MOVIE REVIEW: V/H/S/ BEYOND

Six bloodcurdling tapes unleash horror in a sci-fi-inspired hellscape, pushing the boundaries of fear and suspense.

Director: Jay Cheel, Jordan Downey, Virat Pal, Justin Martinez, Christian Long, Justin Long, Kate Siegel

Cast: Alanah Pearce, Braedyn Bruner, Dane DiLiegro, Mike Ferguson, Mitch Horowitz, Jolene Andersen, Thom Hallum, Phillip Andre Botello, Bobby Slaski, Skip Howland, Libby Letlow, Bix Krieger

Release Date: October 4, 2024

Genre: Horror

Unrated 

Runtime: 1h 54m

Review:

The seventh entry in the long running horror anthology is another splatter filled trek through assorted shorts which, much like previous entries offer some impressive and creative gems paired with more forgettable entries.  "Abduction/Adduction," written and directed by Jay Cheel, serves the film's framing narrative with a pseudo documentary about alien abduction and it proves to be one of the more confusing entries in the film.  It’s a baffling decision to use this short as the bridge in between segments since it doesn't really tie anything together and the payoff that it's building towards the entire film feels utterly underwhelming especially since it closes out the entire film.  "Stork," Directed by Jordan Downey, is the first proper full fledged sequence which is energetic and chaotic enough to make it easier to overlook some of the low rent FX and performances on display.  The first person perspective makes the whole thing feel like a mash up of Call of Duty and Resident Evil which is fun even if it doesn't stick the landing.  "Dream Girl," Directed by Virat Pal, presents a solid concept but the execution just fails its underlying message about fame with a mindless splatter fest.  "Live and Let Dive," Directed by Justin Martinez, is the kind of gem that pops up in each of these entries with some strong creativity on display.  Martinez gives his short a strong sense of immediacy that becomes more pronounced as things spin wildly out of control.  The skydiving set up and orange grove pursuit gives the film a solid jolt of gory fun and energy that the other entries never match.  "Fur Babies," written and directed by Christian Long and Justin Long feels like a retread of 2014's Tusk which Justin starred in.  Its got a low rent goofy energy even though it’s a rather confusing homage to a movie nobody asked for.  "Stowaway," Directed by Kate Siegel and written by Mike Flanagan is the most straightforward initially, before it takes a decidedly Cronenberg turn in its final act.  There seems to be more simmering underneath the surface but the short doesn't have enough time to truly explore the generational alien abduction idea.  V/H/S Beyond proves the franchise is still a solid showcase for micro horror shorts that allow for the kind of wild swings that wouldn't be possible in feature length films for better or worse.

C+