V/H/S/99
review by Bobby Blakey
In 2012 Bloody Disgusting and producer Brad Miska unleashed the anthology found footage horror flick V/H/S. The film has since spawned three sequels with V/H/S/2 in 2013, V/H/S: Viral in 2014 and V/H/S/94 in 2021 as well as a spin-off feature Siren in 2016. Now the franchise is back once again with V/H/S/99 featuring segments directed by Vanessa & Joseph, Winter Maggie Levin, Johannes Roberts, Flying Lotus, and Tyler MacIntyre. Could this latest entry into the franchise bring more scares and fun or not be worth the tape its on?
V/H/S/99 presents viewers with five gory tales of found footage POV terror. In "Shredding," a bratty punk rock band breaks into the ruins of an abandoned art collective where a previous band met their grisly fate in a freak accident. In "Suicide Bid," a girl partakes in a claustrophobic hazing ritual for a sorority that soon unleashes the supernatural. Next, in "Ozzy's Dungeon," a sleazy TV show host is forced to endure a brutal obstacle gauntlet inspired by his own show, which caused the permanent disfigurement of a former contestant. In "The Gawkers," voyeuristic teenagers unearth the horrifying truth behind the girl next door. Finally, in "To Hell And Back," two filmmakers asked to document a summoning ritual on the eve of Y2K are accidentally transported to a hellish dimension, where a tormented soul guides them in escaping its demonic inhabitants.
I love the creativity of these films. You never know what you are going to get and they don’t stick to any fixed theme with each story more messed up than the next. Of course there are some that work better than others, but this time around I must say I enjoyed every single story. I am not going to go into detail on each story as I think they need to be experienced, but they all deliver.
With the first story it seemed like it was limping along at first, but then made it clear it was not messing around. It ended up being one of the least crazy ones with some of them fully embracing the chaos and gore just like fans are
hoping for. My favorites this time around is Ozzy’s Dungeon playing up the world of the kids game show Double Dare in a crazed direction and the finale To Hell and Back that offers up the best disturbing and most creative visuals.
As with all the previous outings in this franchise they are all brought together by a singular video. This time around it uses some humor and fun before heading out into the bloody fun of the rest of the insanity. This once again knocks it out of the park in the gore department and overall storytelling in general. I hope this franchise never dies and we keep getting more entries and chances to witness the visions of these awesome storytellers.
Rewind and press play on the latest chapter and decide for yourself with V/H/S/99 available now on on Blu-ray and DVD from RLJE Films and Shudder.