In the 12 years since the release of its flagship film, the V/H/S franchise has spawned six sequels, a pair of spinoffs, and a forgotten miniseries (released exclusively on Snapchat). Following last year’s V/H/S/85, the latest installment in the found-footage horror series is V/H/S/Beyond, a collection of segments based on aliens and featuring some of the franchise’s best and gnarliest special effects to date.
Presented as a fake documentary about aliens, each segment of V/H/S/Beyond is broken up by talking-head interviews with experts, including a longtime believer and scholar and a trio of YouTubers who specialize in visual effects and make a living by debunking purported UFO footage. That ideological balance is thoughtful if somewhat extraneous in a horror anthology whose primary goal is to maximize thrills and chills, as Beyond often does.
Beyond Begins with 3 Quick & Fun Face-Melting Entries
Stork
Shudder
With the exception of the fifth (and arguably best) segment, each short quickly devolves into gory chaos, starting with “Stork.” Directed by Jordan Downey and based on a series of works by graphic artist Oleg Vdovenko (who collaborated on the segment), “Stork” is presented mostly as bodycam footage captured during a police raid on an old house. Initially reminiscent of a frustrating first-person arcade shooter like House of the Dead, “Stork” becomes more compelling – and more Resident Evil-like – as the cops make their way to the attic, where they discover an unspeakable horror.
Dream Girl
The one-two punch continues with “Dream Girl,” about a pair of ambitious paparazzi hoping to nab some candid footage of Tara, the latest Bollywood sensation, on the set of her new horror film – and yes, there is a delightful song-and-dance number. It isn’t long before our protagonists discover the wild truth about Tara in a fast-paced segment that speaks to concerns over the rise of A.I. in filmmaking and brings them to life in a hellacious climax.
Live and Let Dive
Justin Martinez’s “Live and Let Dive” takes common fears about skydiving to deranged heights, giving the viewer terrifying new reasons to avoid jumping out of planes. The segment starts in the sky with an impressively rendered UFO sighting before making its brutal descent to the ground below, where each new development is worse than the last. By this point in V/H/S/Beyond, we’re three-for-three: the segments are all engaging and well-paced, and the creature designs are impressive – not to mention, an astonishing number of faces have been ripped and/or melted off.
A Furry Detour Before Kate Siegel’s Excellent Finale
Fur Babies
Beyond takes a brief detour into Bonkers Town with “Fur Babies,” co-directed by Christian Long and his brother, actor Justin Long. The involvement of the latter makes a lot of sense once you’ve seen “Fur Babies,” about a group of animal activists who infiltrate a doggy daycare to find out what the owner, Becky, is really doing with her furry friends.
If you’ve seen Kevin Smith’s Tusk, you’ll recognize the core elements of that film and its comically grotesque body horrors in this segment. While it’s arguably more enjoyable than Smith’s film (impressive, given the brevity) and the effects are delightfully disgusting, “Fur Babies” is the odd man out in a series of shorts about aliens.
Stowaway
Thankfully, Kate Siegel brings us in for a solid landing with her directorial debut, “Stowaway.” Australian video gamer and former journalist Alanah Pearce stars as a woman whose UFO obsession leads her on a journey into the desert to capture proof of extraterrestrial life. Siegel co-wrote “Stowaway” with her frequent collaborator (and husband) Mike Flanagan, so it’s perhaps pleasantly unsurprising that the climax of the segment evokes Stephen King’s most terrifying short story, “The Jaunt.”
Siegel’s segment breaks from the pack in both style and substance, relying on editing and Pearce’s naturalistic performance to convey crucial information. Pearce is a compelling screen presence in a haunting segment designed to linger with you as the credits roll.
A Good V/H/S Entry with a Weak Wraparound
The main thrust of the wraparound segment in V/H/S/Beyond, aside from offering a brief respite between shorts, is a pair of videotapes that belonged to a man who mysteriously disappeared. Each segment is presented as possible proof of an extraterrestrial encounter, culminating in the footage recovered from the two videotapes. As with many horror anthologies, the wraparound is, comparatively, the weakest link. When we finally see the footage from those tapes, requisite alien probing included, the visuals are somewhat underwhelming, especially for what should be a grand finale.
V/H/S/Beyond is an entertaining addition to the franchise and likely to satisfy curious newcomers interested in seeing a solid found-footage horror film with wild visual effects. It doesn’t reinvent the genre – and it doesn’t need to – but there are some great gags and inventive designs that set Beyond apart from your average horror anthology. V/H/S/Beyond premieres Oct. 4, 2024.
