North Texas Daily

The “V/H/S” franchise has been a way for horror filmmakers to create slices of terror for fans to enjoy. Last year, “V/H/S/94” proved to be the strongest entry to the franchise. This year, five stories culminate into one horrifying anthology that takes viewers back to the late ‘90s.

From beginning to end, some of the franchise’s strongest moments reside within “V/H/S/99,” raising the bar in more categories than one. Horror films are made best when in the hands of horror fans.

The first short, “Shredding,” follows a group of aspiring rockers who look to perform at a supposedly haunted venue. Director Maggie Levin does a phenomenal job of making this short an identical time capsule of the decade. From beginning to end, you feel like you found an old tape in the attic.

Horror often gives jobs to the audience, and a majority of the time it goes unnoticed. One of the most common jobs given is despising snotty teenagers, which is something this short thrives on.

Once this ghost story’s ball gets rolling, it intentionally goes full metal. A wide variety of gnarly gore and satisfying kills are displayed. This was a stellar way to kick off the film.

Second up was “Suicide Bid,” directed by Johannes Roberts. Lily wants nothing more than to join a sorority on campus. The sisters of Beta Sigma Eta let her join the sorority on one condition: stay the night buried alive in a coffin.

This segment taps into the horrors of small spaces and how brutal the college social hierarchy is. It may not wow you with over-the-top gore or super intense scares, but it gets under your skin and stays there. 

This second story is a nice change of pace from the previous, a common trend and compliment of this franchise. If these segments had to be ranked from best to worst, this one would be at the bottom. It is more about the other stories outshining this one, rather than a lack of quality in this singular story.

The third story, “Ozzy’s Dungeon,” takes things farther than any segment in the franchise has before. There are some serious twists and misdirects that will leave your jaw on the ground.

At a certain point, embracing the weird is the best thing you can do in a horror film. No one understood that better than director Flying Lotus. This entire film is one big love letter to practical effects.

“Ozzy’s Dungeon” refers to all the old obstacle course-centered television shows from the late ‘90s. Everything plays out like one of those old shows would, and you wait with anticipation for something horrific to happen. It remains unpredictable and is arguably the best segment in this film.

Tyler MacIntyre was behind the camera for the fourth story, “The Gawkers.” A group of teenage boys starts to spy on their attractive neighbor. They even go as far as attempting to set up hidden cameras in her house.

Once again, the audience is met with despicable snotty teenagers. It is hard to talk about this story without giving too much away, but it sure is a ton of fun. This segment feels like a Disney Channel Movie gone horribly wrong in all the right ways.

The best for last comes in the form of “To Hell And Back” by Vanessa and Joseph Winter. No directors have perfected humor in horror as this duo has. Two videographers look to film a ritual performed on New Year’s Eve 1999. It all goes horribly wrong, and Nate and Troy find themselves in Hell.

Words do not do it justice. The premise is wacky, but it gets wackier as it plays out on screen. This segment is the finale for a reason.

The married couple directed “Deadstream” earlier this year, which is another horror comedy classic. Whatever Vanessa and Joseph decide to do moving forward should have any horror fan at an alarming level of excitement.

Each story is so different, yet it all works incredibly well when stitched together. Having a new “V/H/S” movie to watch around Halloween is a holiday tradition on its own. Bringing together so many talented horror minds is a genius formula incapable of becoming stale.

Jaden’s Rating: 4/5

Featured Illustration by Erika Sevilla