a woman (Alanah Pearce) investigating mysterious lights hovering above the Mojave Desert. “Stowaway” makes clever use of the VHS conceit, having the protagonist accidentally tape over personal footage for the sake of their research. This leads to a confession that is surprisingly moving given the limited amount of time we get to know the character. Where the story goes is underwhelming, and I’m not so sure the end sticks the landing. But the style and focus on character makes a fine punctuation for the entire film.
V/H/S/Beyond is a mixed bag. It contains some terrific moments coupled with some pretty bad ones, culminating in an overall film that sits somewhere down the middle. Fans of the franchise will probably get a kick out of this, while newcomers may not understand the need to have one of these come out every single year. It does exactly as advertised, nothing more nothing less.