Since 2021 and the relaunch of the V/H/S franchise, settling down in early October for some spooky found-footage gore has become one of my favorite Spooky Season traditions. Crossing horror and sci-fi can lead to amazing results, so I had high hopes for V/H/S Beyond. Especially since relaunching, the overall quality of the anthologies seemed to be steadily improving, or at least producing shorts more in line with my tastes. Prior to watching Beyond, the previous year’s offering had 3 of my top 5 favorite segments, and I was interested to see how or if that ranking shifted. 

If you are new to the V/H/S movies, the previous entries since the relaunch have focused on a year —’94, ’99, ’85—dealing with events and issues that were relevant to the time. Prior to the relaunch the theme was more broad, focusing on found footage and taking advantage of new recording technology. Each movie has a framing narrative that links the segments, sometimes more overtly than others. 

As with all anthologies, the stories are bound to be a mixed bag in terms of themes, approach, and quality. For me, the segments that succeed are the ones that apply the found-footage approach not just creatively, but ensure it is integral to the plot and has a measure of logical consistency. Once I find myself asking, “who was recording this and why”, and “how are we the viewer able to see it now”, my enjoyment decreases.  The last thing I want is to be questioning logic during a horror movie.

This year, some of horror’s fan-favorite actors, writers, and directors have once again contributed their unique visions to the growing catalog of VHS-inspired shorts. But how well did they utilize both the found-footage technique and the “beyond” theme?

Recap and Spoilers Ahead!

V/H/S Beyond Framing “Abduction/Adduction“

Beyond’s framing sequence involves a pair of VHS tapes bought at a market, labeled “Proof 1” and “Proof 2”. It’s filmed documentary style and stars occult expert Mitch Horowitz discussing the contents of the tapes and their impact on the world. This narrative continues in between the other entries, and reveals more about the location shown on the tapes before getting into the history of aliens and how they are currently perceived in the public and media, as well as the idea that aliens may “not wish us well”. The last two interludes bring in the YouTuber SFX channel stars Niko Pueringer and Sam Gorski from “Corridor Digital“, who focus on footage of extraterrestrials and the process of debunking them. They make the point that if a video does not clearly show an alien, it loses credibility, but they would still want to review it. 

I’ll circle back to the last bit of the framing sequence at the end of the review.

“Stork“

• Directed by Jordan Downy
• Written by Jordan Downy and Kevin Steward

A police force, code named W.A.R.D.E.N., has tracked missing infants to an abandoned house and finally confronts their kidnapper.  Shot through the body-cam of a rookie officer called “Body-Bag”, this filming style, as well as the fight choreography and sound effects, reminded me of old–school, DOOM-style FPS games.  Although I thought it started slow, this ended up being one of my favorite segments, mostly due to the over-the-top video game feel. The creature effects were top notch, and some deep, dark part of my heart is dying to see the Stork and Rattma from 94 square off. The idea of turning the childhood fable of a stork delivering babies into this chaotic delight is inspired, and if any of the ideas from Beyond were expanded to feature length, the team from W.A.R.D.E.N. would be a fun choice. 

“Dream Girl“

• Directed by Virat Pal
• Written by Virat Pal and Evan Dickson 

Paparazzi Arnab and Sonu have been trying to get footage of the latest “It Girl”, Tara. After Arnab breaks into her trailer and connects emotionally with her, Arnab and everyone else discovers Tara may not be made for fame after all. 

“Dream Girl” has a lot to unpack in terms of themes of fame and identity, especially for a short film. There is a lot of face removal, but it’s tied to Tara’s origins, and I appreciate its use. I have mixed feelings about the Bollywood music video cut in the middle of this; it’s relevant but breaks the format and could have been tweaked to fit better, perhaps through the paparazzi lens. Alternately, maybe I’m just lacking the cultural background to get the reference, and it’s perfect as-is. Either way, it’s fun to watch. 

“Live and Let Dive“

• Directed by Justin Martinez
• Written by Ben Turner and Justin Martinez

Zach’s celebratory 30^th birthday skydiving trip with his wife and friends is interrupted by an alien attack. This was another one of my favorites, as the filming made sense and led to some horrifying moments as UFO, military fighters, and skydivers all occupied the same air space.  Zach tumbling through the sky as planes exploded and bodies fell around him was nail biting, and the orange grove chase sequence kept the tension high until the very end.  The alien itself was a nice mix of the familiar with some new elements, and while I’m not 100% sure why it was doing what it was doing, it did it well. This whole short looked good and carried enough emotional weight to feel like a complete experience. 

“Fur Babies“

• Directed and Written by Christian Long and Justin Long

Animal rights activists trying to get dirt on a dog day care owner because she taxidermies her past dogs, end up empathizing more with animals then they ever thought they could.  IDK, this one was a miss for me. While it’s science fiction, it feels less Beyond than the others, including “Dream Girl”. The plot relies on one of the activists being a moron to get caught, and then others being even dumber to follow him into obvious danger. The creature effects we get glimpses of aren’t really shocking, and it’s thematically like other horror movies.

The villain of the piece is doing her best Misery-era Kathy Bates, but she doesn’t have a lot to work with.  Basically, Justin Long was in Tusk, a movie about a man who was kidnapped and surgically turned into a walrus and then brainwashed to be a walrus. Then, Justin Long wrote a short about a woman who kidnaps people and surgically turned them into dogs and then brainwashed them to be her dogs. Is this weird? Does someone need to check on him?

“Stowaway“

• Directed by Katy Segal
• Written by Mike Flanagan

Haley, who has abandoned her husband and child to seek out UFOs in the Mojave Desert, finds the answers to all her questions, including the ones she never should have asked.  Visually stunning with its use of infrared camera and black and white footage, this should have been a standout for me. The writing is solid, and the portrayal of a woman willing to commit so completely to her beliefs is both heartbreaking and maddening. The nitpick I had was in the concept; at the end of it I just kept wondering, how was this found footage…found? 

Back to the framing sequence

Which brings us back to the framing sequence and its discussions on credibility. They discuss how people who want to believe will look for reasons to do so, even in the face of evidence proving otherwise. It’s the same with fiction; people who don’t want to like something start from that place and look for reasons. Or perhaps in my case, too often the other way around 

The framing sequence ends with the documentary crew handing the experts a laptop playing some footage so we all can view it at the same time. It clearly shows a hostile alien encounter, and the movie ends without further commentary.  

Maybe it’s not that deep, but I feel like ending this movie in this specific manner had more impact due to the questions it brought up, rather than the visuals it left us with. Although, ew. 

To be trustworthy, a “real” alien video must hit certain thresholds, which many of these short films have, begging the question, can anything captured on video be trusted after all? What is the new burden of proof in a SFX and AI world, and for those who truly believe, is there any amount of debunking that would suffice?  It was a crazy year for UFO enthusiasts and believers, and high levels of rigor and media literacy have been on my mind since seeing the fervor from people who want to believe, so it was a bit of perfect timing from V/H/S Beyond. 

Final Thoughts

With more hits than misses, beautiful creature effects, and solid storytelling, V/H/S Beyond has enough variety to keep most viewers entertained.  85 is still probably my favorite of the series, but Beyond has dethroned 99 to become a close second. If I thought H³ wouldn’t immediately nope out after “Stork”, I might have even recommended it to him; it’s just that fun.

V/H/S Beyond is available to stream on Shudder