V/H/S/94 (Movie Review)

Screened as a part of the 2021 Fantastic Fest.

To misquote legendary genre filmmaker Howard Hawks, the definition of a good horror anthology is one great segment and no bad segments. By that rubric, V/H/S/94 finally fulfills the promise that the first V/H/S film laid the groundwork for, the second one came close to reaching, and the third one biffed so badly that it killed all the momentum. After three short years as an annual franchise, V/H/S had to go dormant for seven years, which is long enough for the newest installment to be marketed as a reboot and hopefully also long enough for everybody to have forgotten that segment about the magician with the evil cape.

As with all the movies, V/H/S/94 starts with a wraparound story that is functional, if ultimately unnecessary. In this one, a SWAT team is raiding the headquarters of a cult that collects VHS tapes. They watch approximately four of these tapes and at the end a horror thing happens. You get it.

The first two segments of 94 act as a kind of amuse-bouche to acquaint the audience with some of the stylistic tricks and thrills that come with the premise of horror filtered through the technology of a bygone era.  The first, “Storm Drain” (directed by Chloe Okuno) is a creature feature following a period-appropriate news team investigating a local cryptid called "Rat Man" who likes to hang out near the sewers. It smartly borrows some tricks like fake commercials and delightfully dated news anchors from WNUF Halloween Special (2013), a movie that came in the wake of V/H/S and was likely influenced by it.

The second segment, called “The Empty Wake” (directed by Simon Barrett) takes place at a funeral home which is well-kitted with video recorders (because of reasons), where a new employee is tasked with holding down the fort during a storm completely alone, except for the body in the casket (also for reasons). It’s a creepy idea that can’t help but work, even if it does nothing more nor less than exactly what it says on the label.

With the opening acts out of the way, it’s clear that the main attraction of V/H/S/94 is “The Subject”, directed by returning champion Timo Tjahjanto who, along with Gareth Evans, made the previous high water mark for the franchise, “Safe Haven” from V/H/S/2. This one begs to be seen unspoiled, so the top line elevator pitch is that it’s a Frankenstein riff about a mad scientist who is really into biomechanics. For years, Timo Tjahjanto has been staking his claim as the heir apparent to Sam Raimi and “The Subject” delivers with gore, action, humor, pathos, and creatures, while also borrowing heavily from first person video games to create possibly the best single V/H/S segment to date.

The final story is “Terror” (directed by Ryan Prows). It follows a Christian ethno-fascist militia group of good old boys who have a secret weapon to escalate their holy crusade against minorities and socialists and all the other bugaboos of modern right-wing society. The true nature of the weapon isn’t revealed until late in the segment, but suffice it to say that it might have something to do with the prisoner they keep in a storage container, whose head they blow off with a shotgun on a daily basis. It’s a fun segment that brings some welcome storytelling to a series in which the segments are often just situations with about the same depth of story and character as a haunted house attraction.

V/H/S/94 is a tremendously satisfying reboot/course correction. Many of the filmmakers from the first round of V/H/S films have gone on to tremendous success with movies such as The Ritual, Ready or Not, and Godzilla vs Kong, so this scrappy little franchise can claim some legitimate clout as a stepping stone for future major genre filmmakers. The quality of this new installment, combined with Shudder as a near-ideal distribution method, makes it easy to see V/H/S as a series with a bright, if occasionally lo-res and glitchy, future.