VHS Halloween Review: Almost a Return to the Good Ole Days

Fantastic Fest wouldn’t be complete without a V/H/S movie. This year, the creators at Shudder, Bloody Disgusting, and Cinepocalypse have put together VHS Halloween, an anthology themed around Halloween and featuring a unique, tonally consistent set of twisted tales told with a dash of humor. Delightfully unsettling, the film offers a collection of stories, from haunted houses to demonic possession, elevating the horror with a refreshing hint of tongue-in-cheek cheekiness.

– The latest installment of the “V/H/S” anthology series, “V/H/S/HALLOWEEN”, is highly acclaimed for its tonal consistency and Halloween-themed stories, making it one of the best entries into the series.
– The film’s segments are connected by a short film “Diet Phantasma” that introduces a new side effect after each return, other standout segments include Anna Zlokovic’s “Coochie Coochie Coo”, Paco Plaza’s “Ut Supra Sic Infra”, and Casper Kelly’s “Fun Size”.
– The last two segments, Alex Ross Perry’s “Kidprint” and Micheline Pitt-Norman and R.H. Norman’s “Home Haunt,” bring dark themes and violence and successfully tie into the Halloween theme, making the entire anthology both terrifying and fun.

Once more, Shudder, Bloody Disgusting, and Cinepocalypse have assembled daring directors to narrate some of their eerie stories. All narrations this time are based on the favorite holiday of horror lovers everywhere. VHS Halloween is one of the most accomplished editions in this yearly anthology series, thanks to its consistent tone and high hit ratio. Many of the stories have themes like age-old tales, candy containers, and horror houses, which are all associated with Halloween. But predominantly, they carry the same essence; a humoristic tweak with a readiness to break past the conventional decorum. Leave behind your refined horror and brace up to dive into the filth, where, as per rumors, they keep the full-sized candy bars.

The film, like every other “V/H/S” edition, also features a recurring narrative that makes its appearance in between entries. This time, it’s the marvelous “Diet Phantasma”, a depiction of focus group footage with its members working on a new product. But instead of general side effects like nausea or rashes, they experience demonic possession and spontaneous combustion. It’s hilarious because every time we return to it, we are presented with increased insanity levels.

The initial segment of Halloween is “Coochie Coochie Coo” by Anna Zlokovic and features two older kids who insist on one last trick-or-treating session. They land at the house of “Mommy”, an urban legend known to make teenagers vanish on Halloween, resulting in a deeply unsettling encounter.

Perhaps the most discussed among these will be Casper Kelly’s “Fun Size,” which presents an innovative and intelligent take on the horror genre. There’s also the extraordinary “Home Haunt,” directed by Micheline Pitt-Norman and R.H. Norman, about a homemade haunted house and a cursed LP that releases a physical Hell.

The fact that it took so long to get to Halloween may have to do with potential comparability to other vacation compilations such as Trick ‘r Treat and Tales of Halloween. Regardless, it’s a welcome addition to the franchise and leaves us eagerly awaiting VHS: St. Patrick’s Day!

VHS Halloween is a huge return to form for the anthology series, proving the franchise still has teeth after the low point of Viral. Where Viral felt cheap, disjointed, and desperate to modernize the formula, Halloween remembers what made V/H/S great in the first place, tight, inventive short films that feel dangerous, weird, and soaked in atmosphere. The wraparound actually works this time, the tone is consistent, and every segment oozes Halloween spirit without devolving into parody. It’s the first entry since V/H/S/94 that feels truly alive, and a reminder that when this series embraces its lo-fi nastiness and practical scares, it can still outdo nearly any other horror anthology out there.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

VHS Halloween is now playing on Shudder.