[Spoilers Included]
“V/H/S 99” is the most recent, and gory, installment of the found footage franchise “V/H/S.” It premiered on Shudder, a horror streaming platform on Oct. 20, 2022. “V/H/S” as a franchise has had a love/hate relationship with the horror community for almost a decade because who doesn’t love a good shaky cam? The original “V/H/S” became a cult classic upon its release in 2012. But, the third film, “V/H/S Viral” got panned so hard it effectively sent the franchise into a hiatus from 2014 until 2021 with “V/H/S 94.”
“V/H/S 99” did not have a continuous narrative structure through the segments like its precursor “V/H/S 94”. Instead, it was broken up into individual storylines that had overarching themes and highlighted the works of each team behind each short. This style could relate to the franchise, “Creepshow.” It was broken up into the following segments: “Shredding,” “Suicide Bid,” “Ozzy’s Dungeon,” “The Gawkers,” and “To Hell and Back.”
“V/H/S 99” opened up with one of its most underwhelming and disorienting segments, “Shredding,” directed by Maggie Levin. I’ve never felt “V/H/S” has had a strong suit for opening up their anthologies. “Shredding” only solidified my belief.
This segment follows a juvenile, pop punk band breaking into an abandoned venue where a band had been trampled to death years ago. The pace at which this segment moved is the most off in comparison to the rest. With the consistent cutbacks to other scenes from this segment, it feels like “Shredding” is over-explaining itself and lessening the impact of the scares in the process.
“Suicide Bid,” directed by Johannes Roberts, was a big step up from “Shredding.” The design of the monstrous woman used in part two of this segment was amazing and one of my favorite practical effects used in this entire movie. The concept for “Suicide Bid” follows sorority girls picking on a freshman rushing by making her stay overnight in a coffin underground. Roberts did an amazing job playing with the concept of urban myths surrounding hazing week. It worked really well in the short amount of time the segment was on the screen, even with his lack of knowledge of Greek culture that he confessed to in an interview with Slash Film.
Flying Lotus hit the nail on the head while directing the segment “Ozzy’s Dungeon.” It was a parody of the Nickelodeon game shows “Double Dare” and “Legend of the Hidden Temple.” Flying Lotus and Zoe Cooper really teased viewers by honing in on the campy and goofy aspects of the fictionalized show before giving them the horror they asked for.
The plot followed a contestant, Donna, of a game show who almost breaks her leg off during a final challenge. In turn, Donna’s mother takes revenge on the show’s host years after cancellation. This segment balanced camp and high intensity well even though the pacing was a little clunky.
“The Gawkers,” directed by Tyler MacIntyre, wasn’t my least favorite, but it wasn’t at the top of my list either. However, there was a reveal that the stop motion soldier videos we were seeing throughout the film turned out to be tied into “The Gawkers.” The soldier videos we see intermittently come from the younger brother in this segment, who stole his brother’s camera to do these projects. It played with the idea that all the segments throughout “V/H/S 99” were filmed on the same video camera. The highlight of the consequences of voyeurism was fun to see play out with the incorporation of Greek myths.
“To Hell And Back,” directed by Vanessa and Joseph Winter, was my all-time favorite segment during “V/H/S 99.” They worked with most of the original team behind the SXSW Shudder movie, “Deadstream.”
“To Hell And Back” has such a great pace and really throws you in from the get-go. There was virtually no buildup to the hectic nature of “To Hell And Back.” The story followed two filmmakers filming a satanic ritual gone wrong (or right?). Instead of filming the demonic ritual for a documentary, like they were asked to do, they end up getting sent to hell. I loved the fast pace of this segment and the ending really fit as a cohesive finale piece for “V/H/S 99.”
“V/H/S” as a franchise has served to be a horror streaming staple (whether an installment is subjectively good or bad) over the last nine years and “V/H/S 99” captured the essence in its entirety. “Ozzy’s Dungeon,” “To Hell And Back” and “Suicide Bid” make this installment worthwhile for a horror fan with the ability to stream.
Overall Rating: 3/5
